Word: mehtas
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...idealized symphonic conductor has Leonard Bernstein's flair, Herbert von Karajan's grace and Zubin Mehta's youth. But when the directors of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra cast around for a conductor to save their troubled orchestra in 1968, they threw out all the stereotypes and selected a man who looked, according to one Chicago musician, like a "tennis player or shortstop or golfer" on the podium. He was also bald and aging. Looks aside, Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony were made for each other Together they are producing some of the world...
...with a mysterious sounding passage, dominated by the recurring interval of a "falling" fourth; the interval, repeated often, becomes a basis of the principal theme. The Scherzo is a study in contrast between the rough Landler, or peasant waltz, and the lyrical middle section. This movement was perfect: Mr. Mehta and the orchestra executed the transition between the rustic dances and smooth passages with full vitality and gusto--and absolute precision...
...mock Funeral March follows the Scherzo, and utilizes the theme of Frere Jacques--played very slowly, and in the minor key. Intruding in the middle is a portion of martial music, intended by Mahler as a parody of Austrian military bands. Again, Mehta's sense of clarity effectively presented the ludicrous contrasts in the music...
...dramatic Finale, with its extensive (forty-six measures long) second subject theme, was magnificent. Mr. Mehta and the orchestra breathed life and excitement into the music, conveying a full spectrum of emotions--from the delicate, tranquil passages, to the majestic brass ensemble sections. Throughout, crispness and vitality prevailed, as the final section ended with a rousing flourish, prompting a standing ovation...
LIKE SEIJI OZAWA, Michael Tilson Thomas, or Colin Davis, Zubin Mehta is among the younger, "new breed" generation of conductors--and one of the best. As he showed this past Sunday afternoon, he can present a solid program of substantial variety, after which the concert-goer feels elated, rather than fatigued, as is often the case after the performance of a monumental work. Mehta has enough vitality to give the music--and so the audience--an emotional lift...