Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra opens 89th season
The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of new music director Dmitry Yablonsky, opens its 89th season with concerts on October 12 and 13 in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The program features Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, with soloist American pianist Rufus Choi.
The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (JSO) opens its 89th season with two concerts: October 12 in Tel Aviv (Claremont Hall) and October 13 in Jerusalem (Henry Crown Hall). At the podium is the orchestra's new music director Dmitry Yablonsky, appointed for a five-year term through 2031. He succeeded maestro Julian Rachlin. Soloist is American pianist Rufus Choi, a Juilliard School graduate and student of Oxana Yablonskaya. The program includes Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 and Symphony No. 8, as well as Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. The article details Yablonsky's biography: his career as conductor and cellist, performances on leading world stages, discography (over 80 albums), and a Grammy nomination in 2008. It also recounts his personal story—his family endured years of refusal in the USSR, and Israel helped them emigrate. Among Yablonsky's plans is the construction of a new concert hall in Jerusalem with 1,195 seats, corresponding to the number of those killed on October 7. The article also includes brief notes on the works in the program.