Philharmonie Merck enthralls Mumbai audience

Mumbai, May 6 (UNI) Philharmonie Merck presented a scintillating performance at the NCPA here as part of the 40-year celebrations of the Indian arm of the German pharmaceutical and chemical giant, Merck.

The orchestra, which had already performed in New Delhi on May 3, was conducted here last evening. ''We are proud to give Indian audiences an opportunity to enjoy this spectacular performance by our orchestra, which is globally recognised as an ambassador of the Merck ethos,'' said Dr Marek Dziki, MD, Merck India.

Aficionados of classical music will remember well about the orchestra's previous seven-city tour of the country as part of the ''German Festival in India'' in 2001.

For the chief conductor, Wolfgang Heinzel, it was an exciting first time. ''I'm looking forward to the audiences in New Delhi and Mumbai, in a country that possesses such a rich and distinctive classical music tradition of its own,'' enthused Heinzel.

The orchestra opened the show to an almost packed hall with Beethoven's Symphony No 4, followed by Mozart's Overture. From there, it had the audience captivated and enthralled with each of the piece performed. All the pieces - Adiago, Menuetto: Allegro vivace, Allegro ma non troppo were performed flawlessly, and were well received by the enthusiastic audience.

After a half-an-hour break, the orchestra entered the realm of experimentation and fusion- jazz music. Accompanying a quartet of musicians, under the Opera Swing Quartet, the orchestra presented classical works like Mozart's Figaro in jazz.

Interestingly, the Merck Philharmonie has also completed 40 years of its existence as an orchestra.

Merck set up its Indian subsidary in 1967, and went on to become the first company to go public in 1981. Merck India's parent company Merck KGaA is the oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company in the world with a tradition of more than 300 years. The company's present turnover is pegged at over 6.3 billion Euro.

UNI