Review: The Israel Philharmonic was led by the same conductor for 40-plus years. His successor shines in L.A. debut

The Israel Philharmonic, founded the day after Christmas in 1936 as the Palestine Symphony and first conducted by Arturo Toscanini, cannot escape history. Saturday night the Israel Philharmonic performed for the first time at the Soraya, as part of the orchestra’s first overseas tour since the pandemic. This is the orchestra’s first tour with its young and electrifying new music director and a former Mehta protégé, Lahav Shani, and that is news. Lahav Shani conducts the Israel Philharmonic at The Soraya Saturday night Saturday’s performance of the 1941 symphony, which began the concert, proved a shattering reminder of the horrors nationalist forces unleashed in the past. More of the details in Ben-Haim’s symphony can be heard in the new Deutsche Grammophon recording of it with Shani and the Israel Philharmonic.