Zubin Mehta (born April 29, 1936 in Bombay, India), conductor and music director of the Indian Symphony Orchestra, is known for his expressive presence on the podium and his interpretation of operatic repertoire.
Mehta’s father, Mehli Mehta, was a violinist who helped found the Bombay String Quartet and the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Zubin has been influenced by Western music since he was a child, and began studying music at the Vienna Conservatory of Music at the age of 18. In 1958, he won first prize in the Liverpool International Conducting Competition and served as assistant conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for a year. His reputation grew rapidly. He served as music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1967 and of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1962 to 1978. He was the first conductor to conduct two major North American symphony orchestras simultaneously. In 1964, Mehta made his debut as an opera conductor in Montreal, performing Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca.” The following year he conducted Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and he was soon employed as opera conductor in Vienna, London, Milan and many other cities. In 1969 he began working as a musical consultant with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming music director in 1977. Four years later, the orchestra named him lifetime music director, a position he held until his retirement in 2019.
From 1978 to 1991, Mehta also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic. In 1994 he conducted a series of memorable concerts, including performances by the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the ruins of the National Library in Sarajevo and concerts by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Bombay and New Delhi. From 1998 to 2006, he served as Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera and the Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich. From 1985 to 2017, he also served as chief conductor of the Florence May Music Orchestra. Mehta continues to conduct performances, including the 2021 Belgrade Philharmonic Gala Concert.
Mehta published his autobiography “Zubin Mehta: The Music Score of My Life” in 2009. He has maintained close relationships with major orchestras in Europe and the United States and has received numerous international awards and honors, including the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award for the Arts (2006) and the Japan Arts Association’s Imperial Culture Prize (2008).
