Astrith Baltsan (; born 24 October 1956) ,is a

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz, blues, and popular music, including rock and roll. Most pianists can, to ...

, winner of Israel Emmy Award 2025 and Israel Culture Prize for lifetime achievement in music 2024, known for her Beethoven interpretations and her concert style, mediating classical music to large audiences. Her concerts, some in collaboration with leading Israeli orchestras, were described as a "revolutionary multisciplinary approach to presenting classical music". She is also known for her research on Israel national anthem – Hatikva.

Early life and education

Family

Baltsan was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

in 1956. Her mother, Dr. Rozelia Ruth Garti (1925–1999) was a

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

who came to Israel from

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, in 1949. Her father Hayim Baltsan (1910–2002), a journalist and author, was the founder of ITIM (news agency) and author of the ''Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary''. Baltsan is married to the composer Moshe Zorman. They have three children: Itamar, Alma and Reut. Their son, violinis
Itamar Zorman
was the winner of the

Tchaikovsky competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

in 2011.

Education

Baltsan began studying music at the age of 8. She won the

America Israel Cultural Foundation The America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) is a non-profit American foundation that supports cultural projects in Israel. History The America-Israel Cultural Foundation was established in 1939 to support the growth and development of a Jewish ...

scholarships and graduated with honors from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

with both BA and MA in piano (with Mindru Katz and

Arie Vardi Arie Vardi (; born 1937) is a classical pianist, conductor, and piano pedagogue. He is laureate of the Israel Prize in 2017. Biography Vardi was born in Tel Aviv and graduated from the Rubin Academy (renamed the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in ...

) and musicology. She won a scholarship for graduate studies at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and in 1983 she graduated as a

Doctor of Musical Arts The doctor of musical arts (DMA) is a doctorate, doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually Performance, music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-le ...

(''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

)'' in

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

in New York (with

Artur Balsam Artur Balsam (February 8, 1906 – September 1, 1994) was a Polish-born American classical pianist and pedagogue. Biography He was born in Warsaw, Poland, and studied in Łódź, making his debut there at the age of 12 then enrolled at the Berlin ...

Career and awards

In 1984, Baltsan won the Banff Concerto Competition in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, as well as the Concert Artists Guild's competition in New York City. She performed at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Yale University), the

Tanglewood Festival The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Stockbridge and Lenox in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts. The festival consists of a series of concerts, including symphonic music, cha ...

, the La Gesse Festival in France, the Tutzing Festival in Munich and the Ernen Chamber Festival in Switzerland. Astrith Baltsan returned to Israel in 1985 to join the faculty of the Rubin Academy of Music at

. She was a founder and music director of the Musica Nova Ensemble for new music, and recorded a large number of original Israeli compositions, many of them dedicated especially to her. She appeared as pianist, presenter and music director of concert series with the Israel Chamber Orchestra (1988–1996), the

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is a major Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert ...

(2000–2019), the Israel Festival in Jerusalem (including performances of the complete Beethoven Sonatas in 1987) and the New Israeli Opera. In 1990 Baltsan started to develop her series "Classics in Personal View", in which she performs classical music masterpieces accompanied with live storytelling and explanations. The program also incorporates pop, jazz and other genre segments, and includes performances by guest artists. This concert series has been the largest of its type in Israel for the last 30 years. Her combination of performance and narration is exemplified in her lecture-recital covering, among others, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Debussy's ''Clair de Lune'', different versions of which are available on YouTube (in English) and on CD (in Hebrew). In 1996 Baltsan and her husband, Israeli composer Moshe Zorman, founded "Music Cathedra", a music college in the Enav cultural center in Tel Aviv. The Israeli Ministry of Education has approved Music Cathedra as a professional development institution. In 2000 Baltsan started collaborating with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, a collaboration which continued until 2019 and featured symphonic and chamber music projects, as well as a series of TV concerts for the Israel Broadcasting Authority (Channel 1, 2003–2004). Baltsan was also music director of concert series with the Rishon Lezion Orchestra (2016 - 2018) and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (2019 - 2023). Baltsan appears in solo recitals, and as a soloist with several orchestras, in Europe, the US, Canada, Central America, Australia and South Africa. Her concerts are broadcast regularly on Kan Kol Hamusica (the classical radio channel of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation). In 2024, Baltsan was awarded the Arik Einstein Prize for Lifetime Achievement by the Israeli Ministry of Culture . She was also nominated for the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, Israel's most prestigious national prize, awarded by the Ministry of Education. In 2025 she was awarded the Emmy prize for lifetime outstanding contribution to Israel classical music scene.

''Hatikvah'' research

In 2009, Baltsan completed her book ''Hatikvah'' ''– Past, Present, Future'', commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The book is a 200-page long study on the origins of the Israeli anthem, and includes two CDs with rare historical recordings, various orchestrations of the anthem, and alternative anthems relevant to Jewish life in Israel and abroad. After the book's release, Baltsan started touring in Israel with the concert "''Hatikvah''", based on her research. Baltsan also tours internationally with this concert series under the title of "''Hatikvah'' – Hope Reborn". As of 2024, Baltsan has toured with ''Hativkah'' in USA, Central America,

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. ''Awards'' * 1984—first prize at ''Banff Concerto Competition'' * 1984—The Concert Artist Guild Award, NYC * 2001—Rosenblum Prize for the Performing Arts * 2006—Audience's Favorite prize held by

Yediot Ahronot (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

* 2007—Minister of Culture Prize for Music Performers * 2008—Landau Prize held by

Mifal HaPayis Mifal HaPais () is Israel's government-owned lottery company. It comprises the state's near monopoly on legal gambling together with the Israel Sports Betting Board (ISBB) (). The name translates to ''The Institute of Lottery'' In 2012, Mifal HaP ...

* 2024 - Einstein Prize for lifetime Achievement in music. * 2025 - Emmy Award for lifetime contribution to Israel culture.https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/culture/926830/

References

External links

Official site of Astrith Baltsan and the Hatikvah show
* Ronit Seter,
Astrith Baltsan
, in ''The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women''
Astrith Baltsan Portrait
- a TV documentary, part of a series of TV portraits of leading Israeli cultural figures, directed by Yoav Ginai for the

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...

(originally broadcast on channels 11 and 33, March 2012) and acquired by

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

; Hebrew, with English subtitles * Concert Grande - a radio program featuring Astrith Baltsan, WFUV Radio, New York CityApril 23, 1984, hosted by Joe Patrych and Bruce Posner * Astrith Baltsan presents and performs Gershwin's

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concer ...

with the

, 2001 -- part of a live broadcast on Channel 11,

* Noam Ben-Ze'ev, (1998-08-21).
Batlsan – a concert pianist wowing audiences with a new kind of musical entertainment, offering serious competition to traditional concert series
. Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2024-09-21. * Astrith Baltsan on th
National Library of Israel
s website {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltsan, Astrith Musicians from Tel Aviv Israeli twins Jewish Israeli musicians Living people 1956 births Jewish women musicians Women classical pianists 21st-century Israeli women pianists 21st-century Israeli pianists Israeli women musicologists Jewish musicologists