Zubin Mehta Cancels Berlin Philharmonic Appearances Due to Ill Health

He will be replaced by the German conductor Sebastian Weigle for concerts from March 20 to 22

The Berliner Philharmoniker has announced that Zubin Mehta will withdraw from his upcoming appearances with the orchestra from March 20 to March 22, 2025, on account of ill health.

Mehta, who is 88 years old, has recently returned from performances with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, where he stepped in for the orchestra's founding conductor, Daniel Barenboim.

Mehta will be replaced in Berlin by the German conductor Sebastian Weigle, and the program will remain unchanged. The concert features violinist Himari as soloist in Wieniawski's Concerto No. 1 in F# minor, with Carl Maria von Weber's overture to Oberon and Schubert's Symphony No. 8 "Great" completing the program.

Zubin Mehta is one of the most eminent conductors working today. By the age of 25, he had conducted the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He held music directorships at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1961-1967) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1962-1978). In 1977, he was named chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and was appointed music director for life in 1981.

"It is with great regret that for health reasons Zubin Mehta has been forced to cancel the concerts from 20 to 22 March at short notice," the orchestra wrote in a statement.

"The Berliner Philharmoniker, Himari and Zubin Mehta are very grateful to Sebastian Weigle for agreeing at short notice to conduct the concerts with an unchanged program."