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Conductor Mandi Rodan dies at 80
Israel Prize laureate passes away after long battle against cancer, leaving behind generations of top classical music artists
Yoav Birenberg
Violinist and conductor Mandi Rodan died Saturday at the age of 80 following a long battle against cancer.
Rodan, a 2006 Israel Prize laureate for music, left behind many generations of musicians and conductors, most of whom have been considered the top classical music artists in Israel for many years.
He was born in the town of Yashi, Romania. His father and several of his relatives were murdered in a pogrom. He survived the Holocaust together with his mother and brother, began studying engineering, but abandon the field in favor of music.
For the age of 16 he served as a leading violinist on Romania's national radio orchestra, and later became its main conductor.
He immigrated to Israel
in 1960, and a year later was already conducting Ramat Gan's Cameri Orchestra. He later served as the musical director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, as a guest conductor at the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, and as the musical director of the Israeli Sinfonietta in Beersheba, the Education Corps Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, and the Israeli Symphonic Orchestra of Rishon Lezion.
Rodan, who conducted the best orchestras in the world, also headed the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, from where his funeral procession left Sunday.
Rodan celebrated his 80th birthday only three weeks ago. He was survived by his wife, Yehudit, two children and seven grandchildren.
"Mandi Rodan was an inseparable part of the Israeli culture for nearly 50 years. He left his imprint on all of Israel's greatest orchestras," Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat said Saturday evening.
"Mandi was one of the State of Israel's greatest cultural ambassadors, who in his performances with the world's leading orchestras our hearts with great price. He left behind many talented and wonderful students, who today fill concert halls worldwide. This is Mandi Rodan's legacy to humanity, and we are blessed to have been able to enjoy his talent and contribution to the world of music."
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