Exactly two years ago, renowned Mumbai-born classical conductor Zubin Mehta celebrated his 80th birthday in Vienna, playing the works of the composer Ludwig Van Beethoven. A few days before that, he had three concerts in Mumbai with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Two shows, held at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, featured violinists Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth, and pianist Denis Matsuev. The third, at the Brabourne Stadium, had noted tenor Andrea Bocelli. Like at every Zubin Mehta show, the venues were packed.
My Tryst With Zubin Mehta
On previous tours, I had unsuccessfully tried for an interview. But I attended his press conferences, where Mehta exuded charisma and wit. His wife Nancy accompanied him. I later met him at a party held in his honour.
When I introduced myself, he asked, “Were you the gentleman who wrote an open letter to me complaining about various things affecting western classical music in India?”
I wanted to run. But he said, “I liked it. You do call a spade a spade. But be generous while reviewing my concerts.” Two years ago, I again, tried my luck for an interview. I sent mails on various IDs, combining his name and birth date with gmail, AOL and Hotmail. I got one reply, “Thanks for your email, but I am not the maestro. Only share his name.”
Luckily, I managed to attend two events he was addressing soon after. The first was the release of his book, Zubin Mehta: A Musical Journey by Bakhtiar K Dadabhoy. The following day, there was an ‘In Conversation’ session with noted physician Jehangir Sorabjee. At the launch, I was yet to receive a copy of the book while Zubin Mehta was leaving. However, I sneaked up close and took out his autobiography The Score Of My Life. Everyone looked a bit puzzled, but he willingly signed it.
Mehta joked:
If you actually read it, you are one of the few to have done so.
At the 'In Conversation' event, he regaled the select gathering with his humour and candour. He freely expressed his political views and talked of his love for Test cricket. He quipped:
I am too old-fashioned for IPL, and Italian and Parsi food. I avoid North Indian cuisine which uses the same gravy for every dish, and I even taught the chef of this hotel how to prepare akhuri (A Parsi egg specialty) as they didn’t use the right amount of chillies.Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta & the Art of Conducting
On the morning of Zubin Mehta’s concert, I attended the final rehearsal for which the musicians were dressed formally. Mehta was a taskmaster, but he never raised his voice. His sheer presence made a difference.
He made the orchestra practice a piece to perfection. Being a conductor can be a hectic and stressful job. In many ways, it is like being the CEO of a big corporation. One has to know various compositions inside out, symphonies and concertos, often lasting over 40 minutes. One has to select musicians and train them, look for substitutes, fix travel plans, and manage egos and internal conflicts.
And Mehta seems to have enjoyed every bit of the role.
The son of Tehmina and violinist-conductor Mehli Mehta, he expressed a desire to become a conductor since childhood. He admired the works of Arturo Toscanini and Wilhelm Furtwangler, and later Karl Bohm and Hans Swarowsky.
Though he had practiced as a conductor for a while in Mumbai early on, he moved to Vienna at 18 to study the art of conducting. Even now, he has a special liking for the Viennese school of music.
Since then, his passion has taken him places; he has conducted the New York, Los Angeles, Israel, Vienna, London and Munich philharmonic orchestras, among others. These are besides collaborating with Pandit Ravi Shankar on 'Sitar Concerto No 2' and conducting ‘The Three Tenors’ comprising Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
It’s been a life full of enormous achievements, attributed primarily to his dedication, focus, hard work and boundless energy.
Interestingly, he shares his birthday with two other music legends – jazz great Duke Ellington and tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha. It's a special day for music. Happy 82nd, Zubin Mehta.
(Narendra Kusnur is a Mumbai-based music critic.)
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