The tower, stonework, landscaping, and interior spaces of Jerusalem's YMCA ("yimka" in the local tongue) make it one of the city's landmarks. It is across the street from the King David Hotel. Both reflect efforts from the time of the British Mandate to do something impressive in the Holy City. They are just east of downtown, and just west of the Old City.
Among the YMCA's features is an ornate concert hall, showing its age and problems in competing with grander facilities in the Jerusalem Theater and the National Convention Center. It has seats for about 500, and the rent is probably a factor in attracting the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra. The folks in charge saved on the heat during the first concert that occurred in cold weather, so yesterday we dressed as we would for an American football game in its season.
We debated whether to forego the experience. President's Bush's choice of the King David Hotel for himself and more than 200 of his companions meant that a large area around the concert site would be closed to private cars, buses, and taxis. Announced demonstrations threatened to create more noise than the small orchestra playing on its instruments from the 17th century. Would it be worthwhile for the mandolinist from Italy and the bass soloist from Britain, along with the 10 or so on violins, violas, oboe, cellos and harpsichord to do their thing? The average age of Jerusalemite enthusiasts for baroque music, as shown by previous concerts, was above 70, and would probably go above 80 if we overlook the group of young people who come with their instrument cases from their classes at the Academy of Music. How many would brave the winter weather, the police barricades, and the need to walk from bus stops or parking places outside of what security personnel had declared to be the sterile zone?
Apparently lovers of baroque music are quietly enthusiastic. It is not the stuff that provokes jumping and dancing in the aisles, but it is great in its measured way. Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, and Johann Sebastian Bach, whose works were on last night's program, remain best sellers 350 years after they did their work. The crowd was only a bit smaller than the 200 or so that came to earlier performances. It could not have been encouraging for the musicians to work in a hall that was only about one-third full, but they did a great job. As usual, some of us nodded off to sleep now and then, but what to expect from our age and the nature of the music? Some of the moments were fantastic, and we all woke up to clap loud and long. For the first time this season, we demanded and received an encore, and left the hall only at 11 PM.
Other things were happening in the neighborhood. Today's headline is that George Bush will tell Mahmoud Abbas that Palestinians must choose between a state and chaos. I hope that will make them think about Yassir Arafat, who chose chaos over a state the last time an American president involved himself deeply in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict during 2000.
Ehud Olmert said that Israel demands peace from Gaza as well as the West Bank, as a condition for moving forward toward a two-state solution. He also reiterated that the Israeli state would be a Jewish state, which means that Palestinian refugees will have to be elsewhere.
What we heard from the Palestinians was disappointing. The Palestinians are demanding an immediate end to all construction in Jewish settlements of the West Bank, and will promise only to do their best to stop the rockets from Gaza. American officials support the Palestinians on the issue of stopping settlement activity now. As I heard Olmert, however, that will not happen, at least not until there is enough order in Gaza to stop the rockets. Other Israeli officials have made the point that Abbas' government has not done anything more than cosmetic efforts to stop the violence coming out of the West Bank, some of it traced to members of his own security forces.
Last night's music warranted an extra effort to get through the mess of Bush's visit. What was happening nearby indicates that baroque music might have to age for another 350 years before the Palestinians achieve a state of their own.
Posted by Ira Sharkansky at January 09, 2008 09:21 PM