Keyboard Kings and Queens
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Crossposted from Haaretz
On paper, and sometimes in practice, there are several good reasons for not getting excited about the annual Tel Aviv Piano Festival. Among them are the festival’s formal and conservative nature, the way the problematic concept of hospitality is dealt with, the absence of a rhythmic component in most of the events, the fondness for showcase concerts that promise much but fulfill less, and the adherence to refined-but-expected limits that do not contain anything Middle Eastern and hardly any rock ‘n roll.
But as is usually the case, this year too, as the five-day festival came to a close, these reservations were pushed aside and once again there was a realization that despite all its problems, the Piano Festival was and remains a central landmark in the barren, popular-music festival landscape. To the right of the young and bopping InDNegev Festival, and to the left of the mass Tamar Festival, this is the only such event that is careful to maintain a balance between quality and commerciality, and brings together mainstream sharks along with interesting talents just starting out, sometimes on the same stage. The formula here is more or less 45% Army Radio, 45% FM and 10% Campus Radio, and it works, even if it is not particularly exhilarating.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
