On Sunday, October 25, the IPO flew to Spain for a quick visit to Madrid and Barcelona, to perform Johannes Barhms's four symphonies. The orchestra, with music director Zubin Mehta, opened the season in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Kiryat Motzkin and Acre with two weeks of concerts, and now it was time to pay tribute to a dear friend of the orchestra in Spain: Alfonso Aijon.
For thirty years, the IPO has been "Aijon's" guest for concert tours. Beginning seven years before the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel, the IPO and Zubin Mehta have been regular guests visiting the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Festivals of San Sebastian and Santander; Bilbao, Santiago de Compostella, Valencia, La Coru÷Ìa and Zaragoza.
The orchestra opened its concerts in Madrid with a visit by SofÌa, Queen of Spain. The Queen was received with warm respect, the audience and orchestra rising to their feet and applauding. At intermission, Queen SofÌa honored the orchestra and the Maestro with a visit backstage, an event which was widely covered in the local press. The performance of the First and Second Symphonies of Brahms was met with cheers from the capacity crowd at the Auditorio Nacional de Musica.The next night, Brahms's Third and Fourth Symphonies were performed.
Also accompanying the orchestra was an enthusiastic group of the American Friends of the IPO. On Saturday evening, they had attended the annual Gala concert of the IPO Foundation in Tel Aviv, and then flew to hear the Madrid concerts. On Wednesday, the IPO traveled by fast train to Barcelona to perform at the Palau de la Musica. After the concert, impresario Aijon invited the 18 musicians who participated in the first IPO tour of 30 years ago to a festive dinner.
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Written by Peter Marck
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