People often ask why the foreign media ignore good things connected with Israel.
We are asking why some important organs do not expose them sufficiently, widely and if this is the case what can we expect from those whose focus of interest is found elsewhere?!
The 2nd International Competition of Israeli Music has been such a success that no one can deny. The enlightened Bank Leumi donated a generous prize for the winners. The Jewish News covered the event very generously. The Israeli press showed interest in it - especially as the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports addressed the audience at the finals, emphasizing the importance of Spiro Ark Tzavta's initiative for Israel and for world opinion and the pride that any Israeli should feel. Renowned and distinguished British and Israeli musicians have volunteered their time to judge all stages of the competition. Their names are set out below:
Julian Dawes ARCM (composer)
Daniel Adni (pianist)
Ms Ruti Halvani B. Ed. (Music) (mezzo soprano)
Ramon Wodkowski MMus (Yale) ArtDipRCM (clarinet)
Dr Malcolm Miller PhD (musicologist)
Ms Sarah Aaronson (Director of the London International Orchestra)
John Bradbury FRMCM (violinist) Ex- leader of CBSO & BBC Concert Orchestra.
Paul De Keyser ARCM, LGSM (violinist)
Benjamin Frith (Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition Gold Medalist 1989) (pianist)
Emeritus Professor Malcolm Troup DMus, DPhil, LLD, FGSMD, FRSA, ARCT (pianist & Trustee JMI)
70 musicians from all corners of the world applied -- from 25 countries, out of which 16 entered the Semi Finals and people from 6 countries: Britain, Ireland, Ukraine, Germany, Latvia, Portugal reached the finals.
The JC has published an electronic very favourable review by Jessica Ellgot but as far as they were concerned, it was not of any interest to include it in the printed version which is read weekly by tens of thousands interested in Jewish and Israeli matters.
The question we would like to ask is what do you think about that decision? Do you feel it is an objective good judgment if so -- why and if not, what could be the reason?
It is a laborious and complicated process and even costly to create a successful international competition. The Spiro Ark and its staff and especially our Tzavta department worked on it with love and enthusiasm because we believed in its impact, which indeed was on a global scale. Did it not deserve better from the JC?
