1. Benaroya Hall holds 2,500 people. It’s an acoustic paradise, especially when it’s full. Welcoming guests is a major mitzvah, so think of your attendance as giving some visiting Israelis the warmest Seattle welcome.
2. The orchestra is celebrating an anniversary: 75 years since its creation in 1936. Twelve years before than the birth of the State of Israel, the Polish Jewish violinist Bronislaw Huberman founded this refuge for Jewish orchestra musicians, all kicked out of their jobs in Nazi Germany. Huberman dedicated his life to music as an instrument of international goodwill. The orchestra’s home hall in Tel Aviv is on Huberman Street.
3. The conductor’s celebrating an anniversary: 50 years since the legendary Zubin Mehta (from India! Not even Jewish!) first conducted the IPO, in 1961. He and the orchestra have been, basically, married ever since.
4. Because so many of the original players had been soloists in German orchestras, the IPO has often been called “an orchestra of soloists.” That’s kind of like political and social life in Israel, so watching Israelis make music together is a way to show your support for the triumph of harmony. Maybe the message will go beyond the concert hall?
5. Mahler. Webern (the early, Romantic Webern). Beethoven. It’s a great musical program. They’re one of the great orchestras of the world. Music conquers fear. Music speaks beyond borders.