“National Anthem of the State of Israel“ — New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra & Seiji Ozawa

The origins of “Hatikvah“ far predate its use as the Israeli national anthem, in use since soon after its founding as the first Jewish state in modern history. The music is based on a folk song of unknown origin, but appears several times in European folk songs and religious music. The arrangement by Shmuel Cohen from 1888 is probably based on a Romanian folk song he heard during his childhood in Romania, most likely “Carul cu boi“ (“The Ox Driven Cart“). The melody also somewhat resembles Smetana’s symphon