Jewish orchestra makes its debut

By Mindy Gill

Israel’s leading chamber orchestra will make its Australian debut at Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) this September.

This exclusive Australian tour will see the orchestra perform two concerts in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall exploring the ongoing resonance of Jewish sacred and folk music.

The acclaimed Israel Camerata Jerusalem Orchestra started as an experiment and has been hugely successful in bringing together established and emerging musicians.

MRC’s director of artistic planning Marshall McGuire said: “The opportunity to experience this chamber orchestra’s creativity, inventiveness and originality will make this one of the most remarkable – and unmissable – classical performances in Melbourne this year.”

The highlight of these performances will be works by Ukrainian/Israeli composer Mark Kopytman, who is renowned for crafting beautiful compositions.

In addition to Dvorak’s impassioned Cello Concert in B minor and Haydn’s joyous Symphony No. 85 The Queen, the first concert features Kopytman’s Beyond All This … – a major work from an important voice in classical music.

“It is a mixture of reflections of the feelings, thoughts and dreams about the people and the country to which I belong,” Mr Kopytman said.

The second concert, Remembrance, will provide a sharp contrast highlighting another of Kopytman’s landmark works Kaddish, in memory of the composer’s late father.

Joining the Camerata is Israeli cellist Zvi Plesser who has performed worldwide and collaborated with leading instrumentalists and conductors including appearing as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in a special concert conducted by maestro Simon Rattle.

Mr Plesser will join these performances as soloist in Dvorak’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto in B minor on September 19 and the Cello Concerto in C by Haydn in the second performance.

Concert 1: Beyond All This – Thursday, September 15, 7.30pm, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

Concert 2: Remembrance – Monday, September 19, 7.30pm, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

Book tickets at www.melbournerecital.com.au