Zubin Mehta at 80 – The birthday concerts from Mumbai

“I’m a pucca Indian. Mumbai is my home,” says Zubin Mehta about his birthplace. The Musical Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra traveled to India with “his” inspiring 110-member orchestra and on April 17th and 18th, 2016 they celebrated Maestro Mehta’s 80th birthday with two fantastic concerts at the National Center of Performing Arts in Mumbai.

For the first concert, Mehta chose works of three of his favorite composers: Antonin Dvorak’s “Carnival Overture”, Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin in D major, op. 61, as well as Ravel’s “La Valse” and the 2nd Suite of “Daphnis & Chloé”. Pinchas Zukerman, one of Mehta’s closes colleagues and friends, who has always had a close connection to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was the much applauded soloist of the night.

The highlights of the second concert’s mesmerizing program were Brahms’ famous Double Concerto in A minor, Op. 102 and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 – the perfect composition for this auspicious double celebration. The soloists of the night, again, were Mehta’s long-time artist friends such as Pichas Zuckermann, violin, Amanda Forsyth, cello and Denis Matsuev at the piano.