Milestones in the life of David Shallon
1950
1950-10-15
Born in Tel Aviv as Dan David Shenkel, son of Efraim Shenkel and Pnina Zaitman. His parents changed the family name to Shallon around 1952.
1960s
1960ies
Started learning the violin with Alice Fenyves.
1963
Took first conducting lessons with Noam Sheriff, who was like a father figure for him for many years. Sheriff also taught him a lot about orchestration, composition and let him jump in to conduct a semi-professional orchestra in a performance at age 16.
1967
David played the violin in the National Gadna-Youth Orchestra under Rony-Riklis in Israel. Extensive world tour with actor-comedian Danny Kaye as conductor. Concerts in Rome, Milan, Geneva, Zurich, Kerkrade, Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Paris, London, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Caracas, Winnipeg.
Many lifelong friendships started then, and the enthusiasm of the Youth Orchestra marked David for the whole life.
1968
1968-69
Studied violin and music theory at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv while still going to High School.
1969
Graduated from Music High School ‘Telma Yelin’ with very good grades.
1970
1970-1973
Played the Horn in the Israeli Defense Forces Orchestra (‘Tizmoret Tzahal’). David had taken lessons with Yaakov Mishori from the Israel Philharmonic to be able to do his compulsory three-year-military service as a musician.
1973
1973-1975
Studied conducting in Vienna with Hans Swarowsky. Studied the Violin as 2 nd subject with Günther Pichler.
Swarowsky about David Shallon
1974
Spending the summer with his friends in a masterclass with his charismatic teacher Ramy Shevelov.
Chamber music masterclass with his violin teacher Ramy Shevelov in Zichron Yaakov, Israel
1974-1979
Assisted Leonard Bernstein for several concerts and film productions with the Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and the Orchestre National de France.
1975
1975-05-14
Conducted the Tonkünstlerorchester at Musikverein Vienna for his Diploma Concert.
1978
First concerts with the Israel Philharmonic in Tel Aviv.
David grew up ‘next door’ to the IPO and visited as many concerts as possible as a young student. He worked as an assistant to the librarian at age 13 in return for tickets.
This was his musical home for a long time. He loved going back as a guest both for the music, as well as for the friendships with many players in the orchestra.
1979
1979-06-14
Conducted Fidelio at the Vienna Staatsoper, taking over from Leonard Bernstein for one performance.
1979, Letter from Bernstein about David Shallon
1980
1980-03-28
Debut with the Wiener Symphoniker, performing Mahler Symphony No. 3.
David Shallon conducted all Mahler Symphonies regularly throughout his career except for Symphony No. 8.
1980-05
World Premiere of Gottfried von Einem’s Opera ‘Jesu Hochzeit’ in Vienna, which turned into a theatre scandal.
1980
1980-10-15
Debut in Berlin, conducting the Radio Symphony Orchestra (now DSO) in the Philharmonie on his 30th birthday.
1981
First letter from his Japanese Management. Letter was addressed to David Shallon – Tel Aviv – Iran…..and arrived.
1981-11
The American management ICM started working for David and got him first engagements in Canada and the US.
Here he conducted the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
1984
1984-03
First Tour with ‘Junge Deutsche Philharmonie’ (eng. ‘The German National Youth Orchestra’).
David loved working with youth orchestras. He did many projects in the coming years with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the Kammerorchester of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and the Ensemble Modern.
1985
First project with the students’ orchestra of the Freiburg Music Academy. David conducted the students’ orchestra in 4 projects over the coming years.
Mahler Symphony no.5 in 1985,
Mahler Symphony no.2 in 1987,
Mahler Symphony no.7 in 1991,
Mahler Symphony no.9 in 1996.
In the early 80ies, the Freiburg music students were very actively working on a self-governed orchestra. In ’85 the Freiburger Barock Orchestra was founded among many of the Freiburg students of that time.
1986
1986-10-26
Haydn ‘The Creation’
This project was a political protest against the nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf, Bavaria. The orchestra was a pick-up group of soloists, members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Freiburger Barock Orchestra and others.
This was the first time for Tabea Zimmermann to play under David’s baton.
1986-10-26, Info about the project and names of all members of the orchestra, choir and soloists (PDF, german)
1987
1987-07
David and Tabea fall in love during Gidon Kremer’s Festival in Lockenhaus, Austria.
1987-1993
First position as music director of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. David and Tabea live together in Düsseldorf from 1988-1994.
Elisabeth von Leliwa about David Shallon’s years as music director of the Düsseldorf Symphony (PDF, in German – English translation to come soon)
1989
1989-02-19
Conducting the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie in Cologne
Program
1989-05
Tour to East Germany with 350 people involved. The Düsseldorf Musikverein choir had organized this tour years in advance. 9 train wagons going on a special train from Düsseldorf to East Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig. Performing Schumann ‘missa sacra’ and Mendelssohn Symphony No. 2 ‘Lobgesang’ and Berlioz’ ‘la damnation de Faust’. East German television and WDR TV covered the tour and broadcasted on November 09 in 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell.
1990
1990-10-16
Conducting Schostakowitsch Symphony No. 14, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Julia Varady, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Frankfurt (now Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen).
1991
1991-01
Smetana’s ’The Bartered Bride‘ opera production in Israel was planned to open in January ‘91 after 4-6 weeks of preparations.
When Iraq sent the first Scud missiles to Israel on January 18th, 1991, the premiere on January 19th was, of course, cancelled and life in Israel changed dramatically for several weeks. There was a constant fear of Saddam Hussein using chemical warfare. Everybody walked around with a gas mask in a box. One had to be ready to go into shelters any time the alarm went off.
Planned concerts in Jerusalem were only broadcast to radio for the same reason. People tried to stay home and be with their families as often as possible.
Smetana ‘The Bartered Bride’
1991-09-18
Berliner Festwochen, Staatskapelle Berlin, Hélène Grimaud, David Shallon. This was the first performance of the Staatskapelle Berlin in the Berliner Festwochen after the unification.
Ravel Piano Concerto and Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’.
1991-10-11
David Shallon and Tabea Zimmermann get married in Düsseldorf.
1992
1992-2000
Started as music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra following many projects with them over the years. David always enjoyed coming back to Israel to keep close contact with his family and friends.
David and Tabea at this point considered moving to Israel but then decided that their home should be in Europe, where they both worked most, and Israel would remain a second home.
1992-93 JSO season brochure
1994
1994-07
Jerusalem Symphony on Tour to Holland and Germany
1994
Moved from Düsseldorf to a country house not far from Frankfurt.
The old water mill in Tudor Style from the 15th Century was inspiring and challenging.
David and Tabea had dreams and plans to convert the old barn into a musical study centre, to host a small Festival in the village and to grow their own fruits and vegetables. They did a lot of weeding in the big garden, tried to learn the necessary skills for making goat cheese (Tabea’s students from Frankfurt gave them a goat as an end of year gift!) and had a few sheep to keep the grass short.
1995
1995-01-27
50 years after the end of World War II, David conducts Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem in the Musikverein Vienna.
1995-05-22
Steven Isserlis and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra
1995-12
Conducted the Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester.
1996
1996-02
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, European Tour (Brussels, Stuttgart, Cologne, Lübeck, Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Geneva, Zurich, Innsbruck, Vienna).
1996-09-05
Conducted the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie at the Berliner Festwochen.
1996-09-11
Festive Concert in Düsseldorf to celebrate 3000 years Jerusalem.
1996-97
Jerusalem Symphony season brochure
JSO season brochure 1996-97
1997
1997-2000
David got his third position as music director at the Luxembourg Philharmonic. He was involved in the planning of the new concert hall in Luxembourg but did not live to see its opening in 1998.
1998
1998-08-31
David and Tabea’s son Yuval is born in Jerusalem. This was the happiest time in David’s life, even though he felt he was not a young father at 48. David and Tabea performed many concerts together at that time and travelled together with baby Yuval and a nanny.
2000
2001-01
Hommage à Bartók, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
2000
2000-09
David and Tabea had gladly accepted an invitation to Japan where two projects were planned simultaneously. David would be conducting the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra again and Tabea would appear both as a soloist and as a chamber musician.
2000-09-16
David dies in Tokyo from an asthma attack after dinner.
2001
2001-04-19
Son Jonathan is born 7 months after David’s death.
Jerusalem Symphony plays a concert in memory of David Shallon
