The legendary Maestro Zubin Mehta has congratulated Ivan Tasovac on his reappointment as the Director of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, and has announced the celebration of six decades since his debut appearance with our orchestra, in March next year.
 
“Over the years, Tasovac has been the heart and soul of this ensemble and, even with the significant work he carried out as the Minister of Culture, I am confident that his colleagues at the Belgrade Philharmonic will once again heartily welcome him back”, said Mehta in his felicitations. “I am especially overjoyed with his dream of building a new concert hall in Belgrade and I very much look forward to coming next year when we will together celebrate 60 years since my debut appearance in 1958 with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. I give my earnest support to Mr Tasovac and wish many more great successes to him and the orchestra in the future.”
 
The eighty-year-old Maestro announced a month ago that he would retire in October 2019. The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra is among the privileged orchestra which the Maestro will conduct in his last performances and thus conclude his exceptional career. He is Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which he has directed in many concerts and tours on five continents since his first appearance with this orchestra in 1961. He has also recently marked fifty years of collaboration with the Vienna and Berlin philharmonic orchestras.
 
Today’s greatest conductor has thus far appeared eight times with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the last time in September 2015. On that occasion, he expressed his wishes to celebrate the anniversary of his debut appearance with our orchestra.