IPO on YouTube an experience in musical mastery

By Eileen Wingard

SAN DIEGO –The past three Sundays, the Israel Philharmonic Chamber Music Series featured some of their leading players: principal oboist, Dudu Carmel, on September 6; principal flutist, Guy Eshed, on September 13 and four principal string players — violinists David Radznisky and Dumitru Pocitari, violist Miriam Hartman and cellist Emanuele Silvestri — with their new conductor, Lahav Shani, at the piano, September 20. All these programs, as well as the first two, August 23 and 30, are still available on YouTube.

The September 6 concert was the most varied. Dudu Carmel was joined by his wife, Lenor Katz, newly appointed assistant principal cellist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the superb Vienna- trained pianist, Irit Rab. They opened with a Mozart Trio, with the oboe playing the violin part.

Cellist Lenor Katz, is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, and familiar to San Diego audiences from her recital at Congregation Beth El and as part of two Shuffle concerts, all arranged by San Diego America-Israel Cultural Foundation member, July Galper. Katz’s and Carmel’s harmonious playing in both the Mozart Trio and the concluding Glinka Trio, originally written for clarinet, bassoon and piano, was clearly evident.

Between the two trios, Carmel played a sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the only work on the program that was probably originally written for the oboe. In this performance, Carmel displayed his virtuosity and confirmed why he was a winner in the 1996 International Oboe Competition in France. Katz offered three transcriptions of Brahms Lieders, rendered with great charm.

The September 13 concert consisted of a single work, Mozart’s Flute Quartet. Guy Eshed, principal flute of the IPO was featured, with violinist Sivan Maayani, violist, Amir Van der Hal, and principal cellist, Emanuele Silvestri. The flutist played with beautiful tone and consummate phrasing. I was particularly reminded of my violin teacher at the Hochschule of Musik in Stuttgart, Germany, who pointed out that Mozart should be played, “zartlich,” with tenderness, it is, after all, part of his name. The foursome’s performance was, indeed, elegant, tender Mozart. The second movement, with the strings playing pizzicato (plucked strings) accompaniment to the flute melody, was particularly captivating.

The September 20 concert was also a single work, Anton Dvorak’s four movement Piano Quintet. Conductor Shani once again proved himself to be a magnificent pianist as he teamed with concertmasters David Radznisky and Dumitru Pocitari, principal violist Miriam Hartman, and principal cellist Emanuele Silvestri, to perform a stirring rendition of Dvorak’s work. The previous time I heard Shani’s piano performance was at the Philharmonic’s Gala, with Dame Helen Mirren as the master of ceremonies. This performance reaffirmed his prowess as a master of the keyboard. He is like a young Daniel Barenboim, one of his mentors, who is also equally outstanding as a pianist and a conductor. In addition, Shani’s collaborators shone and displayed why the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra continues to be one of the great orchestras of the world.

The coming five concerts are highly recommended. They will be performed during the afternoons of September 27, and the four Sundays in October. Of course, the American Friends of the IPO urges donations to help keep the orchestra afloat.

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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.