Conductor Zubin Mehta in Japan

This weekend, Tokyo welcomes classical music conductor Zubin Mehta, who will be performing with the NHK Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, for the benefit of the earthquake survivors in Tohoku.

NHK World:

Acclaimed conductor Zubin Mehta has arrived in Japan to conduct a charity concert benefitting the survivors of the March 11th disaster.

Mehta arrived in Tokyo from Russia on Friday. He held a rehearsal with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, which will perform Beethoven's Symphony Number 9 in Tokyo on Sunday. All proceeds will go to the disaster-hit areas.

Before the rehearsal, Mehta told orchestra members that he hopes for Japan's recovery, and that his thoughts are with the people.

The concert was planned at his request, to support areas affected by the disaster. The conductor said he wants to do what he can to lift the spirits of the Japanese people and help them believe in the power of music.

Mehta was in Tokyo on the day of the quake that hit eastern Japan. He returned to Italy when his concerts were canceled. Many foreign musicians canceled their concerts after the natural disaster and the trouble at a Fukushima nuclear plant.

Indian-born Mehta has conducted the world's most renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic.

Here he conducts the Israel Philarmonic Orchestra, Beethoven's 7th, first movement.