Zubin Mehta Essentials

Call it a course correction: after the highly divisive era during which ultra-modernist Pierre Boulez led the New York Philharmonic, the orchestra was understandably looking for something different. They found it with this energetic proponent of the Romantic repertoire, who also helped take classical crossover to a new level by conducting the first-ever Three Tenors concert. (He also conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Frank Zappa's 200 Motels.) But the core of his art includes lush, and sometimes feverish, takes on Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler and Bruckner, in addition to his stints at global opera houses.