Zubin Mehta and the Australian World Orchestra in Sydney

Zubin Mehta conducts the Australia World Orchestra

Zubin Mehta and the Australia World Orchestra

By Zoltán Szabó, 06 September 2022

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“the orchestra roared energetically or whispered with barely audible intimacy”

Reviewed at Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall, Sydney on 2 September 2022

Strauss R., Don Juan, Op.20

Strauss R., Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks), Op.28

Strauss R., Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op.40

Australian World Orchestra

Zubin Mehta, Conductor

World-class from Down Under: Australian World Orchestra at the Proms

Alexander Hall, 23rd August

Zubin Mehta, Siobhan Stagg and the players of the AWO were on top of their game in works by Webern, Debussy and Brahms, where the connections were as potent as the contrasts.

*****

From little things, big things grow: The AWO returns to Sydney

David Larkin, 2nd May

On their return to Sydney, the Australian World Orchestra under Riccardo Muti offer a subdued reading of Brahms’ Symphony no. 2 and a thrilling account of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 4.

****1

Australians around the world unite with Simon Rattle at the helm

Zoltán Szabó, 31st July

The idea of bringing together a country’s best players from all around the world to show off their combined might is all too familiar for football fans during any FIFA World Cup. It is far less common, indeed, almost unknown in classical music.

*****

Rites of reunion: The Australian World Orchestra visits Sydney

David Larkin, 3rd October

At the end of yesterday’s concert, there was a lot of hugging on stage. This was only to be expected. The high-quality music-making to which the audience had been treated was, for the players, a brief and unrepeatable experience, for some of them a nostalgic pilgrimage back to their homeland.

****1

Shared language and living history: Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Phil

Chanda VanderHart, 19th March

Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman and the Vienna Philharmonic meet in repertoire they know intimately, illuminating it through mutual understanding.

*****

Coming home to Bruckner: Zubin Mehta’s late-style Eighth in LA

Laurence Vittes, 9th November

At 89, the former Music Director returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic to conduct Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, revealing the music’s interior world.

****1

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Zoltán Szabó

Zoltán Szabó is a cellist and musicologist. Having migrated from his native Hungary to Australia in 1985, he worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney until 1991, when he became Principal Cello with Opera Australia. In 2017, he was awarded with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). Currently, he is teaching music history and musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Abounding in nature’s gifts: Zubin Mehta and the Australian World Orchestra in Sydney