Master conductor Zubin Mehta’s twin concerts at the NCPA might have drawn to a close on Tuesday night, but they were an event the 1,109-strong audience would replay in their minds for months.
Author: Mithila Phadke | Source: TNN
It was a "real treat" for Mumbai’s western classical music lovers, said art historian Pheroza Godrej, who has attended a number of Mehta’s past concerts. "It was absolutely brilliant. Zubin Mehta of course and also, the two soloists."
The maestro arrived in his home city with the Munich-based orchestra, the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and renowned soloists Julian Rachlin and Midori Goto after the Ehsaas-E-Kashmir concert at Srinagar last week.
"The twin concerts are significant for Bombay not only because of the way Mehta presents his music but also because he was from here. He lived here, was educated here," said businessman Shiamak Marshall, who attended the concert with his son and daughter-in-law. The 76-year-old also attended Ehsaas-E-Kashmir, and has been part of the audience at other performances by Mehta, both at home and abroad. "The way he conducts the orchestra, presents his music… there is panache to it."
"I must have been 15 when I went for my first concert with my parents," said Marshall’s son Navroze. "At that age, you tend to like more popular music but as you grow up, you understand what’s significant about Mehta."
This audience also had children as young as 10 years, said Mehroo Jeejeebhoy, founder-trustee at the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation, after proceedings wrapped up. "They are studying music at the foundation and being part of a Zubin Mehta concert is an important experience for them."
That opportunity, Godrej wishes, was not so exclusive. She recalled Mehta’s open-air concert in 1994 at the Brabourne stadium that thousands had attended. "There were tickets at all prices. Some of them cost 20 or 25 rupees, I think. It was a magnificent experience and a magnificent gesture (because) it allowed everyone to come and listen."