Musicians Yehuda Glantz and Mariel Piven took part in the third edition of the Concert for Peace, held in November 2019. Both artists combine Argentine and Israeli roots, and their careers are marked by the fusion of Latin American music with other styles.
Mariel Piven: Argentine-Israeli singer and songwriter
Mariel Piven is an Argentine-Israeli singer, musician and composer. She plays the piano, guitar and percussion.
Her musical show has strong “World Music” influences, with a solid sonic identity and a combination of instruments —piano, charango, guitar, accordion, harmonica, percussion and vocals— with a wide range of nuances.
Her songs are inspired by Latin American folklore and the rhythms of the world: jazz, folk, lyrical, malambo, reggae, pop and classical music.
Yehuda Glantz: the career of an Argentine-Israeli musician
Musical training in Buenos Aires and Jerusalem
Yehuda Julio Glantz is an Argentine-Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer and producer. He was born in Buenos Aires on March 19, 1958, and is a multi-instrumentalist: he plays the charango, piano, guitar, accordion, cuatro, siku, pinkuyo and percussion.
His musical training began at the age of 5, singing and playing the accordion. At 8, he studied piano and violin at the “Manuel De Falla Conservatory” in Buenos Aires with specialized teachers. From a very young age he composed pieces for the theater and performed at various café-concerts.
Between 1976 and 1978 he toured Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In 1979, after traveling around Europe, he settled in Israel, where he received a scholarship to further his studies at the “Rubin Academy of Music” in Jerusalem. There he continued his piano and composition studies in the jazz department with Professor Nachum Perpercovitch.
In 1982 he met Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who introduced him to his Jewish sources. He then deepened his study of Judaism and began to blend Hasidic music into his compositions.
Discography and music production
Yehuda Glantz rose to fame with the albums «los sonidos de oro» 1 and 2, in 1985, and 3, in 1986.
In 1987 he came up with the idea of writing an album of protest songs after seeing mounted police in the streets of Jerusalem striking Jews with batons as they shouted “shabbes” to protect the sanctity of the Sabbath in Jerusalem. That is how the album «Kasaj» was born, with humorous and satirical protest songs, including «Anajnu adosim shel rock and roll, shamata ma kara, Yetzer lej».
In the early 1990s he founded the independent company “Jerusalem Music Network” (JMN), which has produced projects in every style: jazz, pop, folk, rock, instrumental music, children’s stories, theater music, contemporary music and film scores, among others.
- 1992, «Pionero»: a Spanish-language album with innovative songs such as Adon Olam played on the charango in the Andean highland musical style, «Balada para David», which describes the friendship between David and Jonathan, and the first version of «Naale», among others.
- 1994, «Naale»: its title track reached every radio station, as did the Yiddish version of «La Bamba». The album sold thousands of copies and opened the doors of Jewish communities around the world to him.
- «Rak Litzok El Hashem»: was born after he witnessed a terrorist attack at the Mahane Yehuda market, a few minutes from where he lives with his family. The song was a great success and topped the charts for several weeks.
About the Concert for Peace and the Israel Ibero-America Chamber of Commerce
The third edition of the Concert for Peace commemorated the 71st anniversary of the abolition of Costa Rica’s army. Find out more on the Concert for Peace page of the Israel Ibero-America Chamber of Commerce (CILIB) and in its profiles on Israel and Argentina.
