The venerated pianist, playing the first Shostakovich concerto last night in Tel Aviv with the Israel Philharmonic, asked the conductor Lahav Shani to announce that she was playing the encore for Alon Ohel, a prisoner of Hamas, whose plight had touched her heart.
Alon Ohel, 24, a pianist, was seized from the Nova dance festival on October 7, 2023 and has been held captive in Gaza tunnels ever since.
Martha, 83, is keeping his plight alive. She played the sarabande from J S Bach’s second partita for solo keyboard.
The second half of the concert was a performance of Paul Ben Haim’s second symphony, which is being recorded for DG.
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