Biography
Conductor
Lahav Shani
Lahav Shani, music director of the Israel Philharmonic, has been chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2018 and was previously principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony. In February 2023, the Munich Philharmonic appointed him as their new chief conductor, starting from September 2026. His close relationship with the Israel Philharmonic begain in 2007, when he performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto under the baton of Zubin Mehta, and continued in 2010, when Mehta invited him to join the Israel Philharmonic on tour as pianist, assistant conductor, and double bass player. In 2013, after winning the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg, the orchestra invited him to step in to conduct their season opening concerts.
Shani has also appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Symphony, La Scala Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Philharmonia Orchestra.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1989, Shani began his piano studies aged six before continuing at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. He went on to study at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, and was mentored by Daniel Barenboim.
Shani has also appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Symphony, La Scala Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Philharmonia Orchestra.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1989, Shani began his piano studies aged six before continuing at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. He went on to study at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, and was mentored by Daniel Barenboim.
