A rich musical offering concentrated into one single performance by a brilliant orchestra under the baton of a legendary conductor
Zubin Mehta, one of the world's greatest conductors. |
Zubin Mehta, one of the world's great conductors, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) will play a single concert in Bangkok to honour the memory of the late Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana. This single performance, part of Bangkok's 10th International Festival of Dance & Music, will take place at the Thailand Cultural Centre on Wednesday, July 30 at 7:30pm.
Zubin Mehta was born into a Parsi family in Bombay in 1936. It was a very musical family; his father, Mehli Mehta, was a violinist who founded the Bombay Symphony Orchestra.
Zubin was expected to study medicine, but the call of music proved too strong, and after two terms in medical school he left to go to the Vienna Music Academy, where he studied under Hans Swarovski. He still regards him as one of his great influences, and Swarovski had no doubts that the 18-year-old Zubin would be an important figure in the history of music.
After winning the Liverpool International Conducting prize, Mehta's career as a chief conductor took off, and while still in his 20s he conducted the Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonic orchestras. In 1961 he was appointed musical director of the Montreal Philharmonic, then in 1978 he became music director of the New York Philharmonic, and stayed with them for 13 years, longer than any other music director.
During that time he conducted 1,000 concerts and was universally acknowledged to be one of the best living conductors, not only for his music but for the value he brought to every performance.
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a concert in Bangkok to honour the memory of the late HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana at the Thailand Cultural Centre on July 30. |
It is his passion and integrity that are often cited as his most notable characteristics, to which many would add his love of freedom. This has nothing to do with politics, he says, but everything to do with humanity.
After the war in Bosnia, he performed Mozart's Requiem with the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra in the ruins of the national library of Bosnia. In 1999 he conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra side by side with the Bavarian National Opera Orchestra in a performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony at the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Another deeply moving occasion was his visit to his home country with the IPO to give concerts in Bombay and Delhi, which helped to heal the 30-year political estrangement between Israel and India.
He also conducted the spectacular performances by the Three Tenors, Pavarotti, Carreras and Placido Domingo in Rome and Los Angeles. One of his many awards is a Kennedy Centre Honour which he received along with Dolly Parton and Smokey Robinson in 2006.
His relationship with Israel and the IPO began in 1969 when he was appointed the orchestra's musical adviser. He felt an immediate rapport with Israel and the orchestra. IPO was founded in the year Mehta was born, 1936, and Toscanini conducted its debut performance in Tel Aviv. The orchestra has a full international touring schedule and has played under some of the world's finest conductors. Mehta, who became its music director in 1977, was appointed Music Director for Life in 1981.
He has described conducting as communication, and his own role as communicating his vision of the music to the members of the orchestra. "The overall picture is mine," he says but he will often leave the details of the piece to individual soloists. In this he is well served by the IPO as every member is a soloist in his or her own right.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for the Thai people to enjoy a performance by one of the world's most celebrated orchestras and under one of the great conductors of our time," says J.S Uberoi, chairman of the International Cultural Promotions Ltd, organiser of the event.
"The musical partnership of Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has been acclaimed by audiences around the world," he adds. "Their hallmark is their genius for conveying profoundly the wealth of meaning, emotion and sheer joy of the music they interpret."
The concert the IPO will play under Mehta's baton is dedicated to the memory of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana. It commemorates the late Princess as a great patron of the arts, particularly music, and of Bangkok's International Festival of Dance & Music itself.
There are two works in the programme, both by 19th century Russian composers. The first is Pictures from an Exhibition by Moussorgsky, a musical tour of a collection of paintings in different moods from light-hearted to dramatic. Moussorgsky originally wrote it for the piano, but it was later beautifully orchestrated by Maurice Ravel.
The main work is Symphony No. 6, the Pathetique, which Tchaikovsky wrote in the last year of his life. It is a searingly emotional piece and although it has many brightly-coloured, exuberantly lively sections, it is underlined by a brooding feeling of sadness. To be present at a performance of this work by an orchestra of this stature conducted by Zubin Mehta will surely rank as one of those "never-to-be-forgotten" experiences. RT
The performance by Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will take place at the Thailand Cultural Centre on Wednesday, July 30 at 7:30pm. Tickets at 1,500, 3,000, 4,000, 6,000 and 10,000 baht are available from Thaiticket Major (tel 02-262-3456, http://www.thaiticketmajor.com). Bangkok's 10th International Festival of Music & Dance is presented by BMW, B Grimm, Dusit Thani Hotel, Raimon Land, Siam Cement Group, Thai Airways and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
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