{"id":11669,"date":"2026-03-02T22:35:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/?page_id=11669"},"modified":"2026-03-03T09:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:13:44","slug":"nancy-brandes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/nancy-brandes\/","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Brandes"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Nancy Brandes<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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Nancy Brandes \u2013 an Israeli arranger, composer, and conductor of Romanian origin \u2013 played a central role in shaping some of Ofra Haza\u2019s most iconic sounds during the 1980s. From the recordings that marked her major mainstream breakthrough to the refined ballads released shortly before she captured international attention, Brandes had a rare ability to translate Ofra\u2019s voice into rich, emotionally resonant, and deeply soul-stirring arrangements.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A Moment of Mission: \"On This Cursed Ground\"\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Brandes often recalls the emotionally charged moment in Munich in 1983, only minutes before they walked onto the Eurovision stage:<\/strong><\/p>

“Nancy, we must win on this cursed ground.”<\/span> (Ofra Haza to Nancy Brandes, minutes before taking the stage)<\/p><\/blockquote>

For Brandes, standing on that stage with Ofra was more than a professional moment – it was a personal dream come true. \u201cAs if I touched the sky,\u201d he recalled. He remembered her rare discipline, uncompromising professionalism, and humility even as she became a global star.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1986: World Cup celebrations in Buenos Aires<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Although Brandes often says in interviews that his personal connection with Ofra was largely limited to the Eurovision period, the material preserved in the site\u2019s archive presents a much broader picture. In 1986, during Ofra\u2019s visit to Argentina, the two were documented in a remarkable historical scene: celebrating at Buenos Aires\u2019 Obelisk square with millions of people\u2014including Diego Maradona \u2014 following Argentina\u2019s World Cup victory.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Musical Partnership: From Eurovision to \"Shvil Tapu'ach HaZahav\"<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u2731 1983 | Akharei ha-Khagim<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Ofra Haza and Avi Toledano Duet)<\/b> \u2013 Arrangement of the successful duet with Avi Toledano, featuring a warm and rich Israeli-pop sound.<\/p>

\u2731 1983 | Chai<\/a> (Pre-Eurovision and Eurovision)<\/b> \u2013 The shared peak moment where Nancy arranged the song and conducted the German orchestra live.<\/p>

\u2731 1983 | Vas, Vas, Vas<\/a> \/ Frei<\/a> \/ High<\/a><\/b> \u2013 Arrangement of the international versions of Chai.<\/p>

\u2731 1988 | Shvil Tapu\u2019ach HaZahav<\/strong><\/a><\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A delicate ballad arranged by Brandes for Ofra on the very eve of her major international breakthrough with the album Shaday<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>

\u2731 1992 | Ha-Or (Uri Feinman)<\/b> \u2013 An arrangement for a song written by Ofra and Bezalel for the pre-Eurovision contest.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nancy Brandes Nancy Brandes \u2013 an Israeli arranger, composer, and conductor of Romanian origin \u2013 played a central role in shaping some of Ofra Haza\u2019s most iconic sounds during the 1980s. From the recordings that marked her major mainstream breakthrough to the refined ballads released shortly before she captured international attention, Brandes had a rare […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11669","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11669"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11690,"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11669\/revisions\/11690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofrahazaofficial.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}