UMaine Musicologist Tracking Roots of Israel Philharmonic
Contact: Phillips Silver, (207) 581-1783, George Manlove, (207) 581-3756
ORONO — Phillip Silver, pianist and associate professor of music, has begun research through which he hopes to uncover the story behind the founding of the Israel Philharmonic.
Considered one of the best major symphony orchestras in the world, the 69-year-old Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra has an extraordinary history, according to Silver, who researches and performs music of the Holocaust era.
Founded in 1936 in Tel Aviv by Polish-born Jewish violinist and musician Bronislaw Huberman, the orchestra was designed to draw some of the best Jewish musicians away from the Nazi threat and impending Holocaust in Europe. According to Silver, it worked.
Huberman invited 75 hand-picked musicians to join the orchestra in an undeveloped British-ruled territory that would become Israel in 1948. Originally named the Palestine Orchestra, the inaugural concert Dec. 26, 1936 was conducted by the legendary Italian cellist and conductor Arturo Toscanini, director of The Met in New York from 1908-1915 and musical director of the New York Philharmonic from 1926 to 1938. Preparatory work prior to Toscanini’s arrival was done by William Steinberg, a great conductor in his own right.
What was initially characterized as an orchestra of soloists, the Palestine Orchestra crystallized over the first 10 years. Languages spoken by its members included German, Polish, Hungarian, Russian and Hebrew. When Israel became a recognized state in 1948, the orchestra was given its current name.
Though many well-known international musicians and conductors have been associated with the orchestra, including Michael Taube, George Singer, Mark Lavri, Paul Ben-Haim and Leonard Bernstein, the founding members of the orchestra are not so well known. Silver’s research could be the first comprehensive study in English on the formation of the orchestra.
“I haven’t found extensive writings about this subject,” says Silver, who is using a semester sabbatical to do the majority of his research. “This is a very complex story, one which goes beyond purely academic interests because of the incredible personal stories of the musicians and the traumatic circumstances of their lives.”
Silver recently returned from Israel where he began preliminary research into the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra through its current directors and archives. On a return trip to Israel in the fall, he hopes to interview the last surviving member of the original orchestra, flautist Uri Toeplitz.
Many of the musicians were refugees and former members of the Kulturbund Deutsche Juden (“The Cultural Association of German Jews”) formed in 1933 in Germany as a private venue for Jewish performers and artists after the Third Reich banned Jews from public employment and a few years before the Holocaust. Silver wants to find as many individual stories about the original membership as possible.
“I want to know who the members were and where they came from. Where did the funding come from? What kind of cultural infrastructure was already established in 1936?” he asks. “I’m curious to know