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by Mark Schulman
05/07/2002
The Jerusalem Post
CANBERRA - Israeli culture Down Under is alive and well. This week alone, four Israeli artists have converged on the nation's capital, Canberra, to show what Israel really has to offer the world.
Israel's top clarinetist, Orit Orbach, and talented young piano- duo Gil Garburg and Sivan Silver, were all invited to take part in the Canberra Inter-national Chamber Music Festival from April 26 to May 5.
Not too far away from the music festival venue, Israeli playwright Segahl Avin, 28, was watching her play, With a Smile and a Gun, read at the annual Australian National Play-wrights' Conference. Avin was invited following the success of award-winning playwright Avishai Milstein's participation at last year's conference.
"This is an exciting time for Israeli culture," said Israel's cultural attache to Australia, Noa Furman, who found herself dividing her time between events."Israel has more to offer than what many people here see on the news," she added. "These artists are our country's best diplomats." The recent spate of anti-Israel protests over the past few months outside the embassy in Canberra and consulate in Sydney has not deterred Israeli performers from touring Australia.
"I was afraid that maybe the concert would be cancelled because of the political situation," Orbach said. "But not only was I well received, I found that many people here wanted to learn more about Israeli music, especially how to play Klezmer and Jewish 'soul' music."
"I have never felt hostility from another musician, nor from the audience," Garburg added.
Orbach's repertoire at the Canberra music festival consisted of works by Berg, Brahms, Saint-Sans and Finzi, as well as one piece, Three Songs without Words, by contemporary Israeli composer Paul Ben- Haim. She also gave several Master clarinet classes at the Canberra School of Music.
"Every time I perform abroad I try and play Israeli pieces, as well as introduce students to Jewish music," she added.
Pianists Silver and Garburg also performed pieces by Brahms and Saint-Sans, as well as by Schubert and Liszt, and one piece, Harmonic Sound Image for Sivan and Gil, specially written for them by Israeli composer Sergiu Natra.
Following their participation in the Canberra International Cham- ber Music Festival, they will travel to Melbourne to give Master piano classes at Melbourne University, as well as a private performance for the Australian Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. They will then tour several countries in Asia, including China, India, Vietnam and Thailand.
The Israel Philharmonic will perform several concerts this September in Sydney and Melbourne as part of their upcoming Southeast Asian tour.
(Copyright 2002 The Jerusalem Post)