In Mumbai for his supposedly last show, Zubin Mehta said he may not put down the baton soon

Globally celebrated conductor Zubin Mehta was greeted with a standing ovation as he walked to the podium at Mumbai’s packed Jamshed Bhabha Theatre recently. His movements seem to have slowed down considerably with age but the familiar enthusiasm and aura were still intact. After greeting the audience, the 88-year-old maestro faced musicians of the Symphony Orchestra of India, and raised his baton to the overture of ‘Die Fiedermaus’, composed by Austrian legend Johann Strauss II. 

It was the first of four shows conducted by Mumbai-born Zubin Mehta for the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA) Autumn Season – 2024. The first two nights showcased famous Viennese tunes composed by Strauss, with a good mix of waltzes, polkas and overtures. The last two shows (August 24 and 25), Zubin conducted music by German composer Richard Strauss, including the tone poems ‘Don Juan’ and ‘NCR INK Heldenleben’, and ‘Four Last Songs’ featuring American soprano Angel Blue, who came in as a last-minute replacement for Bulgaria-born Krassimira Stoyanova. 

Zubin Mehta was 22, when he conducted an all-Schoenberg concert
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: NCPA

On the opening Johann Strauss II night, the SOI didn’t present the grossly-overplayed ‘Blue Danube Waltz’. The selections included the famous ‘Wiener Blut’ waltz and ‘Kaiser Waltzer’, besides ‘Voices Of Spring’, featuring Israeli soprano Chen Reiss. In the final encore, they played the vibrant ‘Unter Donner Und Blitz (Thunder And Lightning)’. Once again, the Zubin Mehta magic mesmerised Mumbai. 

The shows were presented by NCPA and the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation. In a media interaction before the shows, Zubin had diplomatically dealt with questions on whether these would be his last shows in Mumbai. He said, “For me, conducting is like volcanic lava. It’s always ready to burst out. I am here after a two-week vacation, and now I go up to Christmas, non-stop. So I don’t know my future plans.” 

The four Mumbai shows were presented by NCPA and the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation.
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: NCPA

Zubin had conducted the SOI a year ago too, for the first time. He said, “Before I did those shows, I wasn’t sure whether I would come again. But I was impressed by them from the rehearsal stage itself. We played Mahler’s ‘Symphony No 1’, which requires lot of proficiency. They did a wonderful job. So when Khushroo Suntook of NCPA asked me to return, I readily agreed.” 

If Mumbai’s audiences have always greeted Zubin warmly with sold-out shows and a rousing reception, the maestro has fond memories of the city. Born on April 29, 1936, the son of Tehmina and conductor-violinist Mehli Mehta grew up in an environment surrounded by western classical music. In his biography Zubin Mehta: A Musical Journey, written by Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy, his mother is quoted to have said, “When he was sick or in pain, if we played a record, he would just put his head on my shoulder and be quiet. As soon as the record finished, he would remember the music and start crying.” 

Zubin Mehta says he does not know about his future plans
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: NCPA

Zubin has vivid memories of his childhood. “I was in Campion’s School followed by St Mary’s and later St Xavier’s College. But I would watch my father, who conducted the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and learnt a lot there, even conducting some rehearsals,” he recalled. At 18, he decided to focus full-time on music, and moved to Vienna to study under the great conductor Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music, while also learning to play the double bass. He said, “I was totally enamoured by the Vienna School composers such as Mozart, Haydn, Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg.” 

Zubin made his conducting debut with the Tonkunstler Orchestra in Vienna’s Musikverein. When he was 22, he conducted an all-Schoenberg concert. He said, “It’s his 150th birth anniversary this month and Vienna will buzz with his music at many concerts. My Vienna experience also exposed me to composers from other countries. They included Johannes Brahms or Richard Wagner of Germany, or Igor Stravinsky of Russia.” 

Zubin has performed in Mumbai with the Munich, Israel and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, among others.
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: NCPA

Though based in the U.S., Zubin has retained his Indian passport. He has performed in Mumbai with the Munich, Israel and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, among others. He remembered his first visit as a full-time conductor in 1967 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “The show was on Diwali, and we took two hours to get to Shanmukhananda Hall. I had told the musicians they would hear firecrackers while playing. Some of them thought they were being bombarded but they loved it.” 

Besides his regular classical shows in Mumbai, Delhi and other Indian metros, one of his most talked about concerts was with the Bavarian State Orchestra in Srinagar in 2013. Despite separatist threats to disrupt the event, Zubin went ahead with his programme of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Joseph Haydn, besides a collaboration with santoor player Abhay Sopori and his folk group. “The Kashmiri musicians were warned not to play but all of them turned up. It may not be my favourite show musically, but we accomplished what we wanted,” he recalled. 

Though the SOI is relatively new compared to the other orchestras Zubin has conducted, he felt it will establish itself better over time. “Each orchestra has its own personality and flexibility. Conducting them is a process that builds up over a period of time. I usually do four or five rehearsals before the final show. During those rehearsals, I choose the kind of approach that will have to deliver the best results, whether I will be firm or just play guide,” he said. At the Mumbai rehearsals, he never played taskmaster, but gently advised the orchestra. His very presence made a difference.

Zubin Mehta with Israeli soprano Chen Reiss
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: NCPA

Over the years, Zubin maintained his close friendship with pianist Daniel Barenboim and violinist Pinchas Zukerman, besides famed sitar maestro Pt Ravi Shankar, with whom he worked on the ‘Sitar Concerto No 2’. His other well-known album is the bestselling The Three Tenors In Concert, where he conducted singers Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. 

Zubin has faced the occasional criticism too, often for his glamorous image. Some people didn’t accept his attempts to collaborate with rock acts like Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and The Who. He was also accused of being a ‘jetset conductor’, and his response was that he loved travelling because his phone never rang on the plane, and he could read and memorise his scores in peace. 

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