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THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC 70TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT
Premiered on November 21, 2007 on PBS (check local listings)
ESSAY
A SPECIAL AFFINITY
(continued)
Relative calm in the Middle East made it possible for Toscanini and the Palestine Symphony to travel to Egypt for concerts in the orchestra's early years, but tensions between Jews and Arabs in the region grew more volatile, especially after the end of World War II and with the strong push for a Jewish state. The orchestra survived it all, and on May 14, 1947, as the renamed Israel Philharmonic, performed the new country's national anthem, "Hatikva," in a ceremony marking Israel's declaration of independence.
That declaration was followed the next day by an all-out attack on Israel by its Arab neighbors. The Israel Philharmonic became a significant morale-booster during the conflict, for, as the late violinist Isaac Stern says in footage included in the program, the people wanted and needed music as much as bread. A young American conductor named Leonard Bernstein became an extraordinary source of such artistic nourishment during those difficult times.
Bernstein had made his debut with the orchestra in 1947, when it was still known as the Palestine Symphony, leading performances of his own "Jeremiah Symphony" and earning an ovation "second only to that accorded Toscanini," according to Bernstein biographer John Briggs. The conductor returned in September 1948, just after the assassination of the UN mediator in the region, undeterred by the rising danger. He was there to make music, no matter what the circumstances. To quote Briggs again: "If Israel had cheered Bernstein before, it now embraced him as a national hero."
At a concert in Jerusalem in October, while he was conducting the Israel Philharmonic in Beethoven's "Leonore Overture No. 3," artillery shells exploded nearby, just as the solo trumpet sounded the call of liberation in that dramatic work. Later, in Rehovot, there were air raid warnings while Bernstein was performing as soloist and conductor in the first movement of Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 1." He decided to proceed with the second movement anyway, saying afterward: "I never played such an adagio in my life. I thought it was my swan song."
In November, with the fighting still raging, Bernstein called for volunteers from the orchestra to travel with him to Beer Sheba, which was not far from the battle line, and 30 members stepped up. Bernstein and the musicians performed for 5,000 Israeli soldiers, including many of the wounded. He played and conducted piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven and, as an encore, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." The Egyptian army, learning about the event from spotter planes, apparently assumed that all those soldiers must have gathered for a fresh attack. The Egyptians pulled some their own troops back from the Jerusalem area, a move credited with unintentionally helping the Israelis.
By the time the war ended, the bond between Bernstein and the Philharmonic was fully cemented. Although he reluctantly declined an offer to become music director (his career was just starting back in the States), he never lost his connection to the orchestra. He conducted the ensemble on its first U.S. tour in 1950 and frequently revisited Israel to lead the orchestra there. One of those occasions proved particularly memorable.
In July 1967, after the Six Day War, Bernstein and the Philharmonic collaborated on a concert to celebrate the unification of Jerusalem, a performance still fondly recalled by Israelis. Held on the slopes of Mount Scopus, the program included Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto," with Isaac Stern as soloist, and the last three movements of Mahler's "Resurrection Symphony." Despite strong wind and relentless sun, the music-making proved stellar. Once again, the Philharmonic served as a kind of sounding board for the nation's emotions.
To this day, the orchestra remains much more than a cultural institution. Its special spirit continues to attract the world's finest conductors and soloists, Jews and non-Jews, who, like Toscanini back at the beginning, have felt connected to an entire people through this ensemble. There is no clearer example of this than Zubin Mehta, the conductor from Bombay who was named music director for life in 1981, 20 years after his first appearance with the Philharmonic. (Like Bernstein, Mehta has done his share of war duty, some of it during the Six Day War, and also during the Persian Gulf War, as Scud missiles fell on Israel from Iraq and the audience wore gas masks.)
Born, and repeatedly challenged, in times of adversity, the Israel Philharmonic remains an exceptional testament to the art and promise of music.
Top banner photo: Zubin Mehta leads the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
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photo: Zubin Mehta
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