Zubin Mehta takes a final bow with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

The star conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, took the stage in Tel Aviv on Sunday for an emotional final performance. He is retiring after 50 years with the orchestra. The 83-year-old artist recently went through treatment for a cancerous tumour. Last year he walked with a cane, and this year, he earned a long standing ovation from the packed house as he said goodbye to his family, the orchestra.    

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Zubin Mehta’s last performances included the Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, which are also known as Resurrection. His last performance was at the Mediterranean city’s Charles Bronfman Auditorium. The Indian-born Mehta was joined by soprano Chen Reiss, mezzo-soprano Okka von der Damerau, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.  In the intermission of his last show, he expressed from the bottom of his heart that the orchestra has not only given him the experience of this generation but of previous generations too. He adds that he cannot even describe the things he has learnt by living among musicians for so long. 

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At the end of his performance, he was hounded by fans placing flower garlands around his neck and also around his wife’s neck, as she had watched him from the audience from so many years. Mehta will be succeeded by a 30 year old. He is known as Lahav Shani and is also named the orchestra’s musical director emeritus.

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The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra appointed Zubin Mehta as a music advisor in 1969. Later, he went on to become the music director in 1977, and, in the year 1981, he was appointed the music director of the orchestra for life. He has directed over 4,000 concerts till date, which span over a period of 50 years. He has performed tours in five different continents in his life as a director. He also worked as a music director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1962 to 1978 and of the New York Philharmonic from 1978 to 1991. With this, he also helped his brother to form the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation in Mumbai, where children are educated in western classical music. He is the co-chairman of the organization. 

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