My parents had chosen the medical profession for me. I even studied a few semesters at St Xavier’s College, but at the back of my mind, I always wanted to be a musician like my father. – Zubin Mehta
We are so indebted to our ancestors, musically speaking, that they have left us 400 years of music. – Zubin Mehta
In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahms’s four symphonies and Richard Strauss’s tone poems. – Zubin Mehta
I am always hearing from Israelis, ‘Oh, CNN is anti-Israel,’ or ‘BBC is against us.’ But no, they are reporting facts. – Zubin Mehta
I love the creativity of New York, but I don’t enjoy the city – I don’t like living here. – Zubin Mehta
Just imagine, the thousands and thousands of concerts that take place every single day, all over the world. And the positive effect that they would have on the people listening. Now imagine a world without this. This void… it is unthinkable. – Zubin Mehta
The private sector is growing so incredibly in India, in every city you have industries for whom building a concert hall would be nothing financially. But they just don’t do it. – Zubin Mehta
I sometimes feel it is to my disadvantage that I have not conducted the Cleveland Orchestra or the Boston or Chicago symphonies, but then I have had to sacrifice something in order to have enough time with my orchestras. – Zubin Mehta
Israel is a piece of real estate that neither Jew or Arab will let go of; neither will leave these shores. And so they will have to learn to live together. – Zubin Mehta
Wagner’s philosophy had absolutely nothing to do with Bruckner. Bruckner hadn’t written a single word against Jews. Wagner’s book on the Jews was one of the most infamous books of the 19th century. – Zubin Mehta
