Zubin Mehta. An under-rated conductor?

[richardfinegold]

I always thought Gramophone had a downer on Zubin , with Robert Layton spearheading the attack.

His Planets with L.A. is in my car cd player now, and I've always liked it. I found myself on a plane to Isreal with

slava in 1978 as they were having some Concerts celebrating Isreal's 30th Anniversary since the 1948 Mandate. Rostro exited the plane right before me but was besieged by autograph seekers. Mehta, Barenboim, Zuckerman and a few other notables came up to greet him right as Slava was giving me a big bear hug (which he would do to absolutely everybody who greeted him in those days). I remember being released from the crushing hug (I now weigh 80 pounds more than in those days and M.R. literally lifted me off the ground) and looking directly into their faces. They had puzzled looks like , Who the heck is this guy with Slava, and then Zubin gave me a big friendly smile as he simultaneously drove me away with one arm while grabbing Rostro with the other and guiding him away from the adoring crowd.
off topic, but a big moment in my life and I can't seperate any mention of Mehta without thinking of it

[Barbirollians]

Often disparaged for glitzy superficial performances in the journals . No idea if there is any merit in those attacks though I suspect they may have affected my record buying as I can only find three records he conducted - all very fine. Mahler 2 with the VPO, Mozart with perlman and Zukerman and the Chopin Concertos with Perahia.

[pastoralguy]

I always thought Gramophone had a downer on Zubin , with Robert Layton spearheading the attack.

His two Brahms cycles got damned with faint praise in a recent edition of Gramophone. I'm going to order his 'Pastoral' symphony recording when my bank card is replaced following its recent hot tub cycle...

Many thanks for the contributions.

[Barbirollians]

His two Brahms cycles got damned with faint praise in a recent edition of Gramophone. I'm going to order his 'Pastoral' symphony recording when my bank card is replaced following its recent hot tub cycle...

Many thanks for the contributions.

I do recall very good reviews for his Schmidt Fourth Symphony recording of which I have the highly rated Frankly Worse than Most recording .

[Barbirollians]

I cannot believe that I have forgotten his terrific Turandot recording ! That is fantastic .

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I do recall very good reviews for his Schmidt Fourth Symphony recording

Oh, yes! That was a very fine performance and recording.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Mehta conducted the first performance of the Rite of Spring I heard live, in the RFH many years ago. It was stunning, but maybe I was just blown away by the music then.

I've seen him conduct only once - Haydn, Berg & Stravinsky with the VPO at The Sage. Superb!

[Tetrachord]

I wonder if Mehta hasn't been negatively affected by his promotion of projects like "The Three Tenors" and similar popular concerts. I must admit these were embarrassing to me as an kunstmusik connoisseur. It felt as if Mehta was, at times, trashing the brand (himself).

[gurnemanz]

I've seen him conduct only once - Haydn, Berg & Stravinsky with the VPO at The Sage. Superb!

Reminded me that I had seen him once and have checked old programmes to discover that it was Bruckner 8 at the Proms in 1974 with LA Philharmonic. A long stand if you're promming, which I was, but a great night as far as I can I remember. It was their first Proms appearance and there was much banter with the Prommers. The brass section stood up and did a "spontaneous" rendition of the Stars and Stripes Forever.

[Simon B]

I cannot believe that I have forgotten his terrific Turandot recording ! That is fantastic .

Likewise La Fanciulla del West (with Neblett and Domingo + ROH) - still the definitive recording IMO despite the slightly dodgy sonics of 40 year old technology that can't quite cope with the heft of perhaps Puccini's most glorious orchestral writing...

[ahinton]

It's been heartwarming to note in this thread that there are quite a few others who seem puzzled by Mehta's reputation as something of an also-ran conductor, something that I've never been able to understand.

[Stanfordian]

It's been heartwarming to note in this thread that there are quite a few others who seem puzzled by Mehta's reputation as something of an also-ran conductor, something that I've never been able to understand.

In my view his reputation as a serious artist suffered when he collaborated with 'The Three Tenors'. In his younger days he was rated as a conductor with more potential than his friend Claudio Abbado.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In my view his reputation as a serious artist suffered when he collaborated with 'The Three Tenors'.

I think you (and Tetra) are probably right, Stanf - curiously, the reputations of the three tenors themselves didn't similarly suffer from the experience. Mehta (along with Barenboim, Zuckerman, Du Pre) always had a reputation for "high jinx" where appropriate. The Nupen film of the Trout shows this - along with stories of Barenboim and Mehta playing practical jokes on each other in Concerto rehearsals.

[DracoM]

'Fraid I think he was OVER rather than under-rated. Have a few connections in the London orchestral world and his reputation was/is 'not high' among some.

[Tetrachord]

If people who weren't kunstmusik aficionados were reading this thread they'd think the lot of us were just elitist snobs. It shows how easily one can be misunderstood; we who take our music very very seriously and understand it as well as we do have very strong ideas about how it should sound, be performed and appreciated in general. I must say that it's one of the very very few things in this world I take EXTREMELY seriously and which is no laughing matter. I have otherwise a very off-beat, zany and unconventional sense of humour, but playing around with the greatest music written on the planet - or treating it with less gravitas then it deserves - doesn't ever amuse me.

Yes, I know; I need to get a life! People keep telling me that!!