APPRECIATIVE AUDIENCE, Ora Binur, Ma’ariv, 22.10.2000

Abu Gosh Festival:  The Ramat Gan Chamber Choir and the New Instrument ensemble, conducted by Hanna Tzur.

The final concert of the Abu Gosh Festival contained all of the components that characterize this festival:  An original program that included rare and unfamiliar, but wonderful, compositions by Janacek, Theodorakis and Dvorak, the all-Israeli performers, and the special audience who attends out of its love for music, and who opens its heart to all that is good.

The conductor, Hanna Tzur, who is also the Musical Director of the Festival, has been blessed with many talents.  One of them is the ability to build a fascinating program and to present high-quality, unknown works.  As a conductor, she excels at producing vocal and orchestral music that grabs you in the stomach and the heart.  She’s a feminine version of Lenny Bernstein, projecting tons of musical knowledge and human warmth. 

Janacek’s Ave Maria was moving in its unique beauty, with an emphasis on special harmonies and a hint of folk music, and in the lovely solo by Lilach Shor.  Epiphanie by Mikis Theodorakis was also entrancing, unfamiliar, and a work of Greek art, with even a waltz in the middle.  And finally, in Dvorak’s Mass we heard a choir that sings artistically by a conductor who breathes music.  The Ramat Gan choir produces unparalleled quality.  It’s no surprise that the full house gave a standing ovation for the music and the performance.