Avigail Bushakevitz studied at New York’s Juilliard School with Sylvia Rosenberg, then in Tel Aviv and finally in Berlin with Ulf Wallin at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music. She has won violin competitions in Israel, Spain and South Africa and performs regularly as a soloist with all the major symphony orchestras in South Africa. As a chamber musician, she performs in duo programmes with her brother, the pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz, among others.

Schubert’s great C major String Quintet is a piece I adore for its beauty and perfection. I first heard a record of it when I was 12 and couldn’t believe that such a piece existed. Nor could I imagine that I would actually play it one day. I studied it for the first time as a student in Tel Aviv and have been waiting for another opportunity to play it ever since. To be able to play this great work is an invaluable privilege for me as an artist. With colleagues from the Konzerthaus Orchestra – including my husband – I performed it in the Small Hall in March 2018. And then the cellos played thirds, finally once again…

Tempelhofer Feld is a strange and magical place for me. Of course, this is directly related to the fact that the first Berlin neighbourhood I moved to in 2013 was Neukölln – just around the corner. I was so surprised to discover this piece of land, not beautiful but completely original, full of Berliners who spent their free time there very creatively. I got myself some rollerblades and joined the hang gliders, skateboarders, urban gardeners, cyclists and meadow dreamers all catching the Berlin wind. Like Tempelhofer Feld, this is how Berlin is for me: unadorned, but beautiful.