When Judea Pearl asked composer Steve Reich to create a piece of music that would commemorate the life of his son, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, he knew what he did not want the music to be.
Conversations in Hebrew, Russian, German and English fill the air. Two of the orchestra\’s musicians play chess, loudly clapping down on the timer after each move. The creative chaos is just a little heady.
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has been celebrating its 70th anniversary in style, hosting appearances by many of the orchestra\\\’s friends from over the years.
If it were a novel, no one would believe the 70-year saga of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with its astonishing cast of famous characters, including Leonard Bernstein, Arturo Toscanini and Albert Einstein. But it\’s all true. It\’s a history ripe for Hollywood: An orchestra that has lived through wars and constant strife, performed on battlefields and had more than its own share of internal drama and turmoil.
Even today, Bresnick \”listens to everything,\” and his own compositions have a uniquely American eclecticism.
One of the most meaningful Jewish gifts would have to be the planting of an elan, Hebrew for tree, in Israel in one\’s honor.
And in the case of Los Angeles-born musician Elan, no other name would suit him quite as well.
Only 15 at the time, Israel\’s Liel Kolet coaxes Bill Clinton onstage to sing \’Imagine\’ with a Jewish-Arab kids choir at a concert for Shimon Peres\’ 85th birthday\n\n\n
Listening to \”The Shabbat Lounge\” (Craig N Co.), the latest album in Craig Taubman\’s \”Lounge\” series, your first thought is, \”Gee, this is such a natural, why didn\’t he begin the series with this one instead of shuffling through the holidays?\” The answer, I suspect, is that the songs for Shabbat are so familiar that Taubman felt on surer ground tinkering with less well-known material.
Kenny Ellis sings his hit single from his \’Hanukkah Swings!\’ album on Favored Nations Records.
