Concert of the year

Zubin Mehta

International Cultural Promotions president JS Uberoi has worked for five years to bring to fruition a dream of Bangkok's classical-music aficionados.

Now, it is mission accomplished with Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) on Wednesday, a most fitting curtain raiser for the 10th International Festival of Dance and Music.

Mehta and the orchestra have enjoyed a long and loving relationship. The IPO named him music adviser in 1969, director in 1977 and Music Director for Life in 1981.

He has conducted the orchestra in more than 2,000 performances on five continents. In 1994 he did so in Mumbai, his birthplace, helping bridge a political gap that had barred their appearance there for three decades.

Adding to the rarity of their concert in Bangkok is their choice of a truly unusual and challenging programme.

'Pictures at an Exhibition'

The music event of the year will commence with Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". Inspired by his sorrow at seeing a show of paintings by a friend who had died, the piece explores new compositional territory.

The sixth movement - "Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle" - is about the painting that Mussorgsky owned. It showed two disparate characters in conversation, and Mussorgsky's music imitates their speech.

The concert's second part is Tchaikovsky's final composition,  "Symphony No 6 in B minor, Opus 74", also known as "Pathétique".

This immense outcry of pain and agony was derived from the composer's tormented soul. Tchaikovsky believed it was one of his best, if not the best.

From the bassoon's dark tone in the slow introduction to the final movement, a true elegy of which the mood is tragic and gloomy, Mehta and the IPO will take Bangkok audiences through an extraordinary experience.

At press time, tickets were almost sold out. Our sole suggestion: Do whatever you can to get in.

XTRA

Once in a lifetime

>> The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performs at 7.30pm on Wednesday at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

>> Tickets are Bt1,500 to Bt10,000 at Thaiticketmajor.

>> The concert is part of Bangkok's International Festival of Dance and Music, most of which takes place in September.

>> Visit www.BangkokFestivals.com.