Zubin Mehta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zubin Mehta
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Mehta in 2020
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| Born | 29 April 1936 |
| Occupation | Conductor |
| Years active | 1958–present |
| Known for | Directing and conducting: Montreal Symphony Orchestra; Los Angeles Philharmonic; New York Philharmonic; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Spouse(s) |
Carmen Lasky
(m. 1958; div. 1964)Nancy Kovack
(m. 1969) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | Zarin Mehta (brother) Bejun Mehta (distant relative) |
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is a famous Indian conductor of classical music. He is known for leading many of the world's top orchestras. He is currently the music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father founded the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and Zubin learned music from him early on. At 18, he went to the Vienna state music academy to study conducting. He quickly started winning international music competitions. By age 21, he was already conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. In the 1960s, Mehta became famous by filling in for well-known conductors around the world.
Mehta was the music director for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1967. He also led the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1962 to 1978. He was the youngest music director ever for a major North American orchestra. In 1969, he became the Music Adviser to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1981, he was named its Music Director for Life. From 1978 to 1991, Mehta was the music director of the New York Philharmonic. He also led the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence from 1985 to 2017.
He has received many honors, including being an honorary citizen of Florence and Tel Aviv. He was also made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera. Many orchestras around the world have given him the title of Honorary Conductor. In 2006, he received the Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2008, he was honored by the Japanese Imperial Family with the Praemium Imperiale. In 2016, he became the Honorary Conductor of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Contents
Zubin Mehta's Early Life and Training
Mehta was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, when it was under British rule. His family was Parsi, and his native language is Gujarati. His father, Mehli Mehta, was a self-taught violin player who started the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. He later founded the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles.
Mehta grew up surrounded by music. He learned to play the violin and piano from his father. In his early teens, he helped lead rehearsals for the Bombay Symphony. By age sixteen, he was conducting the full orchestra during practice sessions.
Mehta first studied medicine at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. However, at 18, he left to study music in Vienna, Austria. He attended the state music academy under Hans Swarowsky. He studied there for three years and also learned to play the double bass. Swarowsky quickly saw Mehta's talent. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Mehta even organized a student orchestra to play for refugees.
He graduated in 1957 at age 21. In 1958, he won first prize in the Liverpool International Conductor's Competition. This led to a year-long contract with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. He also gained attention at the Tanglewood Music Center, where Charles Munch, conductor of the Boston Symphony, noticed him.
Zubin Mehta's Conducting Career
Leading Orchestras in the 1960s
In 1960 and 1961, Mehta filled in for famous conductors worldwide and received great reviews. He conducted the Vienna Symphony and made his New York debut with the New York Philharmonic.
In 1960, Mehta became the chief conductor and Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He held this position until 1967. By 1961, he had already conducted the Vienna, Berlin, and Israel Philharmonic orchestras. In 1962, he took the Montreal Symphony on a tour to Russia, Paris, and Vienna. His concert in Vienna received a 20-minute standing ovation.
In 1961, he was also named assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP). He became the orchestra's Music Director from 1962 to 1978. At 26, he was the youngest person to hold this title. He was the first person to direct two North American symphony orchestras at the same time. Mehta worked hard to improve the LAP's sound, making it warmer and richer. Cellist Jacqueline du Pré said, "He provides a magic carpet for you to float on."
In 1965, Mehta conducted Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. Critics praised his exciting performance. He later conducted other operas there, like Carmen and Tosca. For Montreal's Expo 67, he conducted both the Montreal and Los Angeles orchestras together. By 1967, his schedule was very busy, and Time magazine featured him on its cover in 1968. In 1970, Mehta even performed with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.
Conducting in the 1970s and 1980s
In 1978, Mehta became the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. He stayed there until 1991.
He became music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) in 1977. He first conducted the IPO in 1961. During the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, he returned to Israel to conduct special concerts to support the people. He was named IPO's Music Advisor in 1969, Music Director in 1977, and its Music Director for Life in 1981.
Mehta has conducted the IPO in thousands of concerts in Israel and abroad over five decades. He conducted concerts in South Lebanon in 1982, where Arabs hugged the musicians. He also conducted during the Gulf War in 1991, when the audience wore gas masks. In 2007, the orchestra played for an all-Arab audience in Nazareth. He feels a strong connection to Israel's musicians and people. He says conducting the IPO is "something I do for my heart."
When he led the New York Philharmonic, Mehta tried new ideas, like taking the orchestra to Harlem. They played at the Abyssinian Baptist Church every year. Famous musicians like Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman performed with them.
From 1985 to 2017, Mehta was the chief conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence. From 1998 to 2006, he was music director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The Munich Philharmonic named him its Honorary Conductor. Since 2005, Mehta has been the main conductor of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain.
Highlights of the 1990s
In 1998, Mehta began directing the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He said it gave him "another panorama" to be involved in running an opera house.
In 1990, he conducted the first ever Three Tenors concert in Rome. He joined the tenors again in 1994 in Los Angeles. In 1992, he conducted a historic production of Tosca. Each act took place in the actual setting and at the exact time specified in the music. This production was broadcast live from famous locations in Rome.
In June 1994, Mehta performed the Mozart Requiem with the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra. This concert was held at the ruins of Sarajevo's National Library. It raised money for victims of the Yugoslav Wars. In August 1999, he conducted Mahler's Symphony No. 2 near the Buchenwald concentration camp. The Bavarian State Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played together.
He toured India in 1984 with the New York Philharmonic. He returned in 1994 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1997 and 1998, Mehta worked with Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. They created a production of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot. They staged it in Florence and then in Beijing's Forbidden City. This production had over 300 extras and 300 soldiers.
2000s and 2010s
On 26 December 2005, the first anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Mehta and the Bavarian State Orchestra performed in Chennai, India. This concert was a memorial for the tsunami victims. 2006 was his last year with the Bavarian State Orchestra.
In 2011, Mehta's performance with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in London was interrupted by protesters. This caused the BBC to stop the live radio broadcast, a first for the Proms concerts. In September 2013, Mehta performed with the Bavarian State Orchestra in Srinagar, India. They gave up their fees for this special concert.
In October 2015, he returned to Chennai to perform with the Australian World Orchestra (AWO). In 2016, he conducted the Harbin Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in China.
In December 2016, the Israel Philharmonic announced that Mehta would finish his time as music director in October 2019. He now holds the title of music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic. In August 2022, Mehta conducted the AWO in Australia and at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms.
Zubin Mehta's Personal Life
Mehta's first marriage was to Canadian soprano Carmen Lasky in 1958. They had a son, Mervon, and a daughter, Zarina. They divorced in 1964. In 1969, Mehta married Nancy Kovack, an American actress. Mehta lives in the United States but remains an Indian citizen.
One of his close friends was Ravi Shankar, a famous sitar player. They first met in the 1960s and remained friends for many years.
Honors and Awards for Zubin Mehta
- In 1965, he received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University.
- In 1991, Mehta received a special prize at the Israel Prize ceremony for his dedication to Israel and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
- In 1995, he became a Laureate of the Wolf Prize in Arts.
- In 1999, he received the "Lifetime Achievement Peace and Tolerance Award" from the United Nations.
- The Government of India honored Mehta with the Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
- In September 2006, he was named a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.
- In February 2007, he received the Second Annual Bridgebuilder Award at Loyola Marymount University.
- Mehta is an honorary citizen of Florence and Tel Aviv. He is an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera (1997), Vienna Philharmonic (2001), Munich Philharmonic (2004), Los Angeles Philharmonic (2006), and Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (2006).
- In October 2008, Mehta received the Praemium Imperiale from Japan.
- In March 2011, Mehta received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In September 2013, the President of India awarded him the Tagore Award for his work in cultural harmony.
- In January 2019, the Los Angeles Philharmonic named Mehta as their Conductor Emeritus.
- In February 2019, the Berlin Philharmonic made Mehta an honorary member.
- In September 2019, the President of Slovenia gave him the Golden Order of Merit.
- In November 2020, the World Jewish Congress gave him the Teddy Kollek Award.
- In September 2022, he was appointed an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia.
Films Featuring Zubin Mehta
Mehta's life has been shown in several films:
- Portrait of Zubin Mehta (1968) by Terry Sanders.
- The Trout (1969) shows Mehta playing the double bass.
- The Bolero (1973) features Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
- He played himself in On Wings of Fire (1986), a film about Zoroastrianism.
- Zubin Mehta: In Rehearsal (1996) shows him rehearsing with the Israel Philharmonic.
- Dancing Beethoven (2017) is a Spanish documentary about Mehta and his orchestra preparing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Educational Projects by Zubin Mehta
In 2009, Mehta started Mifneh (Hebrew for "change"). This is a music education program for Israeli Arabs. Three schools in Shfaram, the Jezreel Valley, and Nazareth are part of this project.
He and his brother Zarin are on the Advisor Council of the Mehli Mehta Foundation.
In 2005, Mehta and Josef Buchmann founded the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. This school is a partnership between Tel Aviv University and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Mehta is the school's honorary president and is still very involved.
Images for kids
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Mehta in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Zubin Mehta para niños
