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Dec. 29, 2006
Philharmonic Russians
Immigrants found a home in Israeli orchestra.
NECHEMIA MEYERS
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, now celebrating the 70th anniversary
of its establishment, is probably better today than it has ever
been in its long and distinguished history.
This is at least partly because of the dozens of immigrants from
the former Soviet Union who have joined its ranks in the last few
decades, to the extent that they account for some one-third of its
players. And for every position that becomes vacant, several such
immigrants will be among those competing for it.
According to Baruch Gross, a cellist who began his career with the
Kishinev Philharmonic and has been with the Israel Philharmonic
since the 1970s, "nobody knows the exact number of Russian
musicians who have come to Israel in recent decades. But there is
some truth in the old joke about a planeload of Russian immigrants,
half of whom walked down the metal staircase carrying violins; the
others, so the story goes, were all pianists."
Asked how the many thousands of immigrant musicians have managed
to find positions since their arrival, Gross replied: "Among
my friends from Kishinev, with whom I remain in regular contact,
all have good jobs. And to the best of my knowledge, a very large
percentage of the other olim [immigrants] have found employment
with existing orchestras or with the half-dozen new ones established
in response to the mass aliyah from the former Soviet Union. Others
work in one of the music academies or give private lessons.
"But some, I admit, haven't made it. All too often, I see an
immigrant musician playing on a street corner, his hat on the ground
so that, hopefully, passers-by will drop coins into it."
Fate has been kinder to Gross, a proud member of one of Israel's
most prestigious institutions, originally established by gifted
Warsaw violinist Bronislav Huberman. The founder was motivated by
Zionism and by the need to find employment for Jewish musicians
forced to flee Europe in the 1930s. It was a daring idea to create
a symphony orchestra in a small country distant from other musical
centres and primitive by European standards. But Huberman pulled
if off with the support of, among others, the great Arturo Toscanini,
who conducted its first concert.
Known then as the Palestine Orchestra, it was renamed the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra in 1948 with the establishment of the state
of Israel. Its first concerts under that name were given before
troops fresh from the battlefields and conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
"Lenny" was the first of many famous conductors to appear
with the IPO. But the greatest influence on the orchestra undoubtedly
has been that of its permanent conductor, Indian-born Zubin Mehta,
who was joined on the podium over the years by a significant percentage
of the world's most renowned soloists.
Gross feels that it has been a privilege to be associated with so
many great musicians and also to be among the ambassadors of Israeli
culture to the world. It is a world that has seen many changes since
Huberman established an orchestra of refugees in 1936, but even
now, Jewish musicians are sometimes forced to leave their countries
of residence and search for a refuge and a job here in Israel.
Nechemia Meyers is a freelance writer living in Rehovot,
Israel.
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