The following article is an overview of the career of Israeli pianist, arranger, and comedian Silviu Nansi Brandes. The main source of information is an interview with Mr Brandes, conducted by Bas Tukker in Tel Aviv in December 2011. The article below is subdivided into two main parts; a general career overview (part 3) and a part dedicated to Silviu Nansi Brandes' Eurovision involvement (part 4).
All material below: © Bas Tukker / 2011
Contents
- Passport
- Short Eurovision record
- Biography
- Eurovision Song Contest
- Other artists about Silviu Nansi Brandes
- Eurovision involvement year by year
- Sources & links
PASSPORT
Born: May 1st, 1946, Bacău (Romania)
Nationality: Romanian (1946-1975) / Israeli (1975-)
SHORT EUROVISION RECORD
In the Eurovision Song Contest editions of 1982 and 1983, Silviu Nansi Brandes was the arranger and conductor of the Israeli entries ‘Hora’ and ‘Hi’, interpreted by Avi Toledano and Ofra Haza respectively. Both of these songs finished in second place. Moreover, he was involved in the 1989 effort from Israel as well, ‘Derech ha-melech’, for which he wrote the arrangement in collaboration with composer Shaike Paikov.
BIOGRAPHY
Silviu Nansi Brandes – usually known simply as Nansi Brandes – was born into a Jewish family in Bacău, north-eastern Romania, just one year after the Second World War. Nansi’s father worked as a tailor. The family moved to the capital Bucharest one year after Nansi was born.
“My parents were lucky to survive the war without having suffered too much from ill-treatment by the Nazis or the Antonescu regime. Sure, life was hard for them… and conditions did not improve much after the war. Both of my parents were avid amateur musicians. My father was a good singer, while my mother played the piano. There was a piano in our house and I started trying my hand at this fascinating instrument when I was just four years of age. My parents believed I had some talent and when I was old enough, they sent me to a piano teacher. For some three years, I made my teachers’ life a hell. I was not the easiest of children and, though I liked the piano, I hated the lessons so much, that I changed teacher every year. The last one told my father, “Mr Brandes, I am sorry, but my health is more precious to me than your money”. When I was nine, my father decided these music lessons were no use. From that moment on, I stopped practicing music and focused on that other passion, playing football.”
Nansi as a teenager with a prehistoric keyboard
A couple of years later, when he entered secondary school, Nansi returned to studying music, after he had made an important discovery.
“I must have been twelve or thirteen years old, at high school… a boy who was in my class and played some piano, attracted girls like a magnet. Though my lessons had been discontinued for years, I knew I was a much better pianist than him even then. Conquering girls and women has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember… even before I could read or write! Therefore, as an adolescent, I started taking up the piano studies like a madman – because of the girls. They really were my principal motivation to take music seriously. It wasn't so much classical music, but the entertainment music which interested me."
"In 1963, with four friends, I founded a group, Roşu şi Negru, in which I played the Hammond organ. Our examples were the Shadows with Cliff Richard; yes, their music was acceptable to the communist party in Romania, because Cliff and his men cut their hair properly! The Beatles, however were banned from the radio because of their hairdo… their music was believed to corrupt the youth. We played to our comrades at school, but gradually we won some fame and were invited to perform in dance halls in Bucharest.”
Nansi Brandes decided to pursue a thorough classical education at the George Enescu Conservatoire in Iaşi (Jassy), northern Romania. Starting his studies there in 1966, his main subject was the piano, while he also took classes in harmony, instrumentation, arranging, and conducting. In 1970, he graduated with flying colours.
“All the while, I knew I wanted to be a pop star and a pop star only. Nonetheless, this classical education was important. In a way, Bach and Beethoven laid the foundations for popular music. The knowledge I acquired about harmony and instrumentation at the conservatory has been helpful throughout my career. For my school band, I already wrote the arrangements – but these were somewhat rudimentary. At the conservatoire, I learnt to orchestrate for the full range of instruments."
Performing his military service in the Romanian army
"When I left Bucharest to study in Iaşi, Roşu şi Negru was disbanded. In Iaşi, however, I formed a new group with the same name. I invited two guitarists from the nightclub band Gaudeamus, Florin Marcovici and Bondi Stenzler, to join the new Roşu şi Negru. As in the previous band, I was not only the Hammond organist, but the composer, arranger, and impresario as well. Yes, I was quite businessman-like, as far as possible in a communist country! In Iaşi, we made our first studio recordings.”
In 1969, Roşu şi Negru experienced its real breakthrough at the so-called Festival Club A in Bucharest, the first-ever pop music festival in Romania. Brandes and his band won the festival with their entry ‘Cry baby’, while also taking away the trophy for best solo vocalist and best rock performance. Mixing glam rock, jazz, and progressive pop, Roşu şi Negru became Romania’s most popular act. Often, the group performed with additional instruments, like brass and flute, creating a sound not unlike well-liked Western pop acts of the early 1970s, such as Focus and Blood, Sweat & Tears.
After Brandes had completed his obligatory six months of military service (1970), he transferred Roşu şi Negru from Iaşi to Bucharest. In the five following years, the band recorded three albums, while many of their song creations – such as ‘Soare şi vânt’ (1971) and ‘Cadrane’ (1972) – climbed the Romanian charts. Besides many live concerts across Romania, Roşu şi Negru was often invited to perform on nationwide television, not only with its own repertoire, but as an accompanying band for other vocalists as well.
Meanwhile, Nansi Brandes managed to broaden his professional activities in Bucharest. He has some hit compositions for other artists to his credit, including ‘Povestea’ for Cornel Constantiniu (1973) and ‘Gînduri’ for Aurelian Andreescu (1975); moreover, he wrote a couple of songs for Romanian superstar Mihaela Mihai. More surprisingly, Brandes composed for the theatre, writing the accompanying music to a Romanian staging of Molière’s play The Imaginary Invalid. In spite of all success, Brandes felt increasingly unhappy about the conditions under which he had to work.
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One of the many different formations of Roşu şi Negru, from left to right: Moby, Emil Trocan, Ovidiu Lipan, Florin Marcovici, and Nansi Brandes
“True, under the communists in Romania, bands were allowed to play the wildest possible guitar music, as long as the lyrics were not offensive – that is: offensive to communist ideology. Before each television appearance, all our lyrics were meticulously checked by a party censor. Hilariously, innocent words were sometimes understood as a metaphor for the political situation and in those cases, we were forced to adapt the lyrics. In the course of the 1970s, the Ceauşescu regime became more and more oppressive, curtailing artistic freedom. I felt deeply frustrated about that. What was more, authorities did not allow us to perform abroad. As our music was highly internationally orientated, we received offers to perform in West Germany, Luxembourg, France, and Italy, but time and again, these offers were refused by Romanian party officials."
"In 1975, we were invited to perform in Bulgaria, but not even this was allowed. For me, this was the final straw… Bulgaria was ruled by communists as well, belonged to the Eastern block – it was a prison similar to Romania. I had had enough; j’en ai marre, ça suffit! I went to the Israeli embassy and asked for a visa for Israel. Now, the Romanian state was paid 5,000 dollar by a Jewish organisation in the USA for every Jew who was allowed to move to Israel – understandably, the authorities in Bucharest were quite keen to capitalize on this goldmine, allowing 200,000 Jews to move to Israel. Nevertheless, all applicants had to wait for two years before the Romanian state would permit them to leave… not in my case, however. Within a month, I had received all necessary papers! Clearly, the communists thought I was a bad example for Romanian youth. The sooner I left the country, the better it was for them.”
“Coming to Israel was a shock. On Sunday, I did my last live concert with Roşu şi Negru in Bucharest, which some 10,000 people attended. Afterwards, I cried, embracing the other group members to say goodbye. My plane to Tel Aviv flew on Monday – and on Tuesday I was working as an anonymous bar pianist in Jaffa. Nobody knew me, nobody noticed me… from a farewell concert with thousands of spectators to zero in a matter of just two days. I told myself to be happy about every little job that came my way – types of work I would not even have considered doing in Romania; playing in nightclubs, for example. The fact that I lowered my expectations and thereby avoided disappointment kept me going."
"Still in 1975, I had to cease my professional activities for three months to perform military service for my new home country. In spite of this, slowly but gradually, I climbed the ladder… first, I was invited to become the keyboard player in the accompanying band of Shimi Tavori. Thanks to Eldad Shrem, who was extremely helpful in those early years, I became Ilanit’s piano player at live stage shows. In fact, Eldad helped me into the business and I later became one of his fiercest rivals as an arranger… he created a monster! Nevertheless, we have always remained good friends.”
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Working as a bandleader in a theatre concert (1980s)
Asher Reuveni, Shimi Tavori’s impresario, much impressed by Brandes’ abilities as a pianist, entrusted him with the arrangement of ‘Moshe’, the song with which Tavori won the 1979 Oriental Song Festival. It was Brandes’ first success as an arranger. From the early 1980s onwards, he became known as one of Israel’s most prolific song arrangers, especially estimated for his ability to score Mizrahi or oriental music. Among dozens of others, Brandes worked with such Israeli stars as Mirel Reznik, Yehoram Gaon, Avi Toledano, Tsvika Pik, Ilanit, Shimi Tavori, Chaim Moshe, Shlomi Shabat, Doron Mazar, and Ofra Haza.
Without a shadow of a doubt, however, his arrangements for Zohar Argov (1955-87), the King of Mizrahi, are his most recognized contributions to Israeli pop music. Brandes arranged Argov’s hugely successful album ‘Up to date’, which included ‘Ha’perach begani’, the winning song of the 1982 Oriental Song Festival and, more significantly, one of the most popular songs in Israel of all times.
Nansi Brandes has very sharp recollections of his first encounter with Zohar Argov. “Again, it was Asher Reuveni who got me the job… he wanted me to arrange ‘Ha-perach begani’ for the Oriental Song Festival. I did not even know who Zohar Argov was. A week before the festival, Asher sent Zohar over to my place in Bat Yam to talk the arrangement through. Now, my Hebrew was still quite lapidary… when Zohar said he wanted us to open with a mawwal, a traditional Arab vocal start of a piece of music, I was sure he meant malawah, a Yemenite fried bread. Therefore, I replied, “If you want to eat, there is a Turkish restaurant downstairs”. After clearing up all misunderstanding, Zohar sang his mawwal. I was riveted to my chair… that was really something! In the arrangement, I combined the three elements of my musical upbringing: symphonic music, rock, and traditional Balkan folk."
"A week later, we were at the Binyanei Ha-Ouma Congress Hall for the rehearsals. Zohar and Asher came to hear the sixty-four man strong orchestra (conducted by Yitzhak Graziani - BT) playing my arrangement for ‘Ha-perach begani’. When the orchestra had finished, Zohar hugged me with tears in his eyes, saying, “You are God, I swear you are God!” Zohar Argov was a genius, who usually recorded songs in just one take. When asked to do another one, he was able to sing a totally different version just as perfectly. The guy had a remarkable talent for improvisation.”
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Nansi Brandes managed to keep finding enough work as an arranger, in spite of the changing market, mainly thanks to his ability to modernize – in ’85, he was one of Israel’s first producers who bought a computer. Besides his work as a studio arranger, Brandes developed a string of other professional activities. He wrote the soundtracks to three motion pictures, ‘Abba Ganuv II’ (1989), ‘Neshika bametzach’ (1990), and ‘Tipat Mazal’ (1994), of which the two last-mentioned titles won the Ophir Award, the most important film prize in Israel. Moreover, Brandes accompanied many artists in live concerts as a pianist and musical director. Between 1985 and 1995, he was the chief conductor of the Big Band of the Israeli Air Force.
“With the Israeli Air Force Band, I played big band music in the style of Quincy Jones. It was a new challenge for me, as I had never really explored jazz before in my life. I had a wonderful time with the band, participating in many manifestations, including a TV gala on the occasion of the fortieth birthday of the State of Israel in 1988”.
In 2001, Nansi Brandes made the most striking of career moves; he climbed the stage as a stand-up comedian. “In reality, it was less striking than you would think at first sight. My friends have always said I am a fool. In Romania, on stage with Roşu şi Negru, I made jokes about Ceauşescu in between songs. One of Ceauşescu’s sons was a fan of Roşu şi Negru and he often warned me that I was living on the edge, as he could not protect me once the communists would want to punish me for these remarks. Later, when I was a musician or MD for Ilanit and other singers, I liked to perform all kinds of practical jokes on stage while seated at the piano. I readily admit to being flamboyant; I just love being on stage and entertaining an audience. At one point, I decided that this was what I wanted to do professionally. In fact, now that I am successful in this corner of the business, it's a dream come true for me.”
Nansi’s approach as a performer can perhaps best be described as ‘comic musical theatre Las Vegas style’; for his shows, he prefers working with a full orchestra and classically educated singers, with which he does parodies of operas and classical symphonies. In between the different music pieces, he entertains the audience with stand-up comedy. In addition to his work on stage, Brandes is a well-liked guest in Israeli chat and comedy shows. A full thirty years after leaving the country he was born and raised, Brandes also managed to make a comeback on the Romanian market with translated versions of his Israeli stage shows.
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On stage in one of his comic music theatre shows (2012)
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Silviu Nansi Brandes conducted two consecutive Israeli Eurovision entries: ‘Hora’ (1982) and ‘Hi’ (1983); not accidentally, both songs were composed by Avi Toledano, who was a good friend of his. Toledano himself performed ‘Hora’ – which, as Brandes’ recollections prove, is another case in which the arranger should be credited at least at the same level for the final product as the composer.
“Avi told me he had written a disco hit, which had the English working title ‘I Gave You My Heart’. He wanted me to create an upbeat disco sound to the melody. I wasn't too enthusiastic, as I felt Avi lacked the aura of a disco singer… it wouldn't have been authentic. My lukewarm reactions could not convince him to change ideas – Avi insisted on disco! Now, his publisher Shlomo Zach, a powerful man in Israeli show business, who appreciated my string arrangements in gypsy style which I had written to some other song, wanted me to copy this concept for ‘Hora’. In those days, nobody opposed Shlomo – so Avi had to back down and ‘Hora’ became a folk song in gypsy style rather than a disco tune. Shlomo’s instinct did not betray him; ‘Hora’ was a huge hit in Israel and earned him loads of money.”
What was more, after Avi Toledano had won the Kdam, the Israeli Eurovision pre-selection in 1982, with the song, he went on to represent Israel in Harrogate (England) and finished second behind runaway winner Nicole from West Germany.
“I could have killed Nicole,”, Brandes laughs. “When I heard ‘Ein bisschen Frieden’, I was convinced that was the winner… les jeux étaient faits. We were happy to be the best of the rest. To my surprise, the orchestra musicians in Harrogate had been looking forward to rehearsing with me, because my name was spelled Nancy Brandes in the official programme and all of them expected to work with a female conductor. Of course, it was a good joke. Everyone has always called me Nansi, but to avoid confusion and to make my name sound somewhat more masculine, I decided to add my Romanian first given name Silviu – though I have never used it in daily life. That is the reason why I was introduced to the audience as Silviu Nansi Brandes in the two Eurovision finals in which I participated.”
Sheet music of Avi Toledano's 1982 Eurovision entry 'Hora'
Did Brandes find working with a foreign orchestra challenging? “No, not at all. True, in 1982, I did not have much experience as a conductor on stage, but I had been writing and recording orchestrations for years already – starting with Roşu şi Negru before I left Romania. Moreover, at the music academy, I studied classical conducting. Really, nobody had to instruct me on how to work with the orchestra of the BBC in Harrogate. When working with an orchestra, I always start by making the musicians feel at ease by making them laugh. Even the following year, in Munich, I managed to get some laughs from these Germans, who are not exactly known for their sense of humour. It requires some intelligence to use the right jokes at the right time, but I think that is one of my qualities!”
In 1983, Avi Toledano penned the Israeli entry again, a most pleasant sing-along in the best Israeli Eurovision tradition: ‘Hi’. The Yemenite-Jewish singer Ofra Haza (1957-2000), who later won huge international acclaim with ethnically inspired music, interpreted it and managed to earn Israel another second place in the Eurovision Song Contest which was held in Munich (West Germany). The fact that the festival was held in Germany added some extra edge to the determination of the Israeli delegation to obtain a good score.
“A couple of days before the contest," Brandes digs into his memory, "we visited the concentration camp of Dachau, the oldest of the German death camps from the days of Nazi rule. Ofra, who was moved to tears when hearing about the horrors which had passed there, confided to me when we walked out the camp gate, “Nansi, with the history of anti-Semitism in this country, the symbolic value of winning the festival in Germany would be massive.” As I could feel her emotion, I was close to being reduced to tears myself. Ofra Haza, la pauvre, she was a great artist and I feel privileged to have worked with her. Quite contrary to Harrogate the year before, we were indignant when we lost the festival with a couple of points to Luxembourg. Just two countries did not give Israel any votes, Cyprus and Turkey – it was so obvious they ignored us for political reasons… it was immensely frustrating!”
Not for the first time in Eurovision history, the Israeli delegation was surrounded by top-notch security personnel. “I could understand it was wise to have a guard with us, given the political situation in the Middle East, but the guy who was sent by Israeli’s embassy in West Germany really took things slightly too seriously. He was a paranoiac who kept telling us all kinds of false rumours about impending danger… of course, this did not help us feeling at ease in Munich. Can you imagine; during the broadcast, at the point when I was about to be introduced to the audience by the German host, he grabbed my arm and whispered, “When you hear a gun, please remember to fall flat on the floor immediately.” Just seconds later, I took my bow with a smile… and of course nothing happened.”
Nansi Brandes in 1983; picture taken from the official Eurovision 1983 programme
Silviu Nansi Brandes never returned to the international Eurovision stage, although he came close on several more occasions. He composed ‘Nagni la balalaika’ for Doron Mazar, who finished second in the 1986 Kdam behind the duo Moti Giladi and Sarai Tzuriel with their song ‘Yavoh yom’. “I could not help but feeling hugely disappointed once again. My song had the potential to be a hit in the whole of Europe, while ‘Yavoh yom’ was a hideous piece of music which finished near the bottom of the scoreboard in the Eurovision final.”
In 1989, Brandes co-wrote the arrangement to the Israeli entry ‘Derech ha-melech’, but composer Shaike Paikov chose to conduct the Eurovision orchestra himself. When asked about 'Derech ha-melech', Brandes comments, “The original idea of the arrangement for this song was mine, so I should have conducted it. Shaike made things worse by claiming I had not been involved in writing the arrangement at all. Having said that, I am not the kind of person to be down-hearted for too long – and the song did not do well anyway!”
Nansi Brandes wrote the arrangements to many Kdam entries, but, unless a song he orchestrated actually won, his participation did not involve any conducting, because, usually, the Kdam organization in the 1980s and 1990s opted for backing tapes instead of a live orchestra. The 1991 edition of the pre-selection was one of the exceptions, but two of the involved conductors – besides Nansi Brandes also Kobi Oshrat – confirm the orchestra did not play live; to avoid sound problems, all arrangements had been pre-recorded a couple of days before the actual broadcast. With a play-backing orchestra in front of him, Brandes decided to add a little spice to his conducting performance.
“It was not live anyway, so I allowed myself to behave as a true showman by clapping my hands during the chorus of ‘Hava nagila’. It was performed by Uri Feinman, who came second. Being aware there were some close-ups of the orchestra, I felt I had to do something special for the Israeli audience. Television is all about being noticed… and why not clap and dance along to the music? True, I did not do this when I represented Israel in the international contest with ‘Hora’ and ‘Hi’, but a European audience wouldn't have understood me, whereas the Israeli TV public which watched Kdam knew my style and character. Compared to Kdam, Eurovision was something sacred and I did not want to make the impression of not taking representing my country seriously. Representing Israel in those two Eurovisions was an honour, something which I took enormous pride in... and that's how I think back of it.”
Brandes (in white) on the 1983 Eurovision stage in Munich, surrounded by participants from his own Israeli delegation (to his left) as well as from Turkey (including conductor Buğra Uğur), Switzerland, and Austria
OTHER ARTISTS ABOUT SILVIU NANSI BRANDES
So far, we have not gathered comments of other artists who worked with Silviu Nansi Brandes.
EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR
Country – Israel
Song title – "Hora"
Rendition – Avi Toledano
Lyrics – Yoram Tahar-Lev
Composition – Avi Toledano
Studio arrangement – Silviu Nansi Brandes
Live orchestration – Silviu Nansi Brandes
Conductor – Silviu Nansi Brandes
Score – 2nd place (100 votes)
Country – Israel
Song title – "Hi"
Rendition – Ofra Haza
Lyrics – Ehud Manor
Composition – Avi Toledano
Studio arrangement – Silviu Nansi Brandes
Live orchestration – Silviu Nansi Brandes
Conductor – Silviu Nansi Brandes
Score – 2nd place (136 votes)
Country – Israel
Song title – "Derech ha-melech"
Rendition – Gili Netanel & Galit Burg
Lyrics – Shaike Paikov
Composition – Shaike Paikov
Studio arrangement – Silviu Nansi Brandes / Shaike Paikov
Live orchestration – Shaike Paikov
Conductor – Shaike Paikov
Score – 12th place (50 votes)
SOURCES & LINKS
- Bas Tukker interviewed Silviu Nansi Brandes in Tel Aviv, December 2011
- Many thanks to Amir Herschkovitsch for doing some valuable research in Israeli popular music history
- All photos courtesy of Silviu Nansi Brandes
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