Mehta, Israel Philharmonic to Embark on Soviet Tour

Conductor Zubin Mehta this month breaks the sound barrier in Israeli-Soviet relations, proving that music is a language that knows no boundaries.

Mehta, music director of the Israel Philharmonic for 21 years, is taking the orchestra on its first tour of Moscow, Riga and Leningrad despite the absence of diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union over the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

“You know we can’t change boundaries. Musicians can’t talk about that. But we can make people smile at each other and today, God knows, that’s important,” said the 54-year-old conductor.

It will be a remarkable return engagement. A fourth of the 110 musicians are former Soviet citizens.

The tour, featuring violin soloist Itzhak Perlman, runs from Thursday to May 3.

Mehta, a native of India and outgoing music director of the New York Philharmonic, began his association with the Israeli orchestra by accident 29 years ago when, at 25, he stood in for an ailing conductor.

He has now been music director of the Israel Philharmonic for 21 years and says the Soviet tour will fulfill the first of his three dreams for the orchestra. The other two--trips to Egypt and India--seem more remote because of diplomatic complications.

Mehta said he pleaded in vain with former Prime Minister Menachem Begin to send the Philharmonic to Egypt as a goodwill gesture after the signing of the 1978 Camp David peace accords.

As for India, despite an Israeli interest section in Mehta’s hometown of Bombay, relations are cold and prospects bleak.

Diplomatic relations with Moscow, still only a hope because of differences over peace with the Palestinians, have inched closer under Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

Israel and the Soviet Union have increased cultural, scientific and sports links since exchanging exploratory consular missions three years ago.

In addition, an influx of Soviet Jews has bolstered many sectors of Israeli society, including the orchestra. Mehta said the Philharmonic is unable to absorb all the applicants.

Married to an American, Mehta lives in Los Angeles, devoting four months each year to the Israel Philharmonic and five to the New York orchestra.