Pnina Salzman, the First Lady of piano in Israel, died in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv on Saturday at 84.

Tel Aviv born Pnina Salzman was the first Israeli pianist to have gained international fame. She was very young when she started to perform as a soloist around the world.

Professor (emeritus) Salzman of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music received the Israeli Prize for Music in 2006. She performed for kings, presidents, and prime ministers. International critique placed her as "one of the best five pianists of our time."

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She was invited to perform in the former Soviet Union in 1963 and is one of the first Israeli artists to have played Israeli music around the world.

Salzman continued working as a musician in the past year, giving piano lessons in the international piano workshop in Tel Hai and performing in concerts.

She is survived by a daughter, Yaira Yasmin, and two grandchildren. Her funeral will take place at 1 P.M. today at the Yarkon cemetery.