Mehli Mehta (25 September 1908 – 19 October 2002) was an Indian conductor and violinist.

Early life

Mehta was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to a

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

family. His involvement in music stemmed from his birth. As a young violinist his main musical influence and inspiration was

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

. A pioneering figure in the Indian musical world, he founded the

Bombay Symphony Orchestra Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 1935, and was its

Concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

(1935–1945) and conductor (1945–1955). He was married to Tehmina.

Performing career

In 1940 Mehta founded the Bombay String Quartet. He spent five years in New York City studying with eminent violin pedagogue

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman. Biography Galamian w ...

, and earned degrees from the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

and

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

in London. He moved to the United States in 1945, where he studied violin in New York. In 1955 Mehli Mehta moved to England, where he served for five years as Assistant Concertmaster and Concertmaster of the Hallé Orchestra of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

under Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

. Mehta came to regard Barbirolli as "one of the greatest influences of my conducting life." In 1959 he joined the Curtis Quartet of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and toured with them across the United States for the next five years. In later years he was to state, "the string quartet has been the prime, basic factor of my entire musical philosophy." He then moved to Los Angeles and was Director of the Orchestra Department at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(1964 to 1976). Within two months of his arrival in 1964, he organised the

American Youth Symphony The American Youth Symphony (AYS) is an orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States, It was founded in 1964. Carlos Izcaray was announced as the third music director in the orchestra's history in 2016. History AYS was founded in 1 ...

with students from all the universities in Los Angeles. Under his dedicated leadership the orchestra grew to its current size of 110 young musicians, ages 16–27, from all over Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. He conducted the orchestra at the twelve-hour

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Marathon in a performance of a Beethoven symphony on Beethoven's 200th birthday, 16 December 1970, in the

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center, which is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt ...

, a concert at which his son,

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

, also conducted.Riposte by Rip Rense: "Ode To Joy..."
/ref> He led the orchestra until its 34th season in 1998. In his biography of Barbirolli, author Michael Kennedy quotes the great conductor as saying, "I... attended Mehli's concert with the American Youth Symphony. I am glad I did, for dear Mehli was magnificent. Made those children play really quite splendidly. I was really thrilled and impressed." Mehta was highly acclaimed when he appeared as conductor with the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

in 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1984. In addition, he conducted the

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Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Tokyo,

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Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and

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Symphonies; the

Sinfonietta; and the symphony orchestras of

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, Miami,

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, Ashland and Eugene. In March 1983, he made his New York debut at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

to unanimous acclaim with the National Orchestra Association Symphony. Mehta was the recipient of the Governor's "Award for the Arts" of the

California Arts Council The California Arts Council is a state agency based in Sacramento, United States. Its eight council members are appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature. The agency's mission is to advance California through arts, culture and creativi ...

: the "Magnum Opus Award" of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

; the American String Teachers Award; the Award of Merit from the Mayor and Council of Los Angeles; and the Zoroastrian Association of California's Honorable Award. Mehta was under the management of ICM Artists Ltd., New York. Mehli Mehta died in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, California on 19 October 2002, aged 94.

Legacy

Mehta's son, Zubin, is a well-known classical music conductor. His other son, Zarin, was the executive director of the New York Philharmonic and was previously the executive director of the Montreal Symphony as well as the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is an outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September. The first orchestra to perform at Ravinia Festival was the New York Philharmonic unde ...

in Chicago.

Sources

MV Daily.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Mehli 1908 births 2002 deaths Indian conductors (music) Parsi people from Mumbai University of Mumbai alumni Alumni of Trinity College of Music Indian emigrants to the United States UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty 20th-century Indian musicians American male musicians of Indian descent American musicians of Indian descent Musicians from Mumbai 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom