Eliahu Inbal

Eliahu Inbal, conductor

In Inbal, one can trace the clear traits of role models and teachers such as Franco Ferrara and Sergiu Celibidache; he possesses the strength for tranquillity and the sense to create unbridled passion and dramatic effect. (Die Welt)

Since winning first prize in the Cantelli Conducting Competition at the age of 26, Eliahu Inbal has enjoyed a career of international renown, conducting leading orchestras around the world. Over the years, he has been appointed principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (hr-Sinfonieorchester), Teatro La Fenice in Venice, RAI National Symphony, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Czech Philharmonic and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, who named him Conductor Laureate in 2014.

During his tenure with the hr-Sinfonieorchester (1974-1990), where he is still honorary conductor, Eliahu Inbal distinguished himself with his outstanding musicianship. Based in Berlin, the charismatic Israeli conductor has garnered international acclaim for his interpretations of Mahler and Bruckner on a number of award-winning recordings (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis,Grand Prix du Disque), and was the first to record the original versions of Bruckner’s symphonies. He has received special recognition particularly for his interpretations of Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies.

After an extensive series of concerts in 2016 on the occasion of his 80^th birthday, including with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice, another recent highlight has been Mahler’s Eighth at the newly opened Elbphilharmonie Hamburg in 2017. In spring 2018 he returned to Asia at the invitation of the China Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, and the Singapore Symphony. The opening of the 2018 Rheingau Music Festival with the hr-Sinfonieorchester and Puccini´s Messa da Gloria was broadcast live on Arte Concert and subsequently on 3Sat. In November 2018, Inbal will conduct the SWR Symphonieorchester on its first tour of Spain, with performances in Madrid and Barcelona, among others. In spring 2019 he will make his debut in St. Petersburg before returning to Japan with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Over the course of the season, Inbal will also return to the Tokoyo Metropolitan Symphony and to his hometown of Jerusalem, making additional appearances in France, Spain, Portugal, and Luxembourg.

His operatic engagements have taken him to opera houses in Paris, Glyndebourne, Munich, Stuttgart, Zurich, and Madrid, among others. He celebrated the 2013 Wagner anniversary year with highly acclaimed performances of Tristan and Isolde at the Festival de Opera de A Coruña and Parsifal at the Vlaamse Opera (International Opera Award 2014). Eliahu Inbal has also been awarded the national Italian critic’s prize Abbiati and Viotti for his exceptional interpretations of Wagner’s Ring with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra.

Eliahu Inbal’s extensive discography includes the complete symphonic works of Berlioz, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Ravel, Schumann, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, and the Second Viennese School. He has recorded these works with the hr-Sinfonieorchester as well as with the Philharmonia Orchestra London, Orchestre National de France, Vienna Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Czech Philharmonic. His performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (completed version by D. Cooke), part of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Mahler cycle, was also released on DVD.

Born in Israel, Eliahu Inbal studied violin and composition at the Jerusalem Music Academy before completing his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris on the recommendation of Leonard Bernstein. His teachers there included Louis Fourestier, Olivier Messiaen, and Nadia Boulanger. He was also greatly influenced by Franco Ferrara in Hilversum (Netherlands) and Sergiu Celibidache in Siena (Italy). In 1990, the French government named Eliahu Inbal an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. In February 2001 he was awarded the Golden Medal of Merit from the city of Vienna. He received the Goethe Badge of Honour from the City of Frankfurt and the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006.

2018/19 season

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This work [...] sounded incredibly cohesive under Inbal´s direction. Like a revolution via musical notes. A colourful yet still urgent music. Art that might possibly help -- if only to merely survive. Conductor and orchestra interpreted Shostakovich with thrilling intensity and the highest ability. "
Badische Zeitung, Johannes Adam, 14.11.18