October 13, 2015
American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Celebrates its 35th Anniversary

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, joined by Music Director for Life Zubin Mehta, returns to the United States in November 2015 for an eight-city tour, with performances taking place in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Cleveland and Palm Desert, CA. The American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (AFIPO) will present gala benefits in five of these cities, as they celebrate their 35th Anniversarysupporting and broadening the Orchestra’s activities and artistic vision.

Since its founding, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has maintained a strong bond with its American supporters. The non-profit organizationAmerican Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (AFIPO) was created in 1980 to formalize and broaden the relationship between North America and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with continuing the tradition of giving. In addition to generating an endowment and increasing the reach of the Orchestra through financial support of national and international tours, AFIPO was also instrumental in developing KeyNote, the educational arm of the IPO. Founded in 2000, KeyNote programs bring the joy of classical music to over 29,000 children in Israel each year, while promoting tolerance and mutual respect. AFIPO seeks to strengthen the reach of the IPO as the preeminent cultural ambassador for the State of Israel and expand the support of classical music and musical education in Israel.

In their efforts to unite the diverse Israeli communities through musical collaboration and discipline, Shesh Besh, the Arab-Jewish Ensemble under the auspices of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, combines members of the IPO with some of the finest Arab-Israeli musicians. Working together to explore the fascinating ways in which Eastern and Western musical traditions can inform and enhance each other, Shesh Besh is a true symbol of cultural peace and mutual respect in the Middle East. Since its inception by Keynote in 2000, Shesh Besh has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood Music Festival, New York’s St. Bartholomew’s Church for the Alliance for Religion and Conservation, among others; in 2007, Shesh Besh was awarded the European Medal of Honor - Prize for Tolerance.

About Maestro Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta was born in 1936 in Bombay and received his first musical education under his father’s Mehli Mehta’s guidance who was a noted concert violinist and the founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. After a short period of pre-medical studies in Bombay, he left for Vienna in 1954 where he eventually entered the conducting program under Hans Swarowsky at the Akademie für Musik. Zubin Mehta won the Liverpool International Conducting Competition in 1958 and was also a prize-winner of the summer academy at Tanglewood. By 1961 he had already conducted the Vienna, Berlin and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras and has recently celebrated 50 years of musical collaboration with all three ensembles.

Maestro Mehta was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1967 and also assumed the Music Directorship of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1962, a post he retained until 1978. In 1969 he was appointed Music Adviser to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and was made Music Director of that orchestra in 1977. In 1981 the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra awarded him the title of Music Director for life. Zubin Mehta has conducted over three thousand concerts with this extraordinary ensemble including tours spanning five continents. In 1978 he took over the post as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic commencing a tenure lasting 13 years, the longest in the orchestra's history. Since 1985, he has been chief conductor of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence.

In 2006, Zubin Mehta was recognized for his extraordinary artistic achievements as a Kennedy Center Honoree. He was honored in October 2008 by the Japanese Imperial Family with the “Praemium Imperiale”. In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and became recipient of the Furtwängler Prize at Bonn’s prestigious Beethovenfest for his “dedication both to music and social issues.” The Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was bestowed to him in July 2012. The Indian Government honored him in September 2013 with the “Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony” which a year earlier was awarded to Ravi Shankar.

Zubin Mehta continues to support the discovery and furtherance of musical talents all over the world through the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation in Bombay and Tel Aviv.

 

About the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1936 as a haven for the oppressed Jewish virtuosi of Europe. Today, the Orchestra is recognized both nationally and internationally as an eminent musical institution and as Israel’s musical ambassador. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1936 by Bronislaw Huberman and its inaugural concert, on December 26, 1936, was conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The orchestra strives to promote artists, composers, and young talents from Israel and abroad through its commissions and premieres and has hosted most of the world's greatest conductors and soloists. With leaders such as Maestro Zubin Mehta, Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Yoel Levi, and Gianandrea Noseda, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra plays a vital role in Israel's musical and cultural development 79 years after its founding.

 

ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

2015 U.S. TOUR SCHEDULE

 

Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 7PM
Carnegie Hall
New York, NY
with Kristin Lewis, soprano and Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
MasterVoices

MAHLER: Symphony No. 2 in C minor
(AFIPO New York Benefit – click here for more information)

Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 7PM
Davies Symphony Hall
San Francisco, CA
BARDANASHVILI: A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major
(AFIPO San Francisco Benefit – click here for more information)

Monday, November 9, 2015 at 7:30PM
McCallum Theater
Palm Desert, CA
BARDANASHVILI: A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor

Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 6:30PM (check-in)
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Los Angeles, CA
VIVALDI: Concerto for 3 Violins in F Major
with Dumitru Pocitari, Asaf Maoz, and Semion Gavrikov; violin
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor
(AFIPO Los Angeles Benefit – click here for more information)

Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 8PM
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Los Angeles, CA
BARDANASHVILI: A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major

Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 8PM
Civic Theatre
San Diego, CA
BARDANASHVILI: A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major

Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 7PM
Symphony Center
Chicago, IL
BARDANASHVILI
A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major
(AFIPO Chicago Benefit – click here for more information)

Monday, November 16, 2015 at 8PM
Maltz Performing Arts Center
Cleveland, OH
BARDANASHVILI: A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor
(AFIPO Cleveland Benefit – click here for more information)

Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 8PM
Meyerson Symphony Center
Dallas, TX
BARDANASHVILI: A Journey to the End of the Millenium
RAVEL: La valse, poème chorégraphique
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor
(AFIPO Dallas Benefit - click here for more information)

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