Israel Philharmonic to Embark on Five-City US Tour in Florida and California

The Israel Philharmonic will return to the United States for a five-city tour, March 19–26, 2025, conducted by Music Director Lahav Shani. The tour is presented by American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic, and it marks the orchestra’s first return to the US since its 2022 tour, when Shani made his US debut as Music Director. Pfizer is the Israel Philharmonic US Tour Presenting Sponsor.

On the 2025 US tour, the orchestra performs great works of classical music from the 19th and 20th centuries. A beloved work in the classical canon, Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, “Scottish,” was composed after Mendelssohn visited Scotland and was inspired by the country’s natural beauty. Each program on the tour also features a symphony by Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 or Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique.”

Several cities on the tour will hear three works that were directly inspired by or written for the Jewish community. Prayer is a 1961 work for string orchestra by Tzvi Avni, written in honor of his father who was killed in 1938 during the 1936–39 Arab Revolt. In 2001, Avni was awarded the Israel Prize, the greatest honor bestowed upon artists in Israel. Following the IPO’s most recent performance of Prayer in Tel Aviv, Avni wrote to the orchestra, “Prayer has received several performances over the years. But the performance of the work this time by the Israel Philharmonic was especially moving.”
 

Bruch’s Kol Nidrei (1880) draws its title from the powerful prayer recited on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. The solo cello imitates the lilting voice of the synagogue’s cantor; Bruch himself was inspired by the cantor-in-chief of Berlin, to whom he was introduced by his teacher. Bruch wrote, “Even though I am a Protestant, as an artist I deeply felt the outstanding beauty of these melodies and therefore I gladly spread them through my arrangement.”

Bernstein’s Halil (1981) is dedicated to the memory of Israeli flutist Yadin Tanenbaum, who was killed on October 7, 1973 during the Yom Kippur war — ironically, exactly 50 years before the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. “Halil” means “flute” in Hebrew, and the work’s solo flute part is performed on this tour by Principal Flute Guy Eshed. The Israel Philharmonic gave the work’s world premiere in 1981, conducted by the composer, and has performed it many times since then. Eshed says, “Playing this powerful piece is so meaningful because what are we fighting for, if not for culture and art? The fact that we are all here together, giving some serenity in this wildness outside, means everything.” In this video, Eshed speaks with Yadin Tanenbaum's sister, Ella Tanenbaum-Koren.