Christopher Webber:

>Has Barenboim ever played Ketelbey in Israel? If not, why not? I for one
would be fiercely indignant if censorship proved to be responsible for the
absence of "In the Mystic Land of Egypt" from Israeli music schedules.

It is some years ago now - but not that many - that in the Sherover Theatre
in Jerusalem I heard the first performance in Israel of Berlioz' L'enfance
du Christ with, of course, the famous Shepherds' Farewell to the Holy
Family as they get ready for The Flight Into Egypt.  (On that trip my own
flight into Egypt would have been impossible had I not taken the precaution
of having the Israelis provide my Israeli entry/exit visa on a loose piece
of paper rather than stamped in my passport for the Egyptians to see.)

I don't know how many times, if any, L'enfance has been performed since
in Israel, and as to why it took so long for its first performance there
your guess is as good as mine.  But it strikes me that there could be many
quiet ways, rather than proclamations and public outcry, to discourage
performance of 'musica non grata', if that's what you want to do, and
the quiet ways could possibly be far more effective overall even if
an occasional performance slips through the net now and again.

Alan Moss