Page 47 - Seniors Today - April Issue
P. 47
His father Mehli Mehta was a well-known
conductor and violinist in Mumbai, and
his mother Tehmina supported his love for
music. “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 pain
and start crying,” his mother would say.
Once Mehta decided his future lay in music,
he left for Vienna at the age of 18, having
Zubin Mehta and actor Kirk Douglas (speaking) at the
unveiling of the Zubin Mehta Star on the Hollywood Walk done his schooling at St Mary’s in Mazagon,
of Fame, in 2011 Mumbai. He developed a fascination for
commanding respect. the Viennese style of music, including
Mehta celebrates his 85th birthday on composers like Josef Haydn, Wolfgang
April 29 – a lucky day for music as jazz Amadeus Mozart, Gustav Mahler and Arnold
legend Duke Ellington, tabla maestro Ustad Schonberg, besides Johann Strauss Jr’s
Allarakha and country superstar Willie waltzes. He studied the work of many other
Nelson were also born on the same day. Given non-Austrian composers in detail, including
the Covid situation, there may not be any Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner and Igor
concerts by Mehta in India in the near future. Stravinsky, though his concert programmes
The conductor himself underwent a brief have also included Nikolai Rimsky-
period of hospitalisation in February, as he Korsakov’s ‘Scheherazade’. He also closely
felt uneasy during rehearsals in Milan, Italy. followed the contrasting styles of conductors
Doctors attributed his condition to stress Arturo Toscanini and Wilhelm Furtwangler.
caused by numerous work commitments. Later, Mehta developed a close friendship
In 2016, of course, his 80th birthday was with pianist Daniel Barenboim and violinist
celebrated with much gusto. Besides the Pinchas Zukerman, besides famed sitar
book launch, there was a series of concerts maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, with whom
organised by the Mehli Mehta Music he worked on the ‘Sitar Concerto No 2’. In a
Foundation at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre career spanning over six decades, Mehta has
and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Mehta had many firsts. Time magazine featured him
conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,
and the different shows featured artistes
like the great tenor Andrea Bocelli, Mexican
soprano Maria Katzarava, famed violinist
Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth
and pianist Denis Matsuev. The actual
birthday was celebrated in Vienna, where he
played the works of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Early love for music
Like most geniuses, Mehta showed an Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic
inclination for music from an early age. Orchestra at the NCPA, Mumbai in 2008
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #22 | APRIL 2021 47
