Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
	Zubin Mehta in 2007
Born	29 April 1936 (age 87); Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay)
Occupation(s)	Musical director and conductor
Years active	1958–present
Known for	Directing and conducting:; Montreal Symphony Orchestra;; Los Angeles Philharmonic;; New York Philharmonic;; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Spouse(s)	Carmen Lasky; (m. 1958; div. 1964); Nancy Kovack (m. 1969)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Mehli Mehta; Tehmina Daruvala
Relatives	Zarin Mehta (brother)
Website	zubinmehta.net

Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music.^[1] He is the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO).

Career[change | change source]

Mehta was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1967, and Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra from 1962 to 1978, being the youngest music director ever for any major North American orchestra. In 1969, he was appointed Music Adviser to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1981 Mehta became its permanent Music Director for Life.

In 2016, Mehta has been appointed as Honorary Conductor of the Teatro San Carlo, Naples.

In December 2016, the Israel Philharmonic announced that Mehta is to retire from his permanent position as music director in October 2019.^[2]

Awards[change | change source]

The Government of India honoured Mehta in 1966 with the Padma Bhushan and in 2001 with India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.^[3]

In September 2006 the Kennedy Center announced Mehta as one of the recipients of that year's Kennedy Center Honors, presented on 2 December 2006 by President George W. Bush.