New York Tour, April 2014 – Critics and reviews
,16.4.13NY

W ELL VERSED
The 2000-Year-Old Hope
04/16/2013 - 01:28
Judy Geller-Marlowe
Not only is Hatikvah the national anthem of Israel, but Jews around the world have
sung it for 135 years.
The one-woman show, “Hatikvah, Hope Reborn,” was created and presented by the
Israeli pianist, Astrith Baltsan, at Temple Israel of Manhattan( in partnership
with 92Y) last Thursday night as an inaugural celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut.
Interspersing her own spirited playing with video clips from around the
globe, Baltsan presents the unexpected musical ancestry of this beloved melody.
The original lyrics, written by the poet Naftali Imber who immigrated to Israel in
1882, were based on biblical verses. Hatikvah’s musical origins are half Ashkenazi,
half Sephardic; a melange of classical music and folk tunes -- just like the Jewish
people scattered across the world, as Baltsan points out.
Baltsan dedicated her 8-year quest of researching the roots of Hatikvah to the
memory of her father, Haim Baltsan. At her first performance with the Israeli
Philharmonic, which was the last concert her ailing father attended, she recalls
that he was not visibly inspired as she played Chopin but was moved to tears as the
orchestra played the familiar chords of Smetana's symphonic poem “Die Moldau.”
Most people attribute the music of Hatikvah to the familiar Smetana piece.
However, Smetana actually used a Sephardic version of Birkat Tal, the prayer for
dew, written by Rabbi Yitzchak Bar Sheshet in Toledo in 1400. After the expulsion
of the Jews from Spain, the Tal melody meandered around Europe and emerged in
a 16th century Italian love song, a 17thcentury Baroque fugue and a Mozart piano
variation. This Sephardic tune is the opening stanza of Hatikvah and the second
stanza echoes a Romanian farmer’s folk song.
History had long ago decided that this song of hope (“Our hope has not yet been
lost/The two thousand-year-old hope,/To be a free people in our own land”)
would be the national hymn of Jewish people. But until 2004, this song was sung by
everyone but chosen by no one. Given Israel’s diverse population with a myriad of
opinions, it took the government 56 years to reach a consensus and officially select
Hatikvah as its national anthem (although some still feel it doesn’t represent all of
Israel’s inhabitants).
Baltsan’s lyrical odyssey, so vividly presented with love and pride, was a truly
fitting way to begin this week’s celebratory events marking Israel’s 65th birthday.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/well-versed/2000-year-old-hope
Meryl Wheeler
Publicist
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10128
212.413.8841 | mwheeler@92Y.org
Temple Israel Chronicle, May 2013
We got an overwhelmingly positive response from people after the show. Here is a link to
our monthly magazine and there is some pictures from our Israel @ 65 Week and also a very
nice review from one of our members on page 14-15.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/3fd7d16d#/3fd7d16d/14
There are no words! I am still Breathless from Baltsan's Hatikva performance.
I was inspired. I was also gasping at some of the facts and could hardly breathe for fear of
missing one word. I was crying, listening and watching. I'll be talking about this for a long
time to come. A life changing experience. I'll never hear Hatikvah the same way ever again.
Susan Kliemant
Temple Israel Chronicle, May 2013
-----------------------------------------SF – Los Altos. Beth Am, 5/4/2013
I'm not sure who to direct my thank-you comments to, but I'm sure either of you will know
My husband and I felt the program by Astrith Baltsan on the origins of Hatikvah, was one of
the best we have ever seen at Beth Am. It was heartfelt, full of information we did not know,
and a treat to hear such a talented pianist. Everyone in the audience that I spoke to felt the
same way.
Whoever was responsible for inviting Ms. Baltsan to Beth Am is to be commended. It was
wonderful!
-------------And another one that I found;
Hi- just wanted you to know that the complements were glowing this morning at
both Torah study and the minyan. Hope you are getting some rest today. All the
best Shabbat Shalom!!!!
Midisland, Solomon Schechter School, Long Island, NYC , April 4th and April 12, 2013
‫ והתרשמות‬, ‫ רבים מהילדים דברו בשבחה של התוכנית‬.‫התגובות בבית הספר היו טובות מאד‬
.‫ ההנהלה וההורים שבאו‬,‫עצומה היתה בקרב המורים‬
UJA, April 10th, 2013, AZM
Hi Simcha,
The link to the article on the AZM website about Astrith’s performance of Hatikvah is
http://www.azm.org/astrith-baltsan-performs-hatikvah.php. Let me know if I can help you
with anything else!
Thanks,
Natanya Herzstein
(212) 339-6944
nherzstein@azm.org
Astrith Baltsan Performs “Hatikvah”
Astrith Baltsan Performs “Hatikvah”
Jaws dropped and tears ran as renowned Israeli concert pianist and music scholar
Astrith Baltsan delved into the surprisingly storied history of Hatikvah, Israel’s
national anthem, at a performance on April 10. Using slides, musical interludes and
short videos, Baltsan narrated Hatikvah’s roots and its role in Israel today.
In her multimedia presentation, Balstan broke down Hatikvah into three parts:
melody, lyrics and orchestration. Each element of the song, she said, proved the
strength and unity of the Jewish people. She also detailed the histories of those
involved in creating the song, and shared her research into those backgrounds.
The more than one hundred audience members were all astonished and
fascinated by Hatikvah’s past. “Astrith was an outstanding storyteller, and by
looking at the pictures and movies of our Zionist history we remembered and fell in
love with Hatikvah,” said Marlene Post. It’s a meaningful and captivating
experience, agreed Mindy Stein. “[We felt] the undying hope, through years of exile,
to be a free people in our land!”
“Hatikvah” was sponsored by the American Zionist movement, the World Zionist
Organization and the Consulate General of Israel in New York.
Dr. Astrith Baltsan performs the story of “Hatikvah.”
Dr. Astrith Baltsan introduces her journey to exploring history of
“Hatikvah.”
Audience members stand to sing “Hatikvah.”
AZM Treasurer Judy Shereck thanks Dr. Astrith Baltsan for her
Ambassador Ido Aharoni, the Israeli Consul General to New York,
addresses the crowd
Dr Simcha Asaf Leibovich
‫ד"ר שמחה אסף ליבוביץ‬
‫נציג הנהלת ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית בצפון אמריקה‬
Representative of the WZO Executive in North America
:Mobile 917-929-2447 :‫נייד‬
simchal@wzo.org.il
:Office 212-339-6942 :‫משרד‬