The musical director of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra from 1981 until his retirement in 2019, the maestro said he is not able to divide his musical endeavors from politics, and urged musicians to take a stand on contentious issues
Article by Shay Ringel |Haaretz
Conductor Zubin Mehta, who served for several decades as the musical director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, said on Thursday that he had decided to cancel all professional commitments in Israel for the coming year, over his opposition to the policies enforced by the Israeli government.
In an interview with news outlet India Today, Mehta said he is not able to separate music from politics. “I can’t and I never have,” he said.
“I canceled all my engagements in Israel this year because of my objection to Mr. Netanyahu’s way of treating the whole Palestinian issue,” he said, referring to the actions taken by the government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
The veteran conductor also said that he “hopes that he [Netanyahu] is outvoted by the next election. But it doesn’t seem like it, because he has a majority in parliament, mostly made of religious Jews.”
Mehta added that public figures should take a stand on contentious issues. “Some don’t, some turn a blind eye,” he said. “But I can’t.”
When asked if he could envision an orchestra of Israeli and Palestinians performing together, Mehta said that such an orchestra already exists: the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which was co-founded by Mehta’s colleague Argentinian-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim, and that Mehta is set to conduct it for the upcoming year.
The famed conductor Zubin Mehta visiting an Israeli Arab school in Kafr Qara (2010). Credit: Tomer Neuberg
Mehta spoke fondly of his time as musical director of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, saying, “It was a period of education. I went with them all over the world.”
Initially, he said, “I didn’t know what antisemitism was. I learned a little bit in Vienna [where he studied at the Academy of Music and later conducted], when my landlord told me I could not invite Jews to my house as friends. I never knew what that was like in India.”
In this Jan. 1, 2015 photo, conductor Zubin Mehta appears with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra during the traditional New Year’s concert at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Credit: Ronald Zak/AP
Mehta, who resides in Los Angeles, added that he has retained his Indian citizenship. He recounted conducting a concert in Kashmir with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra to show that Hindus and Muslims can share the same hall.
Over the course of his long career, Mehta has served as music director of several of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. In 1981, he was appointed music director of the Israel Philharmonic, a position he held until his retirement in 2019.
Throughout his career, Mehta has received wide international recognition, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also been awarded the Israel Prize and the President’s Medal. Over the years, he visited Israel even during times of war and crisis, and expressed his support for the country.