Christoph Eschenbach and the Israel Philharmonic

Christoph Eschenbach was in Israel last week for concerts with the Israel Philharmonic. But his first rehearsal was interrupted by an air raid alarm and the musicians were forced to move to a shelter as soon as possible. As a child Eschenbach had suffered through World War II - his parents were killed and he grew up with a foster mother - and now here he was again in the middle of a war. Hamas was firing missiles into Israel from Gaza, and Israel was bombing Hamas targets in Gaza. Fortunately, a cease fire was worked out with the help of Egypt and the United States, and the concerts went on as planned. This video interview was made during the rehearsals last week. Eschenbach talks about his early life and about music as a force for peace.

 Paul E. Robinson