On March 4, legendary conductor Zubin Mehta and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra concluded their ten-day tour of China with a final performance in Guangzhou.

On March 4, legendary conductor Zubin Mehta and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra concluded their ten-day tour of China with a final performance in Guangzhou. The tour, which spanned four cities—Beijing, Suzhou, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou—presented a series of classical masterpieces, using music as a bridge to promote intercultural dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

Founded in 1999 by conductor Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian scholar Edward W. Said, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra brings together talented musicians from Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Iran, and other regions. Committed to the principle of “EQUAL IN MUSIC,” the orchestra strives to foster dialogue between cultures through the power of art. The ensemble first visited China in 2011 under Barenboim’s direction. Now, 14 years later, they returned under Mehta’s baton, performing works such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 “The Great”, vividly capturing the composers’ poetic landscapes and grand romanticism. Additionally, violinist Clara-Jumi Kang joined the orchestra in select cities, delivering a deeply expressive performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor.

This tour brought a musical feast to nearly 10,000 concertgoers across China. Thunderous applause filled all five performances, while enthusiastic reviews flooded social media. Music Weekly praised the concerts as delivering “a profound, warm, and deeply humanistic voice.”