List of notable or famous conductors from Israel, with bios and photos, including the top conductors born in Israel and even some popular conductors who immigrated to Israel. If you're trying to find out the names of famous Israeli conductors then this list is the perfect resource for you. These conductors are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known conductor from Israel is included when available.
This list has everything from Itzhak Perlman to Daniel Barenboim.
This historic conductors from Israel list can help answer the questions "Who are some Israeli conductors of note?" and "Who are the most famous conductors from Israel?" These prominent conductors of Israel may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected Israeli conductors.
Use this list of renowned Israeli conductors to discover some new conductors that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. {#nodes}
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Amos Meller
Amos Meller (1938-January 23, 2007) is best remembered as an Israeli composer and conductor. He was born in Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh and died in Tel Aviv.
In his lifetime, he was a member if the Israeli volleyball team, a flutist, a violinist, and a poet.
During his career he led orchestras in China, Moscow, and France. In March 2003 he was asked to direct the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra and also the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra of Taiwan. He was the first Israeli to direct these orchestras.
Daniel Barenboim, KBE (German: [หbaหสษnbษสm]; Hebrew: ืื ืืื ืืืจื ืืืืโ; born 15 November 1942) is a pianist and conductor who is a citizen of Argentina, Israel, Palestine, and Spain.
The current general music director of the Berlin State Opera and the Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim previously served as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and La Scala in Milan. Barenboim is known for his work with the WestโEastern Divan Orchestra, a Seville-based orchestra of young Arab and Israeli musicians, and as a resolute critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
Barenboim has received many awards and prizes, including seven Grammy awards, an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, France's Lรฉgion d'honneur both as a Commander and Grand Officier, and the German Groรes Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband. Together with the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, he was given Spain's Prince of Asturias Concord Award. Barenboim is a polyglot, fluent in Spanish, Hebrew, English, French, Italian, and German. A self-described Spinozist, he is significantly influenced by Spinoza's life and thought.
Eliahu Inbal (born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor.
Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim. Upon hearing him there, Leonard Bernstein endorsed a scholarship for Inbal to study conducting at the Conservatoire de Paris, and he also took courses with Sergiu Celibidache and Franco Ferrara in Hilversum, Netherlands. At Novara, he won first prize at the 1963 Guido Cantelli conducting competition.
Inbal made most of his early appearances in Italy, but a successful British debut in 1965 with the London Philharmonic led to a number of other engagements with British orchestras. He subsequently worked with a number of orchestras throughout Europe and in America, and eventually took joint British citizenship.
From 1974 to 1990, he was the principal conductor of the hr-Sinfonieorchester in Frankfurt. With them, he was the first to record the original versions of several of Anton Bruckner's symphonies, for which he won the Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplatten-Kritik. He also recorded a complete cycle of the symphonies of Gustav Mahler and Dmitri Shostakovich. From 1984 to 1989, he was chief conductor at La Fenice in Venice. From 2003 to 2011, he conducted a series of the complete symphonies of Bruckner at the Rheingau Musik Festival with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, concluding with the unfinished Ninth Symphony. He was appointed music director of La Fenice in January, 2007.
From 2009 to 2012, Inbal served as the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. Inbal also served as the principal conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2014, and currently is the Conductor Laureate of the orchestra.
It was announced in March 2019 that Inbal will be the chief conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra from August 2019, with a contract of three years.
Inbal has conducted a wide variety of works. He is best known for his interpretations of late-Romantic works, but is also noted as an opera conductor, and has given the premieres of a number of modern works.
Ilan Volkov (Hebrew: ืืืื ืืืืงืืโ; born September 8, 1976, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli orchestral conductor.
Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, was a concert pianist of Ukrainian ancestry. His mother, Professor Shulamit Volkov of The School of Historical Studies in Tel Aviv University, is of German ancestry.Volkov studied with the conductor Mendi Rodan at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, before continuing at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At age 19, he was named Young Conductor in Association to the Northern Sinfonia. He later served as conductor of Young Sinfonia, the youth orchestra of the Northern Sinfonia. In 1997, he became Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. In 1999, Seiji Ozawa named Volkov the Assistant Conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.Volkov first conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) in 1998. He became Chief Conductor of the BBC SSO in January 2003, the youngest chief conductor appointed to a BBC orchestra at the time. He was named the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Musician of the Year in 2004, in recognition of his work with the BBC SSO. In September 2007, the orchestra announced Volkov's departure from the BBC SSO chief conductorship in September 2009. In December 2008, the BBC SSO announced the appointment of Volkov as its principal guest conductor, to commence after the conclusion of his tenure as chief conductor, for an initial contract of 3 years with 4 weeks of scheduled guest-conducting appearances. In January 2011, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra named Volkov as its 9th chief conductor and music director, effective with the 2011-2012 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. His initial contract was for 3 years, with 6 weeks of scheduled appearances in his first season and 9 weeks of concerts in subsequent seasons. Volkov concluded his tenure with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in August 2014, following the orchestra's debut at The Proms.Volkov has made a speciality of recording long-unperformed or never before recorded works by neglected artists. He himself has spoken of his affinity with music written "between 1909 and the 20s". Volkov has made several recordings for the Hyperion label.Volkov and his partner Maya Dunietz have a daughter, Nadia, born in August 2007 in Israel. In Tel Aviv, Volkov and the jazz musician Assif Tsahar have established the performing venue Levontine 7.
