Zubin Mehta Withdraws from Performances Due to Ill Health

Conductors Ivan Fischer, James Gaffigan, and Daniel Harding will step in for Mehta, performing with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra

“It is with great regret that Zubin Mehta has to cancel his upcoming engagements with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) due to an acute state of exhaustion,” wrote BR Klassik in a recent statement.

To aid his recovery, Mehta, 86, has withdrawn from concerts, including a November 10 concert where Daniel Barenboim would have performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, plus the BRSO’s Spanish tour later this month.

As a result, American conductor James Gaffigan was called in on short notice for the recent November 3 and 4 concerts at Germany’s Isarphilharmonie featuring pianist Seong-Jin Cho, plus the November 5 performance including Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. 

On November 11, 2022, frequent BRSO collaborator Daniel Harding will conduct the benefit concert for the SZ Advent calendar, which BR-Klassik will broadcast on live radio. The concert programs remain the same. 

The BRSO also welcomes Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer, who will step in for the orchestra’s tour of Spain on November 25 and 28, 2022, performing in Valencia and Barcelona. Fischer will also conduct BRSO at the Isarphilharmonie on December 15 and 16, 2022.

We wish Mr. Mehta a speedy recovery!