Zubin Mehta returns to Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for eight concerts

Maestro Zubin Mehta has a long history of friendship with Israel and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Although he retired in 2019 as its music director, a position he held for 50 years, he maintains a strong connection with the IPO and will conduct two sets of programs, four performances each.

These will be held in Tel Aviv at the Charles Bronfman Cultural Hall; Haifa, at the Rappaport Auditorium; and in Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Theatre, between February 21 and March 5.

For the first set of programs (February 21-26), Mehta will share the stage with soprano Zarina Abaeva, who makes her Israel debut with the orchestra. Abaeva is a soloist with the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre in Russia; a guest soloist with the Moscow Theatre New Opera, named after E.V. Kolobova; and sings at the famous Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy.

During the spring of 2023, she was hailed for her appearance at the Maggio in the role of Desdemona in the opera “Othello” under the baton of chief conductor Mehta. She has a long list of leading roles at major opera houses all over the world and is lauded by critics as one of the best artists of her generation.

She will perform three much-loved and famous arias by Verdi: “Pace, Pace,” from La Forzza del Destino, “Ritorna Vincitor,” from Aida, and “Tu che Vanita,” from Don Carlos. The second half of the program will star Mehta and the IPO performing Symphony No.7 by Anton Dvorak.

The second set of programs (March 1 through March 5) will have a different character and atmosphere. Mehta and the IPO will open with the overture to Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and then be joined by violinist superstar, Pinchas Zukerman performing Mozart’s violin concerto No.5 (Also known as the Turkish concerto).

Zukerman is an artist of excellence and a longtime friend of Mehta and the IPO. Born in Israel in 1948, he began playing the recorder at age four, and then studied violin at the Samuel Rubin Academy of Music, (now the Buchmann Mehta School of Music).

In 1962, encouraged by Pablo Casals and Isaac Stern, he moved to New York to study at the Julliard School with Ivan Galamian.

The rest is history as he rose to the top of his field and added the viola to his virtuosity. He has received kudos and awards for his skills as a conductor and has been hailed as an inspiring teacher at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and at his master classes around the world.

The second half of this IPO program will take the listener to a different century with the romantic and rich music of Symphony No.4 (the Romantic) in E flat major by Anton Bruckner. This is Bruckner’s most popular symphony, which remains a benchmark of excellence in symphonic literature. It is also a work loved by Mehta and one of his most celebrated recordings on the Decca label.

Mehta quipped to The Jerusalem Post, shortly before departing from the IPO in 2019, that although he was looking forward to having more breathing space after retirement, his schedule was booked solid for the next 10 years with guest appearances. Of course, he did not know his concerts in 2024 in Israel would take place during a war; however, wars in Israel have never deterred him.

In 1967, he boarded one of the last flights to Israel before the Six-Day War and led the IPO, pianist Daniel Barenboim, and cellist Jacqueline Du Pre in a spectacular victory concert.

In 1973, he took the IPO to the field and performed concerts for the IDF during the Yom Kippur War. In 1982, he took the orchestra to Lebanon to give concerts for the Lebanese and Israelis.

In 1991, he was here when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched rockets at Israel. Following the government’s strict curfew rules, he gave concerts in the mornings when Saddam was not attacking.

In 2010, he took the orchestra to the Gaza border to make music and protest the abduction of Gilad Schalit.

A stalwart friend of Israel, it should be a remarkable and uplifting experience to hear and see Mehta and friends again making music together.

For more information and tickets, call *3766 or visit www.ipo.co.il.