Piano concert brings nations and faiths together at the Israeli embassy in Paris

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF MARCH 22, 2023 14:58

Jerusalem Post

365 Days of Israeli Culture Around the World

Music

The ambassador Yael German with Ariel Cohen , the artistic director of The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition (photo credit: Embassy of Israel in France) — The ambassador Yael German with Ariel Cohen , the artistic director of The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition

(photo credit: Embassy of Israel in France)

A piano concert organized by the Israeli embassy in Paris in January brought together representatives of a multitude of nations and faiths to enjoy the magic of classical music.

The event was the last one of a series of concerts held at the initiative of Israeli Ambassador Yaël German at the Ambassador’s Residence in the French capital.

The performance was organized in cooperation with the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, a prestigious competition held every three years in Tel Aviv since 1974. The 2023 edition took place in March, with participants from 17 countries, including Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, Georgia, France, Russia, South Korea, Poland, Holland, USA, Greece, China, Turkey, New Zealand, England, and for the first time, Morocco.

In Paris, Israeli pianist Boris Leonidovich Giltbur - who won the competition in 2011 - played works by Chopin, Debussy and Ravel.

Attending the concert were about 170 guests from several embassies in the city, including those whose countries’ ties with Israel have been flourishing thanks to the Abraham Accords - United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Father Christopher Le Sourt, Director of the National Service for Relations with Judaism at the Bishops' Conference of France and several local Jewish leaders also attended the event.

In addition, Radio Classic, the largest classical music radio station in the country, recorded the concert and broadcasted it to 140,000 listeners, turning the performance into a real cultural bridge between music lovers in Israel and France.