Praised as "World-class musicians" by the leading German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. The Duo was founded in 1999 in New York by two Israeli musicians, the violist and violinist Shmuel Katz and the pianist Dmitri Shteinberg. Coached by Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet, Isidore Cohen and Ken Cooper.

In March 2001 the Duo was invited by the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation to perform in the National Library of Ottawa. After this performance was critically acclaimed in the “Ottawa Citizen”, the musicians became the first recipients of the newly established Pinchas Zukerman Music Education Fund. They returned to Ottawa to study with Maestro Zukerman in the National Arts Centre Young Artists Program in July 2001.

In September 2001 the Duo opened the concert season at the Israeli Embassy in Washington D. C. The following year they went on a recital tour of Israel and Germany that included a performance in the Jerusalem Music Centre which was broadcast live on the "Voice of Music", Israel's classical music station. Recently, they have appeared on WQXR Young Artists Showcase.

The duo made their official New York debut in February 2004 at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall. The recital was presented and  fully sponsored by MidAmerica Productions.

The duo's first CD is available for purchase from this website. It includes a world premier recording of Mozart Violin Sonata K.378 transcribed to viola by Shmuel Katz. Bach Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 3 and Hindemith's 1939 Sonata.

Shmuel Katz and Dmitri Shteinberg

   Dmitri Shteinberg’s career has taken him across  North America, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Bulgaria and Israel. His solo performances include the Jerusalem Symphony, The Italian Philarmonica Marchetiana, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Israel Camerata Orchestra and Porto National Symphony, among others. Mr. Shteinberg was the featured artist in the Sarasota Music Festival, Israeli “Music in Galilee” Radio Chamber Music Festival, “Rolandseck” Festival in Germany and Russian “Palaces of St. Petersburg.”
   He has recorded for the Israeli “Voice of Music” radio station and the WQXR radio in New York; as a member of “Kineret” Piano Trio he was selected from 500 ensembles to participate in Isaac Stern’s workshop in Carnegie Hall. Most recently, he collaborated with New York Philharmonic members and the cellist Natalia Guttman.
   Dmitri Shteinberg is a recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships since 1992 and a prizewinner in 9 Israeli competitions, including the Young Artist Competition in Jerusalem and the Tel-Aviv Academy of Music annual competitions. His international awards include the first prize in “Citta de Senigallia” International Competition in Italy, prizes in Porto International Competition and First Tbilisi Piano Competition in Georgia. In the United States, Mr. Shteinberg won the Naomi Foundation Competition and the Artists International Debut Award. He was also awarded prizes in the Olga Koussevitsky Competition and the Haddonfield Symphony Solo Competition and received the Salon De Virtuosi Fellowship Grant. His chamber music performances at the Manhattan School of Music brought him the Helen Cohn Award in 2001.
   A native of Moscow, Dmitri Shteinberg studied at the Gnessin Special School of Music, under Ms. Anna Kantor. In Israel, Mr. Shteinberg continued his piano studies with Prof. Victor Derevianko as a student at the Tel–Aviv Academy of Music. Currently, Mr. Shteinberg is a full scholarship Doctoral candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, 
he studies with Mme. Nina Svetlanova.