Zubin Mehta A Musical Journey [Source Extracts: Bakhtiar. K. Dadabhoy]

This bio sketch covers almost six decades of the Maestro’s life. Not many people are aware of a unique achievement of Zubin and that was to conduct two principal orchestras in North America simultaneously (in Montreal and Los Angeles). He was also the youngest conductor in history to be featured on the cover of `Time’ magazine. He was just thirty-one then. He has been conducting since 1961 and it is now sixty-one years he has been on the podium. His health has been indifferent since the past couple of years and now he is unable to conduct while standing. He has to sit in a chair and conduct like Klemperer and Celibidache. The only conductor who in his nineties is still active on his feet is Blomstedt. Zubin Mehta has had the privilege of working with distinguished artistes and orchestras in his long career. He had a long standing relationship as Music Director for Life with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, right from 1969 until a couple of years ago, when he retired from that position. The baton that is held by a modern conductor has been credited largely to Ludwig Spohr who was a violinist and a conductor. He had initially used the violin bow and then shifted to holding a roll of stiff paper for keeping time. Eventually, he introduced the modern baton in 1817 in Hamburg. The cult of a virtuoso conductor was, at first, viewed with suspicion; but now, it is there to stay. The conductor, particularly a model such as Wilhelm Furtwangler, has emerged as a person who interprets the whole orchestral music completely and controls all individual skills of his ensemble. Music notation is an inexact art and instructions on a music score are subject to different interpretations. Leonard Bernstein said, “A conductor is a sculptor whose element is time rather than marble; and while sculpting, he has to have a superior sense of both relationship and proportion.” All teachers in the art of conducting feel that a good conductor will have a proper blend of knowing how much to prod and when to leave the members alone. The founder of modern conducting was the Hungarian Artur Nikisch. Zubin Mehta studied under Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and made his debut in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1961. He also took training as a contrabassist. He has retained his Indian passport while holding a dual citizenship of the United States of America. He was born in Bombay, India on 29th April 1936. This also happened to be the day Arturo Toscanini conducted his last performance with New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He was originally being groomed for the medical profession. His father, Mehli Mehta was an amateur musician, violinist and conductor but professionally, he was an accountant. It was his father who honed Zubin’s talent and his mother, Tehmina, who gave him encouragement to leave Medicine as vocation and take up music studies. He studied at Campion School in Bombay, India as well as St. Mary’s at Mazagaon in Bombay. `Zubin’ in Gujarati means a powerful sword. Zubin shares his birthday – 29th April with two great English conductors, Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent. Young Days The Parsis in India embraced Western Classical music more than they did Indian Classical music. In 1922, J.B. Petit, a Parsi philanthropist, funded the first symphony orchestra in Bombay and a chamber orchestra at the same time. Most of the initial musicians were Goans and the audiences were, of course, mostly Parsis. In the 1940s, a prominent lawyer of India, Nani Palkhivala played violin in the Bombay Symphony Orchestra that was directed by Mehli Mehta. He taught himself the art of playing the violin. In 1935, when Anna Pavlova toured Bombay, she relied on Bombay Symphony Orchestra to add to the ensemble she was touring with and it was Mehli Mehta who played all the solos in the performances in Bombay of Adam’s Giselle and Glazunov’s Raymonda. A Dutch musician who was living in Bombay, Jules Craen, was a big support to Mehli Mehta in managing the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Early Training During his early training days, Zubin became friends with Daniel Barenboim. This was a friendship that began when Daniel was only twelve years of age and was well established as a prodigy. They met at Siena when they were taking training at Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Soon after, Zubin met Claudio Abbado. After taking up the musical directorship for life with Israel Philharmonic in 1969, Zubin supported efforts of Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said towards bringing together Palestinian and young Israeli musicians. The West-Eastern Divan project came to life, then. Among other friends of Zubin during these days were Jacqueline du Pre, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Placido Domingo. Zubin has another feather in his cap. Karl Bohm handed over the Nikisch Ring in Vienna. His stint with the New York Philharmonic between 1978 and 1991 also happens to be the longest incumbency of any conductor in the history of that orchestra. He achieved instant stardom after his `Three Tenors’ concert in Rome. One of his main adventurous achievements was playing Wagner in Israel, in 1981. His relationship with the New York Philharmonic was not really on amicable terms after his interview with `Newsweek’ when he mentioned that New York was notorious for finishing off careers of many conductors. He apologised to the orchestra management before taking up the assignment but it took several years for the wounds to heal. He noticed during his tenure there that he rarely received good press for his concerts, particularly in his last few years. He also crossed paths with a music critic and correspondent while he was in Los Angeles and that was Martin Bernheimer. Zubin gave his first concert with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1961 when he had to fill in at the last minute for Eugene Ormandy. In 1967, when the six-day war broke out with Palestine, Zubin dropped his engagements in Montreal and flew straight to Tel Aviv to conduct Israel Philharmonic. On this occasion also, he was filling in after the cancellation of Erich Leinsdorf’s visit. His gorgeous looks during his early days of training made him a big hit with women. His aquiline features and his zest for life gave him an appeal of a movie celebrity and a unique cultural icon. He had a charismatic personality and his musical performances were galvanizing, to say the least. While at Los Angeles, he developed a good friendship with Edward. G. Robinson. Taking up the helm at New York City Zubin Mehta succeeded Pierre Boulez at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in September 1978. At the same time, Zubin was succeeded by Carlo Maria Giulini at Los Angeles. His tenure was extended in 1983 for a further period of seven years. In March of 1984, Zubin had to undergo surgery for lateral epicondylitis. This condition involves severe and chronic inflammation of the muscles which are attached to the elbow. This is akin to a tennis elbow and it results after vigorous hand and arm movements. He had to be hospitalised for a week and had to take rest for a fortnight after the surgery. After recovery, Zubin took the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on a tour of India in September 1984. The tour was a success. Zubin had come to India with an orchestra after seventeen years. I remember that very well as I was present during the Bombay concert and was pleased with the rendition at Shanmukhananda Hall in Matunga. The program included Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin and Dvorak’s New World Symphony. In June 1988, he took the orchestra to Soviet Union. Three performances were given at Leningrad’s Philharmonic Hall and three at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall. After the Russian tour, the orchestra visited ten other European countries in 1988. Zubin’s contract expired in 1991. His successor was Kurt Masur. Florence, Valencia and Munich Zubin got his contract with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino after New York Philharmonic and he managed to take the orchestra to twelve countries in a span of next twenty years. While conducting Wagner’s Ring with Valencia Community Orchestra, Zubin paid a great tribute to Wilhelm Furtwangler. He was an admirer of Furtwangler and of the latter’s philosophy of searching for deep messages between the music sheets. Zubin mentioned that Furtwangler had inspired all his players to give something over and above the score and their normal abilities and how Furtwangler had made every concert of his an emotionally intense experience for himself and his audience.