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Why does Israel always have to suffer for others to feel bad for it?
Zubin Mehta -
My temples are only in India. When I am in India, I go to the religious ceremonies.
Zubin Mehta
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I am jealous of all those people who live on the shore of Dal Lake.
Zubin Mehta -
Open rehearsals reach people who might not otherwise hear the Philharmonic - people on fixed incomes, people who can't move easily at night, students.
Zubin Mehta -
As soon as, say, Saddam Hussein started bombing Israel with Scuds, everyone was like, 'Poor Israel.' But when Israel retaliates - and most of the time they then win - people turn against them.
Zubin Mehta -
Wagner's philosophy had absolutely nothing to do with Bruckner. Bruckner hadn't written a single word against Jews. Wagner's book on the Jews was one of the most infamous books of the 19th century.
Zubin Mehta -
In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahms's four symphonies and Richard Strauss's tone poems.
Zubin Mehta -
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.
Zubin Mehta
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We are so indebted to our ancestors, musically speaking, that they have left us 400 years of music.
Zubin Mehta -
My parents had chosen the medical profession for me. I even studied a few semesters at St Xavier's College, but at the back of my mind, I always wanted to be a musician like my father.
Zubin Mehta -
I respect the Indian government for the fact that there are no settlements in Kashmir.
Zubin Mehta -
American musicians are very giving - they have the highest standard in the world - but they are also very demanding in their conditions.
Zubin Mehta -
I miss the standard of the New York Philharmonic's playing very much. It has certainly been a high point in my life.
Zubin Mehta -
I'm very much tied to the state of Israel, but I am against their policy of settlements in Palestine.
Zubin Mehta
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I am an Indian, so I do yoga.
Zubin Mehta -
I'm really not a party person. I'm in the business of working with 100 people every day, so I don't revel in meeting a roomful of people in my leisure time.
Zubin Mehta -
There are three orchestras in Munich, all world-quality, in a city of one million. Yet every hall is full.
Zubin Mehta -
In Bombay, we have a fine concert hall. I think it is high time we built venues in Delhi and Calcutta, not only for western music, but also Indian music. It doesn't matter which party is in power; don't you think the capital of India should have a concert hall?
Zubin Mehta -
There was an opinion expressed in the newspapers that, after 20 years, maybe the Israel Philharmonic should consider asking me to leave. I thought they might have a point, so I asked my orchestra. They told me overwhelmingly that they wanted me to stay.
Zubin Mehta -
I feel very friendly towards your country, but make no mistake I will always be an Indian first.
Zubin Mehta
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Israel gives the West Bank water twice a week! One way of promoting good would be not to ration water.
Zubin Mehta -
It seems always to have been difficult to have been a New York Philharmonic conductor because of the nature of New York. We are in direct competition with the great orchestras in the world who come to play in our hall or in Carnegie, and we are constantly compared. I think that 's a good thing.
Zubin Mehta -
Rock music is predictable, unless there's great talent involved.
Zubin Mehta -
I have had bullets flying at concerts, but I don't want to talk about that.
Zubin Mehta