Can an Israel Philharmonic Concert Be Just About Music?

If you buy a ticket to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, you are signing up for more than just music.

You should expect to be greeted by anti-Israel demonstrations, and to plan for heightened security: inspections of coats and bags outside, and agents flanking the stage inside. And don’t be surprised if all this makes the concert start late.

When the Israel Philharmonic returned to Carnegie last Wednesday through Saturday, though, the atmosphere was more tense than usual, with extra precautions in place. The first concert came several days after Israel and Hamas began a cease-fire in Gaza; the final one, on the eve of renewed violence that made clear how tenuous the truce remains.

In interviews, Lahav Shani, the Israel Philharmonic’s music director, has sought to separate the orchestra from the state of Israel. He told The New York Times that the Philharmonic “doesn’t represent any faction or party in the government,” and said: “But as an orchestra, as an organization, we’re speaking in one voice, and this is the voice of music.”

That may be an ideal, but the reality is more complicated. The orchestra receives a subsidy from the government, typically reported to be around 15 percent, and is described in its official biography as “Israel’s premier cultural ambassador.” Its Carnegie concerts have often begun with “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem.

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