Nurit Hirsch, who composed two of Israel's entries to the Eurovision Song Contest, among them the 1978 winner Abanibi, thinks that nowdays the Eurovision Song Contest is only appropriate for the younger generation. She said that to the Israeli website Nrg.co.il.
Nurit Hirsch composed Israel's first entry ever to Eurovision Ey-Sham, in 1973. She went on stage in Luxembourg to conduct the orchestra, thus becoming one of the few female conductors in the history of the contest. In 1978 she composed and conductedAbanibi for Yizhar Cohen, which won the contest in Paris.
In the build up to the release of a new CD compilation of the best loved songs she composed over the years, Hirsch gave an interview to the Israeli website Nrg.co.il, where she also talks about the Eurovision Song Contest: "I do my best to watch the contest each and every year. Its part of my profession and I like it. I think the contest is changing, and for the better. There were years the contest stood still but now its developing with different styles of music- World music, the regular ballads and more". Hirsch added: "I think Shiri Maymon's song (in 2005) was an excellent ballad and this year's entry was harmonic and melodic. The factor that influenced most on the victory of Finland was the band's costumes. Its all a result of the televoting era in the contest. It is ruled by the 'SMS generation'- the young audience. The contest belongs to them now".
