It is difficult to find high culture in Israel. The museum that houses a little bit of art is open around 20 hours a week, and is impossible to get to.
As for classical music, you were thinking Heifetz, Rubinstein, and Bernstein, a country full of Jews will produce many more of them. No. Those were Jews raised in European societies (I'm including Boston of two generations ago in that). Jews are good at taking whatever gentiles do to the next level. So Israel is in the Middle-east. There, we take humas, shouting, religious extremism, torture, and destruction of enemies to the next level, not classical music.
When I was a kid, the news made such a big deal out of the ISO (Israeli Symphony Orchestra) playing Wagner that you'd think that the ISO was a big deal. But is wasn't. Certainly it isn't now. Maybe when there were European born people here it mattered a bit, but not now. The reason Wagner made news was mostly because it was a topic of outrage which is still the national sport in Israel along with an obsession with the Holocaust. It's not because Israelis care about classical music.
It's hard to find classical music here. There is some kind of orchestra in Tel Aviv but it's half an orchestra and they don't play often and it's hard to get to. And half the time they play various forms of schlock. For example:
When Worlds Meet: Music from Fantasy Films alongside Classical Music
A special chamber concert that combines music from popular fantasy films and classical works – with interspersed texts from fantasy literature – The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, and others.
The IPO’s Brass Quintet will lead us on a musical journey amidst classics and fantasy, between music and text, through old and new.
And then there's Saturday morning concerts for kids. You know, teach them how to be mechalel Shabbos.
But I won't even talk about that right now. Outside of Tel Aviv there is even less. Beit Shemesh has a supposed cultural center -- that's what they call it -- but it's almost all schlock - Israeli comedians, a Bee Gees concert, Abba.
Even the occasional classical music is very odd, with tiny orchestras and lots of talking. I can't think of any classical music concert in America that didn't begin without the conductor or soloist walking on stage quietly and beginning to play. Last night I went to a concert in Beit Shemesh which was supposed to be all music of Chopin. If you don't know, Chopin is elegant piano music. Very contemplative and gentle. So this started with this loud Israeli man (the conductor) wearing a lightening silver long coat and big boots (and shaved head) stomping his feet and sauntering out, grinning 'charismatically' at the crowd and talking rapidly for 1/2 an hour before any music began. He tries to be witty and to sound like the expert on the subject. Now my Hebrew is weak so maybe I'm misreading this but it really does seem to me that he is talking down to his audience, as if to say, I know about classical music. I will be your conduit for that you ignorant people. The show isn't the classical music, it's his schtick. He wouldn't shut up. And of course there are copious references to Medinas Israel and the Tzahal and hostages.
He looked a bit like this:
And as he plays the piano or conducts he frequently turns to the audience and grins at them. I saw Beethoven's ninth in Beit Shemesh (and was really looking forward to it) and seconds before the pivotal moment, the chorus that many consider the greatest in the history of music, he turns and grins at the audience as if to say, here it comes. It's so juvenile. And he steals the attention away from Beethoven and the orchestra. (The orchestra, which appears to be composed mostly of middle aged Russians, was decent. But they will age out.) Even when there's a guest pianist he also goes out and plays and steals the attention away from the soloist. It all strikes me as being highly narcissistic.
He continued to talk throughout the concert. I finally left, for the first time in my life, walked out on a classical music concert. I don't think I'll be going back. I don't want to associate classical music with this clowning around. I realize that in general classical music concerts have lost their dignity around the world. Performers have become very showy every where, but not to this level.
So this was all an attempt to take the little culture that one can find here and make due with it. But I'm going to have to accept that I moved to a place that's devoid of art and music. This country is Neanderthal. So mark this down as another lie of the aliyah pushers as well as the product of my not doing proper research and making assumptions of my own.
I'd like to note that I'm not necessarily blaming the orchestra directors for this. It could be they tried standard classical music and nobody showed up. Any orchestra is the product of the musicians and the fans. You need public support. And in Israel there isn't much of that. It is not a European society. It is Mideastern with the difference from other Mideastern countries being that they are based on Islam and family, and Israel pretends to be Western but is antireligious so it isn't fully Mideastern either. It's Zionist, which is a hodgepodge of the refuse of other societies, European nationalism, Arab hooliganism, secularized Jewish symbolism and a false claim to Jewish identity.
And that's the way goyish religions work. I recently saw an interview with a Protestant minister who is based in Israel. And the philosophy of his parish or whatever it's called is this weird hodgepodge of Protestantism with this track for Jews (his church doesn't have a replacement theology he says) and they also are Zionist and believe in going after the terrorists and aren't concerned with the slaughter in Gaza. It's all a very convenient hodgepodge of what he is encountering. Zionism is the same way. There's no backbone. They just eat whatever they can find. He appeared to be very nice, but his theology was garbage. It's like a catfish feeding on the bottom of a river. And catfish aren't kosher.
Comments
Post a Comment