Wednesday (3/30) on the BBC News website, Nidhi Dutt writes, “Acclaimed international conductor Zubin Mehta has returned to India to urge his countrymen to take an interest in orchestral music. Western classical music is an unusual sound in India. But as the country modernises and takes notice of more foreign influences, it is finding pockets of popularity in Mumbai—India’s entertainment capital. However, no-one doubts that this form of music may struggle to raise its profile in a place where Bollywood rules. … Mr. Mehta is set to perform two sell-out shows in his home city. He says that western classical music has come a long way since the 1930s and 40s, when his father helped to establish the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. But in a country that has such rich and diverse musical traditions of its own, selling new sounds is a big challenge.”
Posted March 31, 2011
