De Los Muestros Spotlight: Murray Perahia
There are few honors more meaningful than watching one of our own rise to the very top of a field and never forget where he came from. This issue, we are proud to shine our alumni spotlight on Murray Perahia, one of the most celebrated classical pianists of our time — and a longtime member of our Sephardic Brotherhood family.
From Our Community to the World Stage
Murray Perahia was born in New York City in 1947 to parents who immigrated from Salonika, and it was within our community that his earliest musical encouragement took root. He grew up right here in our Sephardic community in the Bronx, on the Grand Concourse, attending synagogue at the Sephardic Jewish Center and taking part in programs at the Brotherhood's own community center. Long before international audiences knew his name, Murray was a familiar face at our own gatherings — a young man whose talent at the piano was already impossible to ignore.
In the late 1960s, our Brotherhood was proud to award Murray a scholarship, an investment in a promising young musician that would go on to yield returns far beyond what anyone could have imagined at the time. True to the spirit of community that defines our organization, Murray did not simply accept the support and move on. In the years that followed, he returned again to play at our scholarship awards, sharing his gift with the very community that had helped nurture it. Members who were present at those breakfasts still recall the experience of hearing him play in an intimate room, long before the world's great concert halls came calling.
Murray's connection to our Brotherhood runs deeper still: he is a proud descendant of one of our founders, Henry J. Perahia, whose commitment to building and sustaining this community helped lay the foundation for generations of members — including, fittingly, his own descendant who would go on to achieve global acclaim.
A Career of Extraordinary Distinction
Murray's rise in the world of classical music has been nothing short of remarkable. He studied at Mannes College of Music in New York, and his career took a decisive turn in 1972 when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition, a victory that announced him to the world stage. In the decades since, he has become renowned for his interpretations of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, with recordings — many for Sony Classical (formerly CBS Masterworks) — that are considered among the finest of their generation.
He has served as Co-Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival in England, a post once held by Benjamin Britten himself, and has held a long association with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. His artistry has earned him some of the highest honors available to a musician, including 3 Grammy Awards over the course of his career and an honorary knighthood (KBE) from the British Crown in recognition of his services to music. Despite periods of hand injury that might have ended a lesser career, Murray has continued to perform and record with the same depth, clarity, and warmth that first set him apart.
Through it all, colleagues and critics alike have remarked not only on his extraordinary technique but on the humility and thoughtfulness he brings to every performance — qualities that many of us who knew him through our own community will recognize immediately.
A Legacy That Comes Full Circle
There is something deeply moving about tracing the arc of Murray Perahia's story: a young man from a Sephardic family in New York, supported by a modest scholarship from his own community's Brotherhood, who returns the favor by playing for that same community at its breakfasts, and who carries forward the name and legacy of one of the very founders who built the organization that first believed in him.
It is a story that reflects exactly what our Brotherhood has always hoped to achieve — not simply the granting of scholarships, but the building of lifelong bonds between our organization and the members it helps to raise up. Murray Perahia's journey from our scholarship breakfasts to the great concert halls of the world stands as a testament to what our community can nurture when it invests in its own.
We are honored to claim Murray Perahia as de los muestros - one of our own, and we look forward, as always, to celebrating his continued artistry in the years ahead. To every young member currently benefiting from a Brotherhood scholarship: let his story be a reminder of just how far these roots can carry you.
The Scholarship Program is only possible with the Support of Community members like you. Please consider making a donation today or endowing a named Scholarship in Honor or in Memory of a Loved one - a beautiful way to permanently honor their legacy in the Sephardic Community.
Make a donation today by going to sephardicbrotherhood.com/donate or by making a check out to “Sephardic Brotherhood” and mailing to 67-67 108th Street Forest Hills, NY 11375
Interested in endowing a named scholarship fund in honor or in memory of a loved one? Email our Managing Director at ethan@sephardicbrotherhood.com or call 718-685-0080
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