Noam Ben-Zeev is an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i music critic & journalist, educator and lecturer, active in the music scene in Israel since the beginning of the 1990s.

Music journalism

Ben-Zeev has been the music critic and music journalist of Haaretz

Haaretz

Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...

 Daily Newspaper since 1992, and a member of the editorial staff since 1996. During that time he has published more than 3500 articles, reviews, columns, editorials, news items and interviews. In his journalistic writing, he concentrates on 20th Century and contemporary music, the sociological aspects of music, music education, and Israeli & Jewish music

Jewish music

Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...

. He has traveled and reported from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

 - among other places. In his Haaretz writings, he has been giving special voice to the Palestinian music

Palestinian music

The music of Palestine is one of many regional sub-genres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian.-Pre-1948:...

al scene as well, within Israel and in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. He reported from Gaza

Gaza

Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

, Jenin

Jenin

Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...

, Nablus

Nablus

Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...

, Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

 and Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

, writing about music education in Palestine, reviewing concerts and interviewing musicians.

Teaching, writings, films

Since 1990 he has been teaching music history and music education in various schools, among them Alon High School for the Arts and Sciences (1990–2006), Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts (1992–1995) the University of Haifa

University of Haifa

The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

 (since 2002), and Levinsky College of Music (since 2009).

In addition to his Haaretz publications he has written two books: a concise textbook on the history of music called Five Glances at Music (1998, Sal Tarbut Artzi); and An Israeli Tune (Hebrew "Mangina Yisraelit", 2009, Hakibbutz Hamehuchad publishing house), on music, politics and society in Israel and Palestine.

He cooperated with director Reuven Hecker as a musical advisor on two documentary films about music: Luciano Berio (2000; 59 min., video), a portrait of the late contemporary Italian composer Luciano Berio

Luciano Berio

Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...

 (1925–2003), shot throughout Italy and at the Salzburg Festival

Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...

; and Go in Peace, Rain (2007; Hebrew: Lekh Leshalom Geshem; 90 min., video), a film which follows an ancient Jewish liturgical melody and thus reflects a diminishing musical culture of Sephardic Synagogue music.
This film was shot throughout Spain, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, England, the Netherlands, and Italy.

External links

Selected articles

• "Shostakovich's Muse", Ha'aretz, 02/04/2007
• "Come to the Terezin Cabaret", Jewish Theatre News
• "Scaling the heights once more", Ha'aretz
• "Saving classics from oblivion", Ha'aretz
• "Trapped Notes", Ha'aretz
• "First violin / Prelude to dialogue", Ha'aretz, 24/12/2007

Films: music advisor

• Go in Peace, Rain (2007) (90 min., video)