Zubin Mehta.
In Monday’s (1/19) Violin Channel, an unbylined report states, “In an exclusive interview for India Today, the conductor Zubin Mehta stated that he has cancelled all of his planned appearances in Israel, in protest of policy enacted by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the latter’s treatment of the Palestinian issue. Mehta … was Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra from 1981 to 2020, and presently serves as its Music Director Emeritus. In the interview, he highlighted his work with Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which unites players from across the Middle East, as an example of young musicians from these countries working alongside one another harmoniously…. ‘I cancelled all my engagements in Israel this year, because of my objection to Mr. Netanyahu’s way of treating the whole Palestinian issue,’ he said…. ‘Many of my colleagues do [take a stance on political issues], and many turn a blind eye. I can’t agree with them.’… In the 1960s and 1970s, he held music directorships at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1978, Mehta [accepted] the top job at the New York Philharmonic and still holds the distinction of being its longest-serving conductor.”
