Zubin Mehta was greeted with a standing ovation when he took to the stage at a packed Jamshed Bhabha theatre in Mumbai recently. His movements had slowed down considerably with age, but his familiar enthusiasm and aura were still intact. After greeting the audience, the 88-year-old maestro faced the musicians of the Symphony Orchestra of India and raised his baton to play the overture of ‘Die Fidermaus’ composed by Austrian legend Johann Strauss II.
This was the first of four shows curated by Mumbai-born Zubin Mehta for the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA) Autumn Season – 2024. The first two nights featured famous Viennese melodies composed by Strauss, with a good mix of waltzes, polkas and overtures. In the last two shows (August 24 and 25), Zubin conducted music by German composer Richard Strauss, including the tone poems ‘Don Juan’ and ‘Ein 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
In the opening night of the Johann Strauss II concert, SOI did not perform the much-played ‘Blue Danube Waltz’. The selections included the famous ‘Wiener Blut’ waltz and ‘Kaiser Waltzer’, besides ‘Voice of Spring’, performed by Israeli soprano Chen Reis. In the final performance, they played the lively ‘Unter Donner und Blitz (Thunder and Lightning)’. Once again, the magic of Zubin Mehta mesmerized Mumbai.
The shows were presented by NCPA and Mehli Mehta Music Foundation. Speaking to the media before the show, Zubin diplomatically responded to the question if these would be his last shows in Mumbai. He said, “For me, conducting is like the lava of a volcano. It is always ready to erupt. I have come here after a two-week vacation, and now I will be going non-stop till Christmas. So I don’t know my future plans.”
Four shows in Mumbai presented by NCPA and Mehli Mehta Music Foundation. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: NCPA
Zubin had also conducted SOI for the first time a year ago. He said, “Before attending those shows I was not sure if I would come back again. But I was impressed by them right from the rehearsal stage. We played Mahler’s ‘Symphony No. 1’, which requires a lot of finesse. They did a brilliant job. So when Khushru Suntuk of NCPA asked me to come back, I immediately agreed.”
Mumbai audiences have always given Zubin a warm welcome, with sold-out tickets and rousing receptions, but the maestro has fond memories of the city. Born on April 29, 1936, the son of Tehmina and conductor-violinist Mehli Mehta, he grew up in an environment surrounded by Western classical music. His biography includes Zubin Mehta: A musical journeyWritten by Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy, his mother has said, “When he was sick or in pain, if we played a record, he would put his head on my shoulder and be quiet. As soon as the record ended, he would remember the music and start crying.”
Zubin Mehta says he is not sure about his future plans. Photo Credit: Courtesy: NCPA
Zubin has few memories of his childhood. “I was at Campion School, followed by St Mary’s and then St Xavier’s College. But I used to watch my father, who conducted the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and there I learnt a lot, even attended some rehearsals,” he recalled. At the age of 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, as well as learnt to play the double bass. “I was completely influenced by composers of the Vienna School like Mozart, Haydn, Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg,” he said.
Zubin made his conducting debut with the Tonkünstler Orchestra at Vienna’s Musikverein. When he was 22, he conducted an all-Schoenberg concert. “This month is his 150th birth anniversary and Vienna will be abuzz with his music in several concerts. My Vienna experience also introduced me to composers from other countries. They included Johannes Brahms or Richard Wagner from Germany or Igor Stravinsky from Russia,” he said.
Zubin has performed with the Munich, Israel and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: NCPA
Though Zubin lives in the US, he retains his Indian passport. He has performed with the Munich, Israel and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras in Mumbai, among other places. He remembers his first visit as a full-time conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1967. “The show was on Diwali, and it took us two hours to reach Shanmukhananda Hall. I had told the musicians that they would hear firecrackers while playing. Some of them thought they were being bombed, but they loved it.”
Apart from his regular classical shows in Mumbai, Delhi and other Indian metropolises, one of his most talked-about concerts was with the Bavarian State Orchestra in Srinagar in 2013. Despite threats from separatists to disrupt the event, Zubin went ahead with his programme with Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Joseph Haydn, besides collaborating with santoor player Abhay Sopori and his folk group. “The Kashmiri musicians were warned not to play, but they all came. It may not have been my favourite show music-wise, but we achieved what we wanted to,” he recalls.
Though SOI is relatively new compared to the other orchestras conducted by Zubin, he feels it will establish itself better with time. “Each orchestra has its own personality and flexibility. Conducting them is a process that evolves over time. I usually have four or five rehearsals before the final show. During those rehearsals, I choose the kind of approach that will yield the best results, whether I am firm or just guiding,” he said. In the Mumbai rehearsals, he never played the role of taskmaster, but rather gently advised the orchestra. His presence itself made a difference.
Zubin Mehta with Israeli soprano Chen Reis | Photo Credit: Courtesy: NCPA
Over the years Zubin has maintained his close friendship with pianist Daniel Barenboim and violinist Pinchas Zukerman, besides working with renowned sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar with whom he collaborated on ‘Sitar Concerto No. 2’. His second famous album is the bestseller The Three Tenors Together in ConcertWhere he directed singers Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.
Zubin has also faced criticism sometimes, often for his glamorous image. Some people did not approve of his attempts to collaborate with rock artists such as Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and The Who. He was also accused of being a ‘jetset conductor’, and his response was that he likes to travel because his phone never rings on the plane, and he can read and memorize his scores in peace.
