‘We’ll miss you, Zubin’

At the NCPA, the music director was slated to conduct the works of Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart on November 21 and 22. Pic courtesy/NCPA

A happy surprise awaited master conductor Zubin Mehta. If all went according to plan, not only would the maestro be enthralling fans at a concert with the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) on November 21 and 22, the cricket nut would have found himself having a fan-boy moment, seated next to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, at a dinner hosted by childhood buddy and National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Chairman, Khushroo N Suntook. But it wasn't meant to be. The concert was called off yesterday after Mehta's office stated that he had been advised "immediate rest due to exhaustion".

The 86-year-old maestro's performance at the NCPA would have marked his return to his city of birth after six long years. On Tuesday, the communication from US-based Mehta's office, shared by the NCPA, stated: "After an intensive period of obligations in Europe, the US, the United Kingdom, Australia and again Europe with several tours, Maestro Mehta needs to take immediate rest due to exhaustion for the coming three months". Mehroo Jeejeebhoy, the founder trustee of The Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF), which was presenting the concert along with the NCPA, shared that Mehta was quite excited about coming back to Mumbai. "But he's not strong enough right now. His conducting schedule is so punishing; it must take a toll on the body. He's listening to his doctor for once," Jeejeebhoy told us, adding, "We hope we can revive this project again because his heart is very much in Mumbai. We won't look at this as a cancellation but a postponement."

Zubin Mehta with his childhood buddy Khushroo N Suntook of NCPA. Pic courtesy/NCPA

Suntook shared that preparations were underway at the NCPA for the music director who was slated to conduct the works of Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. Mehta, he shared, was dedicated to rehearsals. "We were giving him almost six or seven rehearsals. He is not one of those conductors who rushes in without rehearsals." Marat Bisengaliev, music director, SOI, hoped to perform with him soon: "The orchestra had been preparing for the concerts and the musicians are as disappointed as the audience. We wish him the best of health."

The cancellation is not just a disappointment for the SOI, but Western classical music aficionados across the city. Take, for instance, Malabar Hill resident Rushad Divecha. For the engineer, the show was not just a chance to soak in the genius of the maestro, but also a probable opportunity to watch his daughter, Leah, play the violin under Mehta's direction. Leah, a university student in Vancouver, had trained under Bisengaliev. "She was in touch with him and was desperately trying for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Divecha said, adding, "But it wasn't meant to be."

The Divechas are among the numerous fans for whom this is a missed opportunity. Remembering Mehta's 2016 concert, Divecha shared that the conductor's interpretation of musical pieces leaves him with goosebumps. "What he brings out in the musicians is special. And of course, the audience reacts with the same kind of enthusiasm. Even to the untrained ear, it's an emotional connection," he added. Suntook, who has known Mehta from his boyhood days at St Mary's School, is hopeful that the maestro will be able to come down to the city he loves in the near future. "Personally, I think he was coming here to eat Parsi bhonu. He loves it," he chuckles. The bhonu and the fans will be waiting.