A New Tribute to Avi Piamenta Becomes a Global Musical Challenge

Achiya Cohen has released a new single, “Nigon Avraham,” marking one year since the death of legendary flutist, arranger and creator Avi Piamenta. The song is timed for Piamenta’s yahrzeit, on 8 Tammuz, and Cohen says it completes a personal musical circle after he previously dedicated “Yosef Nigon” to the memory of Yossi Piamenta.

Cohen says the melody came to him on Motzaei Shabbat, the same night he received the news of Avi Piamenta’s death. He wrote it in response to Piamenta’s groundbreaking music and as a tribute to his “special soul.” What began as a memorial piece quickly turned into something much larger, even before the official release.

The third part of the composition, which is musically demanding, became an online challenge. Cohen invited musicians from around the world to try performing it, and the response was described as unprecedented. Hundreds asked for the sheet music, the piece began being played at weddings and other events, and dozens of performance videos were sent in from across the globe.

To turn the tribute into a living collaboration, Cohen incorporated dozens of those submitted performances into the official music video. The result, he said, is “a melody full of soul,” blending tradition and innovation, longing and joy, into a collective tribute to the artist who inspired them.