Israel Philharmonic / Israel Philharmonic 60th Anniversary Gala Concert (2 CD Set)
| Album: | Israel Philharmonic 60th Anniversary Gala Concert (2 CD Set) | Collection: | Classical | |
| Artist: | Israel Philharmonic | Added: | Oct 2021 | |
| Label: | Bmg Distribution | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2022-02-26 | Pull Date: | 2022-04-30 | Charts: | Classical/Experimental |
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Album Review
Gary Lemco
Reviewed 2021-10-31
Reviewed 2021-10-31
The Israel Philharmonic: 60th Anniversary Gala Concert
Label: RCA/BMG
Reviewed 2020-6-1. Gary Lemco
December 26, 1996 marked the 60th anniversary of the Israel Philharmonic, established in 1936 in Palestine by virtuoso violinist Bronislaw Huberman as part of a safe haven for those fleeing Nazi oppression. Almost exclusively a concert for violins and orchestra in the first half, the second half features the Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D under Zubin Mehta. The Philharmonic is also led by Daniel Barenboim and Pinchas Zukerman, opening with the 1826 Oberon Overture of Carl Maria von Weber, who took his cue from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was Weber who “invented” the Romantic style in music.
Zubin Mehta leads the Bach Double Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1043, with Isaac Stern and Gil Shahan. The second movement Largo ma non tanto remains thoroughly enchanting in its contrapuntal “simplicity” of style, a lovely duet. Bach’s own model for violin writing, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is represented with his own Concerto for 4 Violins and Orchestra, Op. 3, No. 10. The soloists – Shlomo Mintz, Gil Shaham, Maxim Vengerov, Menahem Breuer - play in a series of “mirror” or “echo” effects, in close imitation. In the slow movement, the violin alternates bowed (arco) and plucked figures (pizzicatos). After an opening unison for the four violins, the last movement Allegro suggests a spirited, rustic dance with an active bass line. The dynamics range from the quite soft to the ardent surge of sound that anticipates Rossini’s love of crescendos.
Pinchas Zukerman conducts Mozart’s 1776 Serenade No. 6 in D. K. 239, the so-called Serenata notturna. Set in an antique style, the orchestra divides itself into a large and small ensemble, in the manner of a concerto grosso. The martial first movement has swagger, and its episodes feature strings against the tympani. The Menuetto continues the march-like tempo, while its middle section allows the violin, viola, and double bass some intimate, chamber music effects. The sectionalized Rondo finale proceeds in Viennese style, featuring a new theme late in the dance.
To end the concert’s first half, violinist Itzhak Perlman and violist Pinchas Zukerman combine for Johan Halvorsen’s arrangement of Handel’s Passacaglia and Sarabande taken from Handel’s Suite No. 7 in G Minor for harpsichord (1720). A constant bass pattern underlies the series of variations, which become increasingly “modern” and colorfully virtuosic.
The Brahms Second Symphony (1877) gives us the composer’s equivalent of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony: bucolic, generally optimistic, often assertive, while still touched in places by a resigned melancholy. A deep Romantic, Brahms suppresses his emotions by clothing them in Classical forms. The second movement, Adagio non troppo, more openly reveals its tragic awareness, in modal colors. Brahms avoids a scherzo third movement, opting for an Allegretto that serves as an intermezzo. The last movement does deliver a more unbuttoned Brahms, determined to find a sense of triumph while working through various relaxations in the momentum
Note: The Weber and Brahms works appeared on the original program in Palestine 26 December 1936.
Reviewed 2020-6-1. Gary Lemco
December 26, 1996 marked the 60th anniversary of the Israel Philharmonic, established in 1936 in Palestine by virtuoso violinist Bronislaw Huberman as part of a safe haven for those fleeing Nazi oppression. Almost exclusively a concert for violins and orchestra in the first half, the second half features the Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D under Zubin Mehta. The Philharmonic is also led by Daniel Barenboim and Pinchas Zukerman, opening with the 1826 Oberon Overture of Carl Maria von Weber, who took his cue from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was Weber who “invented” the Romantic style in music.
Zubin Mehta leads the Bach Double Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1043, with Isaac Stern and Gil Shahan. The second movement Largo ma non tanto remains thoroughly enchanting in its contrapuntal “simplicity” of style, a lovely duet. Bach’s own model for violin writing, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is represented with his own Concerto for 4 Violins and Orchestra, Op. 3, No. 10. The soloists – Shlomo Mintz, Gil Shaham, Maxim Vengerov, Menahem Breuer - play in a series of “mirror” or “echo” effects, in close imitation. In the slow movement, the violin alternates bowed (arco) and plucked figures (pizzicatos). After an opening unison for the four violins, the last movement Allegro suggests a spirited, rustic dance with an active bass line. The dynamics range from the quite soft to the ardent surge of sound that anticipates Rossini’s love of crescendos.
Pinchas Zukerman conducts Mozart’s 1776 Serenade No. 6 in D. K. 239, the so-called Serenata notturna. Set in an antique style, the orchestra divides itself into a large and small ensemble, in the manner of a concerto grosso. The martial first movement has swagger, and its episodes feature strings against the tympani. The Menuetto continues the march-like tempo, while its middle section allows the violin, viola, and double bass some intimate, chamber music effects. The sectionalized Rondo finale proceeds in Viennese style, featuring a new theme late in the dance.
To end the concert’s first half, violinist Itzhak Perlman and violist Pinchas Zukerman combine for Johan Halvorsen’s arrangement of Handel’s Passacaglia and Sarabande taken from Handel’s Suite No. 7 in G Minor for harpsichord (1720). A constant bass pattern underlies the series of variations, which become increasingly “modern” and colorfully virtuosic.
The Brahms Second Symphony (1877) gives us the composer’s equivalent of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony: bucolic, generally optimistic, often assertive, while still touched in places by a resigned melancholy. A deep Romantic, Brahms suppresses his emotions by clothing them in Classical forms. The second movement, Adagio non troppo, more openly reveals its tragic awareness, in modal colors. Brahms avoids a scherzo third movement, opting for an Allegretto that serves as an intermezzo. The last movement does deliver a more unbuttoned Brahms, determined to find a sense of triumph while working through various relaxations in the momentum
Note: The Weber and Brahms works appeared on the original program in Palestine 26 December 1936.
Track Listing