The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has been a welcome visitor at Symphony Center five times since 1996. On Sunday, the orchestra, celebrated as Israel's foremost cultural ambassador, will bring a program to Chicago that includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (Eroica,) Ravel's La Valse and a work by contemporary Israeli composer Josef Bardanashvili. Zubin Mehta, the orchestra's music director for life, will lead this program at Symphony Center on November 15 at 7:00 p.m.
The history of this storied ensemble, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary during the 2015/16 season, stretches back even farther than the founding of the State of Israel. Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman founded the orchestra in 1936 as a haven for Jewish virtuoso musicians fleeing oppression in Europe, some 12 years before the founding of the Jewish state.
The IPO program opens with Bardanashvili's symphonic poem A Journey to the End of the Millennium, based on his critically acclaimed opera of the same name. The epic work by this Georgian-born, Israeli composer suggests a musical journey of the Jewish people from their early days through the 20th century.
Of course, the Jews have experienced several historic, world-changing journeys in their long and storied history: to Babylon and Egypt in ancient times, and finally to the Promised Land. During the 20th Century, many undertook another historic journey, returning to Israel from the far corners of Europe and Russia where the diaspora had taken them.
It is hard to imagine another ensemble more suited to the performance of A Journey to the End of the Millennium than the Israel Philharmonic, sharing as they do one of the epic journeys described in this symphonic poem.
Many musicians in the present day have made important journeys of their own to play with the Israel Philharmonic. I recently had the opportunity to talk with violinist Sharon Cohen, a member of the first violin section of the IPO for the past three years.
Cohen was born in New York City to Israeli parents, and moved with them to Israel when she was 7 years old. She has lived in Israel for many years, but frequently returned to the U.S. to study at the New England Conservatory (and, of course, to found A Far Cry.) One of the constants in her life as an international citizen has been the Israel Philharmonic.
© 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
