Maestro Zubin Mehta no longer walks on his own, be it onstage for his sell out shows or for a press conference, but is wheeled everywhere he goes. In the city to perform a series of concerts this weekend and the next, the very presence of Mehta arriving for the press conference in a wheelchair is heartbreaking, a far cry from his youthful, dashing days. Seated in his wheelchair, Mehta is flanked to his left by Mr Khushroo N Suntook, Chairman of the NCPA and Mrs Mehroo Jeejeebhoy, Founder Trustee of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation.
Mehta conducted the SOI for the first time in August 2023 and is excited to play once again after sellout shows with the SOI last year. Surely they will play their hearts out for him. He says slowly but firmly, “This year I am conducting the SOI orchestra for four concerts featuring the compositions of Johann Strauss II and Richard Strauss. I am playing two great composers who have very different styles. There is one composer from Vienna and the other from Germany. You will also see soprano soloist Chen Reiss, acclaimed to be “one of the most perfect Strauss voices”. It (SOI) is a really very fine orchestra and I am so impressed with them that I am looking forward to my first rehearsal with them today”.
Zubin Mehta at the Press conference at the Jamshed Bhabha Museum
Recalling his very first concert, the 88 year old goes back in time with the help of his school mate Khushroo saying. “I played my first concert in Mumbai in 1967 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Shanmukhananda auditorium. I had warned the musicians that during the concert they would hear crackers and so during the show they thought they were being bombarded (smiles) from outside. But believe me they loved it. I also remember that workers at the Taj Mahal were on strike and our musicians refused to enter the hotel, so we had to house them at private houses for those few days, But since then a lot has happened and I have come here with so many different orchestra, including the Vienna Philharmonica, with the exception of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.”
Speaking on how the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra which he has played with for many years is different from other orchestras he has played with, he says, “The Symphony Orchestra of India is just starting, it in its birth, and hopefully there’s this wonderful English conductor coming over next year and hopefully together they will help establish it (SOI) better. It will take time.”
Mehta has travelled the world and has played with almost every orchestra and with that come the challenges he faces. He states, “Each orchestra has its own personality, its own flexibility, it’s a process that builds up each time. So I usually do 4 to 5 rehearsals before I really go on stage with them, and that really works out for me.”
While not directly answering a question put to him on how western classical music has evolved in Mumbai, Mehta instead gives words of wisdom to those at the helm of music education on how to bring in children into the world of classical music, when he stated, “Today there are some audiences that one has to inspire with programming and with popular soloists or conductors and draw them to the public. In Central Europe there is no problem, in East and the West coast of America, except for a few cities, there is no problem. All orchestras have children concerts where you start educating the younger generation who would want to come to these concerts. During these children’s concerts, if listening to classical music is made like a fun experience for them, they will want to come again and especially if every orchestra has these specialist conductors and they can think of different methods how to cajole and inspire children to come to their concerts. Of course hopefully they will grow up to buy subscription tickets to the whole season”.
The first two concerts (17th and 18th August 2024) will feature light Viennese music by the great Johann Strauss II, including “Overture to Die Fledermaus” and “Emperor Waltz”, which is loved worldwide and should prove extremely popular.
The following two concerts (24th and 25th August 2024) will witness the veritable music of German composer Richard Strauss, best known for his tone poems and operas, superbly interpreted by maestro Zubin Mehta.
The concerts include Don Juan, the India premiere of Ein Heldenleben; and Four Last Songs which will be sung by Krassimira Stoyanova, one of the most sought-after sopranos of our time.
The legendary conductor’s return to the NCPA, the home of the SOI, is a true testimony to the orchestra’s prowess. The SOI is privileged to have a conductor as big as Zubin Mehta. Mehta needs no flamboyance. His mere presence is enough.
SOI Autumn 2024 Season Schedule:
August 17 & 18, 2024
Jamshed Bhabha Theatre
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Chen Reiss, soprano
An evening of music by Johann Strauss II
Overture to Die Fledermaus
Annen-polka, Op. 117
Wiener Blut, Op. 354 (‘Viennese Blood’)
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214
Csárdás from Die Fledermaus
Overture to Der Zigeunerbaron
Morgenblätter, Op. 279
Frühlingsstimmen, Op. 410 (‘Voices of Spring’)
Kaiser-Walzer, Op. 437 (‘Emperor Waltz’)
August 24 & 25, 2024
Jamshed Bhabha Theatre
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Krassimira Stoyanova, soprano
An evening of music by Richard Strauss
Don Juan
Four Last Songs
Ein Heldenleben
