A biography for Zubin Mehtahasn’t been written yet.
“I'm a Persian Jew, and we don't speak Hebrew.”
“I am not only a Parsi, I am a Kashmiri too.”
“Rock music is predictable, unless there's great talent involved.”
“One learns how to change gears within a concert repertoire.”
“If you can sing together, you can live together.”
“The New York Philharmonic is a tremendous opportunity, a great orchestra.”
“Open rehearsals reach people who might not otherwise hear the Philharmonic - people on fixed incomes, people who can't move easily at night, students.”
“My temples are only in India. When I am in India, I go to the religious ceremonies.”
“The amount of culture going on in a small country like Israel is amazing.”
“Israel gives the West Bank water twice a week! One way of promoting good would be not to ration water.”
“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.”
“I've never said, 'I live for art.'”
“I feel growing up in Mumbai is an advantage, as we grow up speaking so many languages that when we go abroad, it becomes easier to learn new languages.”
“Critics do their job, and I take their criticism seriously.”
“If North American musicians would only know how uncomfortable life is for European musicians.”
“Go to the young conductors who are not making it, and you will hear how we shouldn't push ourselves or sell ourselves, how they don't have the right connections and the right opportunities. Well, you can be sure they've had the opportunities.”
“American musicians are very giving - they have the highest standard in the world - but they are also very demanding in their conditions.”
“I'm a pucca Indian. Bombay is my home.”
“I love the creativity of New York, but I don't enjoy the city - I don't like living here.”
“You might say that Richard Wagner was the Queen Victoria of Europe. He had musical children everywhere!”