The setting was the acoustically wonderful Recanati Auditorium of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The occasion was the gala concert by the Israel Chamber Orchestra before its departure for a grand tour of nine Latin American countries. The audience of the sold-out performance was graced by the presence no less than six Ambassadors – Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Uruguay – and many Consular representatives from around the world. Also present were several Israeli VIP’s, including Ms. Orit Noked, Minister of Agriculture.
Conductor Yoav Talmi greeted the guests warmly in Hebrew and English, and even some Spanish. “This evening we will be giving you a taste of what we will be presenting to audiences in South America”, he said. The concert, which was passionately received by the audience, included works by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdi, Giacomo Puccini (in an arrangement by Conductor Talmi) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Before the intermission, in an encore after the Mendelssohn piano concerto, executed brilliantly by pianist Alon Goldstein, the conductor himself and Goldstein together presented a scintillating four-handed expression of one of Dvořák's Slavonic Dances.
The 25-day concert tour, at the invitation of several countries, is supported by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Culture & Sport Ministry, and the City of Tel Aviv. The orchestra will present 16 concerts, with two different programs that will demonstrate the full extent of the orchestra’s skill. The orchestra will portray Israel’s cultural and artistic expression, as well as intensify and extend the ties between Israel and the various communities – Jewish and otherwise – in those countries.
Conductor Yoav Talmi and pianist Alon Goldstein are well-known stars on the Israeli musical scene. Their skillful expertise, together with the other highly accomplished artists of the orchestra – as demonstrated at the gala concert – will surely light up the sky in the South American cities where they will be performing.
Bon chance to the orchestra.
