Last night an unusual trio played in our house for an audience of about thirty-five of our friends: Yinon Muallem, an Israeli who now lives in Sweden and plays oud and percussion, and sings; Saman Alias, a clarinetist from Iraqi Kurdistan, who also lives in Sweden now; and Dina Kitrossky, a versatile Israeli pianist. They played original compositions based on Middle Eastern music.
The audience's response was heartwarming. We are privileged to be able to host concerts in our home and enable the musicians to create an atmosphere of warmth and joy. We began hosting concerts in the 1990s when accomplished Russian musicians arrived in Israel and couldn't make a living, and we continued because it is so rewarding for us to provide a venue for fine musicians who appreciate the chance of playing for a small, intimate audience, even though they don't make as much money from such performances.
Recently we spent five days in Paris on our way home from California to Israel. One evening, in a restaurant we happened to go to, a jazz duo played: a guitarist and a bass. They were excellent musicians and played fairly traditional tunes. Both the fine food and the fine live music made me happier than I have been in a long time. A day or two later we went to a recital of cello sonatas in a huge theater near the Champs Elysées. Although both the cellist and the pianist were on the highest level, and the sonatas they played were fabulous, they were separated from the large and enthusiastic audience by being up on a stage, with the house lights off.
Hearing live music is always a special experience, and hearing it in someone's living room, when you're not separated from the musicians at all, is even more special.
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