Jeffery Fair, Roman Rabinovich and Diana Cohen

Jeffery Fair, Roman Rabinovich and Diana Cohen

Classical – Horn, Violin, Piano

Final evening of the 2025 Hornby Festival

Gates at 7 PM
Pre-Show Talk at 7:15 PM
Show at 8 PM

Jeffrey Fair

Hailed as “fearless and flawless,” Jeffrey Fair has been the Principal Horn (The Charles Simonyi Chair) of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra since February 2013 and a member of the Orchestra since 2003. He can be heard on several Grammy Award-winning Seattle Symphony recordings. In addition to his work presenting the great horn solos of the symphonic repertoire, he is a proud member of the Seattle Symphony Horns. The SSO horns have been featured at international horn conferences and recently performed Schumann’s Konzertstück with the Seattle Symphony. Mr. Fair performs as Principal Horn of the Seattle Opera and has served as guest Principal Horn of several renowned symphony orchestras. Additionally, he has appeared throughout the country as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and teacher. Mr. Fair’s extensive relationship with the Seattle Chamber Music Festival has led to world premieres of many works, as well as performances of much of the standard chamber music repertoire. Mr. Fair has appeared as Principal Horn and faculty member at many music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival and School. He served as a faculty member at the University of Washington for a decade. Prior to moving to Seattle, he was Principal Horn of the San Antonio Symphony for three seasons, appearing as soloist in works by Mozart and Martin. Mr. Fair completed a Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School. He received a Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Oklahoma.

“…stunning presence and power…” Thomas May – bachtrack

Roman Rabinovich

Praised by The New York Times for his “uncommon sensitivity and feeling,” pianist Roman Rabinovich won the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 2008. He has since performed at leading venues across Europe and North America, including Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, and Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center. He has appeared with top orchestras and conductors and earned acclaim for a repertoire spanning Bach to Lutosławski, especially his interpretations of Haydn. Highlights of the 2024–25 season include a three-recital series at Wigmore Hall, performances at the Lammermuir and Liszt Academy Chamber Music Festivals, a concerto debut with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and recitals in Israel. He will also perform JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations in London, Vienna, and on Hornby Island. Described as “a true polymath, in the Renaissance sense of the word” (Seen & Heard International), Rabinovich is also a composer and visual artist. His Haydn recordings on First Hand Records have been widely praised. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Rabinovich immigrated to Israel and debuted with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta at age 10. He studied at the Curtis Institute and earned his master’s at Juilliard. He was one of the first pianists in Sir András Schiff’s “Building Bridges” series. Rabinovich co-directs ChamberFest Cleveland and ChamberFest West with his wife, violinist Diana Cohen.

‘. . . the elegance and liveliness of Rabinovich’s keyboard style are, indeed, a joy to listen to, and his unfailing musicality and inventiveness allows him to penetrate to the expressive heart of Haydn’s world.’ BBC Magazine

Diana Cohen

Violinist Diana Cohen is Concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic and Artistic Director of ChamberFest Cleveland. She has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras and performed at major festivals including Marlboro and Ravinia. Cohen has collaborated with artists such as Garrick Ohlsson and Mitsuko Uchida and performed with ensembles including Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Knights, and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Cohen studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and has a deep musical family lineage, including her father Franklin Cohen (clarinetist), brother Alexander Cohen (timpanist), and husband Roman Rabinovich. During the pandemic, she and Rabinovich founded “Garden Concerts YYC,” an outdoor concert series in Calgary.

“Diana Cohen is a radiant artist with a flawless technique. Her personal warmth is evident in every stroke of her bow, and this makes her playing totally unique. Her performance of my suite from The Red Violin is magnificent.” – John Corigliano, composer

“Diana is one of the most impressive young violinists I’ve ever worked with. She is a masterful violinist, a sensitive and natural musician, a superb chamber player, and perhaps most important of all, she has something unique and extremely personal to say.” – Arnold Steinhardt, first violinist, The Guarneri String Quartet, Grammy-winning artist, author