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Music of Israel
Maqam-based art music, Turkish makam and aşık bards, Persian dastgah and radif, Arabic tarab, Sufi zikr, Kurdish dengbêj and Yemeni oud song.
Sung and searched in Hebrew. The YouTube button above can run your search in that language.
A brief history
History
The development of a body of music associated with the Zionist settlers in Palestine began during the First Aliyah, the initial significant wave of Jewish immigration to the region in the 1880s. Zionist youth movements in Germany and other European countries compiled some of the earliest songbooks for the Zionist movement, combining newly written Hebrew lyrics with existing melodies from European folk songs. An example of this practice is the song Hatikvah, which later became the national anthem of Israel. In 1895, Jewish settlers established the first Jewish orchestra in Palestine. The orchestra was a wind band based in Rishon LeZion. Its repertoire included light classical pieces and marches. Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, a trained cantor from Russia and a musicologist, settled in Jerusalem in 1906 with the aim of studying and documenting the musical traditions of the Jewish communities living there. At that time, Jerusalem was home to several distinct Jewish enclaves, including Yemenite, Hasidic, and Syrian.
Popular music
Evolution of the music industry
Following the decline of the Israeli military ensembles in the 1970s, institutions of higher musical education became central in cultivating new musical talent in Israel. These included the country's two principal classical music academies, the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, as well as two private institutions focused primarily on jazz and popular music: the Rimon School in Ramat Hasharon and the Hed School in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Between 1960 and 1980, Israeli radio and television promoted music through the Israel Song Festival. Success in these competitions was often a significant factor in establishing an artist's career during that period. Until the late 1980s, the Israeli government, primarily through its control of radio and television broadcasting, maintained a central role in influencing the musical preferences of the Israeli public.
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Radio from Israel
Music only, no news or talk. Stations that play the local tradition come first, then the most listened. They play in the corner of the page.
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