Song Yingwen

FOR classical music fans in Shenzhen, Christmas has lingered on for two more days. A concert tonight at the Shenzhen Concert Hall will provide them with the opportunity to listen to Indian orchestral conductor Zubin Mehta, widely regarded as one of the greatest conductors of his time.

Mehta, who enjoys a high reputation worldwide for his expressiveness on the podium and for his interpretation of the operatic repertoire, is in Shenzhen for the first stop of his China tour with The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

The conductor will then lead his orchestra to Shanghai on Dec. 29, and later head to Beijing, the last leg of the tour, for two New Year concerts Dec. 30 and 31.

The repertoire of the Shenzhen concert includes pieces as diverse as the symphonic poem “Asi Hablaba Zarathustra,” the Strauss waltz “Where Lemon Trees Bloom” and polka “Ohne Bremse Polka schnell Op. 238.” The concert will conclude with one of Tchaikovsky’s most well-known works, “1812 Overture.”

Though this is Mehta’s first visit to Shenzhen, he is no stranger to Chinese audiences. He has been to China on six previous occasions.

In 1994, he and violinist Itzhak Perlman headlined the Israel Philharmonic’s first visit to China. Three years later Mehta began a collaboration with Chinese film director Zhang Yimou on a stage production of Puccini’s “Turandot.” The production debuted in Florence and was then staged eight times in Beijing’s Forbidden City, where the opera itself is set.

Like their enthusiastic Beijing counterparts, whose positive reaction moved the conductor to agree to an extra concert on Dec. 30 in addition to one on the New Year’s Eve, Shenzhen classical music fans showed their appreciation by purchasing all concert tickets within a week of them going on sale.

As the most well-known musician to perform in the newly built Shenzhen Concert Hall in its first show season, Mehta is set to make it a memorable holiday period for Shenzhen music fans.

Biography

Born in Bombay, India, Zubin Mehta grew up in a musical environment. His father, Mehli Mehta, founded the Bombay Symphony. Despite this musical influence, Mehta’s initial field of study was in medicine.

At the age of 18, he abandoned his medical career to attend the Academy of Music in Vienna. Seven years later, he conducted both the Vienna and Berlin philharmonics.

From 1961 to 1967, he was music director of the Montreal Symphony. He was appointed music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1962, a post he retained until 1978.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra appointed Mehta music advisor in 1969, music director in 1977, and music director for life in 1981.

Combining concerts, recordings and tours, Mehta has conducted over 1,600 performances on five continents with this extraordinary orchestra. Since 1986, he has also acted as music advisor and chief conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the summer festival in Florence, Italy.

In March 1996, he completed a four-year commitment to perform Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Later in 1996 Zubin performed at the Salzburg Festival, toured Japan with both the Florence Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, and performed in Italy, Israel, Vienna, Munich and New York.

In 1998, Mehta began a five-year appointment as music director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.