Rechtman began playing the bassoon at age 12 and began his professional career three years later, playing principal bassoon with the Palestine Opera, where he remained until 1945. He was awarded first prize at the 1947 Prague Festival, and from 1946 to 1991 he was principal bassoon with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the only Israeli representative selected by Arthur Fiedler to join the World Symphony Orchestra which performed at the opening of Walt Disney World in October, 1971 Rechtman has appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and other orchestras in Israel and abroad, and in music festivals, such as Tanglewood, Spoleto, Marlboro and the Pablo Casals Music Festival in Puerto Rico. He founded the Israel Woodwind Quintet in 1963 and the Philharmonic Woodwind Ensemble, of which he was music director and conductor, in 1976. Rechtman has conducted many of Israel's major orchestras, such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Sinfonietta Beer-Shiva, Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra, Tel-Aviv Academy of Music Orchestra, Israel Camerata Orchestra Jerusalem and many other ensembles. In 1976, he was named head of the woodwinds in the orchestra by Music Director Zubin Mehta. Rechtman has written transcriptions and arrangements for wind quintet, wind instruments and large wind ensembles. His talent as an arranger has been highly acclaimed, and his arrangements for wind ensembles have been performed around the world, often under his own direction. Rechtman’s arrangements have been published by various publishers including Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Belwin Mills Publishing Corp, June Emerson Wind Music, Accolade Musicverlag and McGinnis and Marx. In 2014 he began arranging Late Classical and Romantic concerti for chamber ensembles, published under his own company, Rechtman Concerto Reductions. Mordechai Rechtman’s composition teachers included Ödön Pártos, Hanoch Jacoby, Moshe Lustig and Zeev Steinberg. From 1985 to 1991, Rechtman served as the music director and conductor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra Wind Ensemble. A founding member of the Israel Woodwind Quintet, Mordechai Rechtman has recorded for several labels, including for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Koch International Sony Classics and Meridian Records From 1977-78, Rechtman was a guest professor at Indiana University School of Music. In 1968-2002, he served as a professor of music at the Rubin Academy of Tel-Aviv University. As a guest professor he taught bassoon, coached chamber music, and conducted large wind ensembles and orchestras at the New England Conservatory, The Juilliard School of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music, as well as other locations in Canada, Mexico, Australia and throughout Europe.
