Jerusalem, 9 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Thousands of people gathered outside the Tel Aviv Opera House to pay their final respects to israeli music icon Matti Caspi on Monday.
“Being here today, seeing so many people come to honor him, it really shows the depth of Matti’s impact. His music was not just songs — it was part of all our lives, and everyone who knew him feels that loss deeply,” musician Danny Robs told The Press Service of Israel. Robs collaborated with Caspi on numerous projects over 40 years.
Caspi, 76, died of cancer at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital the previous day. His coffin was placed in the plaza as the public filed past, while his songs played in the background, drawing applause from fans.
The funeral ceremony, hosted by Noam Semel, featured wreaths from various organizations and speeches from Mayor Ron Huldai and Caspi’s longtime collaborators, including Riki Gal, Shlomo Gronich, and Danny Robs. Soloists of the Israeli Opera, led by Adi Cohen, and musical director Dudi Zeva also participated.
“I came to honor Matti both as a composer and as a person. He composed my songs, including ‘Isabel,’ and beyond being a musical genius, he knew the humanity in it — the way to speak to people. He would come to rehearsals, create a good atmosphere, never show off, but quietly guide and inspire. He was something special,” composer Akiva Nof told TPS-IL.
“I used to sing at upper-A, and for ‘Isabel’ he told me before the recording, ‘Let’s do a rehearsal, and during the rehearsal, don’t strain yourself, sing in a low voice,’” Nof recalled to TPS-IL. “I sang in a low voice, and after the rehearsal I said, ‘Okay, now let’s record,’ and he replied, ‘It’s already been recorded.’ He was a guide, he would come to rehearsals and create a good atmosphere. He didn’t show off, didn’t let others feel that he was something special, but he was something special.”
Israelis fill the plaza of the Tel Aviv Opera House for the funeral of musician and composer Matti Caspi on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL
Cohen opened the ceremony with “Another Day,” composed by Caspi to words by Rachel Shapira, ending with the words: “Thank you, Matti.” She was followed by Israeli Opera singers performing classics including “A Moment of Silence,” “My Second Childhood,” “Shir Yona,” and “Ma Zat Ahava.” Gil Shohat then played a medley of Caspi’s tunes, followed by Gronich performing “Achrei Shna’sat (Vaotach),” joined later by Danny Robs for a rendition of “Tsiyur.”
“Thanks to his melodies, arrangements, and playing, we learned, among other things, what love is and what a place for concern looks like,” Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said. “He is the man who explained to us that elusive feeling we feel when we become parents and didn’t know how to call it our second childhood. His fingers and feverish mind shaped Israeli music and turned it into a patchwork quilt studded with influences from funk and jazz, classical music, and Brazilian music.”
Robs told TPS-IL, “Matti was the snowy edge of the mountain where the air is thin. He was the greatest Israeli musician of our generation, and I had the immense honor of working with him, singing with him, playing with him, even writing with him. Even after 40 years, my heart would still jump to see Matti’s name on my phone. He was a very special man, with a special sense of humor, with wonderful twists in his personality, and extraordinary talent.”
Born in 1949 on Kibbutz Hanita in northern Israel to parents who immigrated from Romania, Caspi showed musical talent from an early age. He began playing instruments as a child and studied piano formally before launching a professional career as a teenager. His early exposure to military performance frameworks in the late 1960s helped propel him into national recognition and marked the beginning of a decades-long presence at the center of Israeli music.
Over more than five decades, Caspi shaped the sound of popular and theatrical music in Israel, both as a performer and behind the scenes. He produced and guided numerous albums by other artists and was credited with helping introduce new styles and sounds into mainstream Israeli music from the 1970s onward.
According to the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel (ACUM), Caspi’s body of work includes more than 1,000 compositions. Many became deeply embedded in Israeli public life, performed across generations and adapted for stage, radio, and television. In 2006, he received ACUM’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his enduring influence.
Caspi is survived by his wife and four children from two marriages.
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