Israeli Horn Day
by Aviram Freiberg
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Jörg Brückner and pianist Raphael Skorka
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On Friday, March 29, 2024, hundreds of Israeli horn students, professionals and amateurs of all ages and levels of playing gathered at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel-Aviv, home of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, for the bi-annual Israeli horn day. Due to the covid pandemic, this celebration had been postponed but finally took place after a hiatus of several years. Luckily, even the war outbreak last October couldn’t hinder this special event.
The Israeli horn day was organized by Mafte’ach (key) program, run by the IPO, whose aim is to allow children from the geographical and social periphery the opportunity to play musical instruments, and to learn and experience music. The program is held in collaboration with IPO members, and its concerts are named in memory of the late Ruth Gottesman.
The day opened with a recital by our special guest, Jörg Brückner, collaborating with pianist Raphael Skorka. Their program, fabulously executed, included Dukas’ Villanelle, followed by an Israeli piece for solo horn by Yitzhak Yedid, Lament in Memoriam of Ora Boasson-Horev, and it was brought to a rousing conclusion with Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. The recital was hosted by IPO hornist Michal Mosek. As an encore, professional Israeli horn players joined Mr. Brückner for a moving performance of Ha’Tikva, Israel’s national anthem. After the recital, participants divided into different groups, according to age and level, to participate in various lectures, workshops, and playing activities. Among these events was a conversation with Jörg Brückner, hosted by IPO hornist Hagai Shalom, as well as workshops held by IPO assistant principal horn, Dalit Segal, and other leading Israeli horn players and teachers, including Ruti Rozman-Varon, Chezy Nir, Tsviki Moran, and Barak Yeivin, who conducted a play-along session for young players. A yoga class for horn players was conducted by IPO violist and yoga instructor Gili Radian-Sade and hornist Gal Raviv.
The finale was a concert by some of our professional players. Ruti Rozman-Varon, accompanied by her daughter Gal Varon on bassoon as basso continuo played a Telemann concerto for horn and flute (recorder) on the natural horn. Also participating were players from the IPO, ISO (Israeli Symphony Orchestra), leading pedagogues, and retired professionals like Tzippi Cheryl Pellat and myself. IPO trombonist Micha Davis conducted a horn choir of all participants to conclude this very special day.
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Finale Concert
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The horn day was an excellent opportunity to promote the IHS and its activities, and we even recruited a new IHS member, Aviad Meitar!
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Ruti Rozman-Varon and young participants
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I truly hope this day was significant for the young players, who, as one can see in the photo, are mostly very young beginners. I had seven of my own students participating, and they all had a wonderfully inspiring experience.
