Music Style Classical Contemporary

Musical Influences From Bach and Coltrane to Beethoven and Ligeti

Albums Works 1992-96; Dance Music; Concert Music;

Press Reviews Amos Elkana's Arabic Lessons is a perplexing, beguiling 40-minute opus in which the composer challenges the so-called "acceptable" form of the lieder, shattering it and building it anew, as if constructing a new world from its ashes. Arabic Lessons are performed by three female singers. One sings in Hebrew, one in German and the third in Arabic.But they do not necessarily sing individually. More often then not - and this is when the work is really exciting - they sing in tandem. Not in an operatic-style trio but three individual expressions which crystallize into a meaningful whole. When the singers perform individually, the intriguing part is the way Elkana combines the human voice with instruments like a drum set or saxophone and bass guitar. Even more sensational is the way the more traditional flute, trumpet and cello intertwine with bass guitar and percussion.Aside from the unique instrumentation, this work reaches its apex when the singers sing together. Here we are confronted with a new musical language, philosophy and aesthetic, a so-called "lieder for the 21st century," a language that does not make it easy on the audience. A few days after the world premier in Tel Aviv, Arabic Lessons, one of the most significant works composed in Israel for quite a while, premiered to great critical acclaim at the Berlin Festival. (Jerusalem Post, March 24. 1998)

Location Tel Aviv, na - Israel

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