In Mumbai for his supposedly last show, Zubin Mehta said he may not put down the baton soon

Zubin Mehta was in India for SOI’s Autumn 2024 show

Globally celebrated conductor Zubin Mehta was greeted with a standing ovation as he walked to the podium at Mumbai’s packed Jamshed Bhabha Theatre recently. His movements seem to have slowed down considerably with age but the familiar enthusiasm and aura were still intact. After greeting the audience, the 88-year-old maestro faced musicians of the Symphony Orchestra of India, and raised his baton to the overture of ‘Die Fiedermaus’, composed by Austrian legend Johann Strauss II. 

It was the first of four shows conducted by Mumbai-born Zubin Mehta for the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA) Autumn Season - 2024. The first two nights showcased famous Viennese tunes composed by Strauss, with a good mix of waltzes, polkas and overtures. 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. 

On the opening Johann Strauss II night, the SOI didn’t present the grossly-overplayed ‘Blue Danube Waltz’. The selections included the famous ‘Wiener Blut’ waltz and ‘Kaiser Waltzer’, besides ‘Voices Of Spring’, featuring Israeli soprano Chen Reiss. In the final encore, they played the vibrant ‘Unter Donner Und Blitz (Thunder And Lightning)’. Once again, the Zubin Mehta magic mesmerised Mumbai. 

The shows were presented by NCPA and the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation. In a media interaction before the shows, Zubin had diplomatically dealt with questions on whether these would be his last shows in Mumbai. He said, “For me, conducting is like volcanic lava. It’s always ready to burst out. I am here after a two-week vacation, and now I go up to Christmas, non-stop. So I don’t know my future plans.” 

Zubin had conducted the SOI a year ago too, for the first time. He said, “Before I did those shows, I wasn’t sure whether I would come again. But I was impressed by them from the rehearsal stage itself. We played Mahler’s ‘Symphony No 1’, which requires lot of proficiency. They did a wonderful job. So when Khushroo Suntook of NCPA asked me to return, I readily agreed.” 

If Mumbai’s audiences have always greeted Zubin warmly with sold-out shows and a rousing reception, the maestro has fond memories of the city. Born on April 29, 1936, the son of Tehmina and conductor-violinist Mehli Mehta grew up in an environment surrounded by western classical music. In his biography Zubin Mehta: A Musical Journey, written by Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy, his mother is quoted to have said, “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 music and start crying.” 

Zubin has vivid memories of his childhood. “I was in Campion’s School followed by St Mary’s and later St Xavier’s College. But I would watch my father, who conducted the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and learnt a lot there, even conducting some rehearsals,” he recalled. At 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, while also learning to play the double bass. He said, “I was totally enamoured by the Vienna School composers such as Mozart, Haydn, Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg.”