Belgrade concert also announced
The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra is getting ready for its upcoming tour of India with the legendary conductor Zubin Mehta, taking place in Mumbai from January 11 to 17, 2026, it was announced yesterday at the press conference held by program editors Asja Radonjić and Danica Maksimović, concertmaster Tijana Milošević and Jelena Milašinović the orchestra’s PR manager, who also serves as the creator and producer of a documentary film about Zubin Mehta that will have its world premiere in India.
The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has been granted the exceptional honor of being the first orchestra with which the renowned maestro will perform in his native Mumbai in celebration of his 90th birthday, which will be marked worldwide throughout 2026. In addition to Vienna, Florence, Berlin, and other major music centers, Mehta has not forgotten Belgrade: the conference also announced a concert with the Belgrade Philharmonic in the Serbian capital, scheduled for October 23, 2026.
In a deeply symbolic gesture, Mehta will launch the celebration of his jubilee from his hometown, performing together with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra – the ensemble that gave him his first professional opportunity back in 1958 in Belgrade. Under his baton, on January 15 and 16, the Belgrade Philharmonic will perform alongside some of the world’s greatest music stars: violinist Pinchas Zukerman and pianist Lang Lang. The orchestra will travel to Mumbai on January 11, where it will rehearse twice daily at the magnificent National Centre for the Performing Arts, in addition to general rehearsals ahead of the concerts on January 15 and 16.
The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will present two different programs featuring works by Mozart and Beethoven. For the first time, the orchestra will share the stage with global superstar Lang Lang – widely regarded as one of the greatest and most virtuosic pianists of today, performing Beethoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto. With the living legend violinist Pinchas Zukerman, a close friend of Mehta, the orchestra will perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, like they did at their recent joint appearance in Belgrade. Mehta’s interpretations of Beethoven’s Third and Seventh symphonies will crown the Belgrade Philharmonic’s performances in Mumbai.
The concerts in Mumbai are hosted by the Meli Mehta Foundation, named after Zubin Mehta’s father. The foundation also runs a music school whose students will perform Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances alongside musicians of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra at the opening of the first concert, as their tribute and a gift to Zubin Mehta.
The press conference also announced the premiere of the documentary film Da Cappo: Zubin Mehta and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Boris Miljković. The film will have its international premiere in Mumbai, ahead of the first concert on January 15 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Shot during Mehta’s previous visit to Belgrade in October 2024, the documentary explores the deep friendship between the maestro and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, told exclusively in Mehta’s own words, as he is the film’s sole narrator. The Belgrade Philharmonic extends its gratitude to the companies that supported the film: Erste Bank, Informatika, Valjaonica bakra Sevojno, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and Erste Leasing.
