India still does not have a world class hall: Zubin Mehta

Orchestra legend Zubin Mehta, in the capital for his performance with the Australian World Orchestra, talks about the need for a well-equipped concert auditorium in India and more

Legendary orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta performed in the capital on Friday and Saturday with the Australian World Orchestra and soprano Greta Bradman. This was part of his three-city tour in the country. The Jawaharlal Nehru Weightlifting Indoor stadium was converted into a concert auditorium for the maestro’s maiden performance in the city. Before the recital, the 79-year-old artist spoke to the media and shared his concerns about the lack of concert halls in the country, visa issues for international artistes and the returning of prestigious awards.

Having conducted orchestras in some of the biggest concert halls in the world, Zubin sent a strong message to the government about focusing on setting a world-class performing centre in the capital. “This country has a rich tradition of music and still does not have a world-class hall for musicians to come and perform in,” stated Mehta and added, “It is a matter of shame that even the capital does not have a well-equipped concert auditorium.

And I am not just talking about a separate Western classical music hall, Indian musicians can use the same hall too. There is a misconception that Indian musicians play with amplifications, which is fine; they can do it in a regular concert hall, too. They do not need special acoustics. They can play with their microphones. When I played a Sitar concerto with Pt. Ravi Shankar, he used microphones while the orchestra played without them and it mixed perfectly. I say that there is no problem, this misconception needs to be changed. What we need is to build a concert hall that can seat around 2,000 people with the help of good acousticians and architects.

You can opt for an Indian architect but the acoustician needs to be international as they have better knowledge about the setting.” He continued by sharing that he has even spoken about this to President Pranab Mukherjee when the latter visited Jerusalem two weeks ago.“I spoke about this with the President also, and he showed great interest in the proposal of building a concert hall. But promises are promises, we should see facts and the press has to help by taking this issue forward,” he pointed out.It seemed that the maestro was a little disappointed with the Indian cultural scenario and the government policies.

He recounted the amount of difficulty that the troupe went through to acquire visas from the Indian consulate. He stated, “Indian High Commissions around the world are not giving visas to people who want to come to our great country. The musicians who have come with me had to go through a lot of trouble just to get a visa to come here and perform. All these concerts are for charity, they do not take back money. Something has to be done in general in Indian consulates all over the world to solve this problem that people are facing.”Talking to the dignitaries on the dais and specially addressing Delhi tourism minister Kapil Mishra, he said, “Maybe the Kejriwal government could make it easy for us. This is a major problem and it gives India a bad name internationally.”

When quizzed about his views on people returning state honours including the Padma awards, Sahitya Akademi awards and National awards, he called it a ‘major movement’ in India that needs to be addressed by having a dialogue between the two parties. Zubin said, “I don’t live here and haven’t been through the process but I have been reading about it in the papers over the last week or so. I wish I could speak to one of them — writers and filmmakers — to hear their point of view. If such intellectuals are coming forward and returning their awards, it means they feel very strongly about the issue. I respect them for what they are doing. I think the government needs to sit and talk about this. There needs to be communication between them.”

The event concluded with a mesmerising and memorable performance by the troupe. The audience was awestruck by Greta Bradman’s performance and her scintillating voice modulation apart from the symphonies played by the orchestra. Speaking about this young singer, Zubin said, “In the coming years, Greta is going to be recognised as one of the most talented singers in the world. She has a truly amazing voice quality.”