Echo Hu/ Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai will enjoy a deluge of musical concerts performed by world-class orchestras in the coming months as the city is stepping up efforts to develop an international cultural exchange platform.

The list of the top orchestras planning to stage concerts in the city include the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra.

Zubin Mehta, one of the world's greatest conductors, will conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Shanghai Grand Theater on December 29. Mehta has previously staged two concerts in Shanghai.

The first concert in 1994 was held in the assembly hall of the Shanghai Municipal Government Building. However, despite the poor venue on that occasion, Mehta's concert remains an unforgettable memory for local music lovers.

The second concert was held a decade later in the Shanghai Exhibition Center. There was no alternative concert hall available given Mehta and the orchestra's tight schedule and Shanghai's limited number of theater choices.

The city's booming art market and surging demand for art are the main attractions for overseas master musicians, officials pointed out.