In a formal ceremony on 22 November 2016, a new hall at the mdw named in honour of Maestro Zubin Mehta was dedicated by Rector Ulrike Sych. The Zubin Mehta-Saal will be used for instructional purposes by the mdw’s Department of Conducting. Department head Thomas Kreuzberger was particularly delighted with this new space, which bears such a prominent name and meets all the technical and acoustic demands of a modern conducting programme.
In his words of thanks, Maestro Mehta, a graduate and honorary member of the mdw, reminisced about his student days: “The years I spent here were wonderful, and I still have vivid memories of learning from Hans Swarowsky.” Ulrike Sych, in her address, stressed the enormous importance of role models: “The conducting programme numbers among the mdw’s most demanding courses of study. For this reason, it is immensely important for students in this programme to have artistic role models who show them the way forward and work to support young talents. Zubin Mehta has proven to be just such a role model, in the fullest possible sense.”
