Zubin Mehta conducts Beethoven, Ben-Haim, Saint-Saëns, Weber, and Ravel

The year is 1990, and the world-renowned Berliner Philharmoniker are about to finish their first ever tour in Israel. At the podium on this historic evening: the legendary Zubin Mehta, who has conducted the tour's previous six concerts—in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv—leading to the grand finale at the Fredric Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. Here, the great German orchestra will team up, artistically and symbolically, with the Israel Philharmonic.

With a total of 300 musicians, this ensemble of epic proportions, featuring two of the world's greatest orchestras, emblematizes a historical reconciliation between their nations. The Psalm from Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim's First Symphony, which begins the program, resounds as a moving tribute to Jewish culture. The festivities conclude with a pulse-racing, poignant rendition of Beethoven's Fifth—one of the only works monumental enough to close out a concert like this!