Mehta, Zubin, << MAY tuh, ZOO bihn >> (1936-…), was a symphony orchestra conductor. Mehta became known for his forceful interpretations of such large-scale Romantic compositions as the works of the French composer Hector Berlioz.
Mehta was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, on April 29, 1936. From 1954 to 1960, he studied conducting in Vienna, Austria, under conductor Hans Swarowsky. Mehta became music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Quebec, Canada, in 1960. In 1962, Mehta took the same position with the Los Angeles Symphony in California, becoming the youngest conductor of a major symphony orchestra in the United States. He served as director of both orchestras until 1967, when he resigned from the Montreal post.
In 1968, Mehta became the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Tel Aviv. He left the Los Angeles Symphony in 1978 to become music director of the New York Philharmonic in New York City, a position he held until 1991. He was music director of the Bavarian State Opera, based in Munich, Germany, from 1998 to 2006. Mehta retired from his Israel Philharmonic position in October 2019.
