CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Part of: Carnegie Classics
Performers
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta, Music Director and Conductor
Yefim Bronfman, Piano
Program
AMIT POZNANSKY Footnote Suite (NY Premiere)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben
Encores:
DEBUSSY "Clair de lune" from Suite bergamasque
MOZART Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.
Sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP
At a Glance
Also on this evening’s program is Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37, a work grounded in 18th-century Classical form yet full of novel ideas and structures. Like Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, the concerto is also an ambitious, confident work, much larger in scale than Beethoven’s previous piano concertos. The chaotic history of its composition and premiere performance reveals a culture of improvisation radically different from today’s classical music scene.
At the start of the program, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra gives the New York premiere of Israeli composer Amit Poznansky’s Footnote Suite, comprising several of the musical themes from the score to the 2011 film.
Bios
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) is one of Israel's oldest and most influential
cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1936, the IPO has dedicated itself to
presenting the world's greatest music to audiences in Israel and around the world. Founded
by Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman, the IPO represents the fulfillment of his dream "to
unite the desire of the country for an orchestra with the desire of the Jewish musicians
for a country." Huberman spent countless hours persuading first-chair musicians of Eastern
European and German orchestras, who had lost their jobs as a result of Nazism, to immigrate
to Palestine. In doing so, he created an "orchestra of soloists" which, under the esteemed
leadership of Zubin Mehta, continues to absorb new immigrants and act as a dynamic, global
community for musicians from across the world.
Major soloists and conductors have always performed with the IPO. Its inaugural concert
was conducted by Arturo Toscanini, who believed that his participation was a means to
demonstrate his opposition to fascism. Among Israelis, the memory of IPO Laureate Conductor
Leonard Bernstein leading the orchestra in front of 5,000 soldiers on the Negev dunes in
1948 remains a historic moment. The orchestra has also enjoyed associations with such
renowned artists as Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Yoel Levi, Yo-Yo Ma,
Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Itzhak Perlman, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Arthur Rubinstein, Gil
Shaham, Isaac Stern, and Pinchas Zukerman.
The IPO is Israel's premier cultural ambassador and travels extensively throughout the
world, particularly to countries where there is little or no Israeli representation. The
goodwill created by these tours--which have included historic visits to Japan, Argentina,
Poland, Hungary, Russia, China, and India--is of enormous value to the State of Israel. In
2005, the orchestra traveled to Berlin to commemorate 40 years of diplomatic relations
between Israel and Germany; to London, Paris, and Geneva on a tour co-sponsored by the
Weizmann and Pasteur institutes; and to South America, where the orchestra visited eight
cities in 20 days.
Due to the efforts of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation, the American Friends
of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the generous support of donors worldwide, the
orchestra returned to its home at Tel Aviv's newly renamed Charles Bronfman Auditorium in
March 2013 after extensive renovations.
Zubin Mehta
Born in Mumbai, Zubin Mehta grew up in a musical environment. His father, Mehli Mehta,
founded the Bombay Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the American Youth Symphony
in Los Angeles. Zubin Mehta's initial field of study was medicine, but he abandoned it at
the age of 18 to attend the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. Seven years
later, he conducted both the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker. He
rapidly became one of the world's most sought after conductors, holding directorships with
the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (1961-1967), Los Angeles Philharmonic (1962-1978),
New York Philharmonic (1978-1991), and Bayerische Staatsoper (1998-2006). The Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) appointed Mr. Mehta music advisor in 1969, music director in
1977, and music director for life in 1981. Combining concerts, recordings, and tours, Mr.
Mehta has conducted thousands of performances on five continents with the IPO. Since 1985,
he has also acted as chief conductor of the music festival Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in
Italy, becoming honorary conductor for life in 2006.
Mr. Mehta has received countless awards and distinctions, including the Kennedy Center
Honors; the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony in India; the President's Medal of
Distinction from Israeli President Shimon Peres; the Praemium Imperiale from the Japanese
imperial family; honorary doctorates from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
University, and Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel; a special recognition at the
ceremony of the Israel Prize; and a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is an honorary
citizen of both Florence and Tel Aviv, and an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera,
Bayerische Staatsoper, and Vienna's Musikverein. In 2006, his autobiography--Die
Partitur meines Leben: Erinnerungen (The Score of My Life: Memories)--was
published in Germany and Israel.
Zubin Mehta continues to support the discovery and promotion of musical talent all over
the world. Together with his brother Zarin, he is co-chairman of the Mehli Mehta Music
Foundation in Mumbai, where more than 200 children are educated in Western classical
music.
Yefim Bronfman
Internationally recognized as one of today's most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim
Bronfman stands among a handful of artists regularly sought by festivals, orchestras,
conductors, and recital series. His commanding technique, power, and exceptional lyrical
gifts are consistently acknowledged by the press and audiences alike.
In recognition of a relationship of more than 30 years, Mr. Bronfman joins the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra--conducted by Zubin Mehta--for concerts during the orchestra's US
tour in the fall, followed by performances in Munich, London, and Vienna with the Bavarian
Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons, another frequent partner and collaborator. In
addition to returning to perform with the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra,
Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, he tours with the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrés Orozco-Estrada in a special program to celebrate his 60th
birthday in the spring. In Europe, he also can be heard with the Berliner Philharmoniker;
in recital in Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, and the UK; and on tour with the Leipzig
Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons. A tour in Asia with the London Symphony
Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda brings the season to a close in June.
Mr. Bronfman has also given numerous solo recitals in the leading halls of North America,
Europe, and Asia, including acclaimed debuts at Carnegie Hall in 1989 and Avery Fisher Hall
(now David Geffen Hall) in 1993. In 1991, he gave a series of joint recitals with Isaac
Stern in Russia, marking Mr. Bronfman's first public performances there since his
immigration to Israel at age 15. That same year, he was awarded the prestigious Avery
Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given to American instrumentalists. Born in
Tashkent in the Soviet Union, Yefim Bronfman immigrated to Israel with his family in
1973.