Soulful Sounds
The sounds of heaven and earth merge when David De\’or and Shlomo Bar, two internationally acclaimed Israeli artists, combine their musical talents.
The sounds of heaven and earth merge when David De\’or and Shlomo Bar, two internationally acclaimed Israeli artists, combine their musical talents.
Richard Strauss\’s opera \”Salome\” had its Israelipremière in Tel Aviv this month. Strauss, who died in 1949,served, however briefly, as a cultural official in Adolf Hitler\’s Nazi administration. The season, by the visiting Kirov Opera from St.Petersburg, was an unchallenged hit. Strauss has been forgiven,perhaps because he had a Jewish daughter-in-law and soon learned thefolly of his ways.
Travel back with us to 1950. For two weeks that June, a snappy tune from the newborn State of Israel, \”Tzena Tzena,\” was No. 1 on America\’s pop charts. It was sung by the Weavers, a folk quartet led by a leftist troubadour named Pete Seeger.
One in three Israeli families ownat least one David Broza recording; for two generations of Israelis,Broza provided the soundtrack for life and love.
If all you knew about composer George Gershwin washis body of work — \”An American in Paris,\” \”Rhapsody in Blue,\”\”Porgy and Bess,\” plus countless enduring melodies — you would thinkhe lived to a ripe old age. But, in fact, the musical legend was only38 when he died.
The list of films for which Elmer Bernstein has written orchestral scores reads like a roll call of cinema\’s all-time classics: \”The Ten Commandments,\” \”The Age of Innocence,\” \”The Magnificent Seven,\” \”Ghostbusters,\” \”To Kill A Mockingbird,\” \”CapeFear,\” \”True Grit,\” \”Animal House,\” \”The Great Escape,\” \”My Left Foot\”…just to name a few.
Attorney Gerry Schubert may be a relatively familiar face in Orange County; alongtime resident of Yorba Linda and a member at Mission Viejo\’s Congregation Eilat, Schubert is actively involved in Jewish Federation projects. But, soon, he may become better known for the release of his second musical CD, \”Life in the Moment\” (GalleryRecords).
When I was asked to teach at a Bulgarian university, my only clear images of the Balkan nation included its infamous Communist-era spy system, its great Olympic weight lifters,and its national women\’s choir, whose haunting harmonies were popular in the West.
In \’The Wedding Singer,\’ Adam Sandlerproves he can carry a tune and a movie.\n
Zigman said that after having watched the news of Rabin\’s death onTV, he awoke early the next morning with the notes of his openingmovement coursing through his head. He jotted down the music andplayed it for his good friend, artist Peter Max, who encouraged himto expand it into a major piece.