Editing Zubin Mehta (section)

===1970s–1980s===
In 1978, Mehta became the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the [[New York Philharmonic]] and remained there until his resignation in 1991.

[[File:Isaac Stern - Mehta - 1980.JPG|thumb|left|Mehta with [[Isaac Stern]] at Lincoln Center, 1980]]

He became music director of the [[Israel Philharmonic Orchestra]] (IPO) in 1977. He began the first of many guest appearances with the IPO in 1961. In 1966, he toured with the orchestra, and during the [[1967 Arab–Israeli war]], he rushed back to Israel to conduct several special concerts to demonstrate solidarity with its people.<ref name=Chicago>"Mehta mated to Israel Philharmonic", ''Chicago Tribune'', 12 March 2014, pp. 3–4.</ref> He was appointed IPO's Music Advisor in 1969, Music Director in 1977, and was made its Music Director for Life in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsday.com/|title=Newsday &#124; Long Island's & NYC's News Source|website=Newsday}}</ref>

During his five-decade connection with the IPO, he has conducted it in thousands of concerts in Israel and abroad.<ref name=Opera /> He conducted concerts with the IPO in South Lebanon in 1982, after which Arabs rushed onstage to hug the musicians.<ref name=LATimes /> He conducted it during the [[Gulf War]] in 1991, when the audience brought gas masks; in 2007, it played for an entirely Arab audience in Nazareth.<ref name=LATimes /> He claims to have a deep kinship with Israel's musicians and the spirit and tradition of the Jewish people.<ref name=Chicago /> He adds that conducting the IPO is "something I do for my heart".<ref name=Chicago /> Recalling those earlier years, he says: "How I would love to see that sight again today, of Arabs and Jews hugging each other. I'm a positive thinker. I know this day will come."<ref name=LATimes />

In 1978, Mehta left the Los Angeles Philharmonic to become music director for the [[New York Philharmonic]] (NYP).<ref name=LATimes>"Classical Music", ''Los Angeles Times'', 28 January 2007</ref> Among the reasons he wanted to direct the NYP was that it allowed him to experiment with new ideas, such as taking the orchestra to Harlem. There, they played at the Abyssinian Baptist Church each year. Accompanying the orchestra with Mehta for various concerts were [[Isaac Stern]], [[Itzhak Perlman]], and [[Kathleen Battle]].<ref name=LATimes /> He stayed with the NYP until 1991.<ref name=LATimes />

{{external media|float=right|width=200px|audio1=You may hear Zubin Mehta with the [[Israel Philharmonic]] in [[Antonin Dvorak]]'s Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 in 1968 [https://archive.org/details/lp_israel-philharmonic-tour-1968-symphony-n_antonin-dvoak-israel-philharmonic-orchestr/disc1/01.01.+Symphony+No.+7+In+D+Minor%2C+Op.+70%3A+Allegro+Maestoso.mp3 <br /> '''Here on Archive.org''']}}

From 1985 to 2017, Mehta was chief conductor of the Teatro del [[Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]] in Florence.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://firenze.repubblica.it/tempo-libero/articoli/musica/2015/04/13/news/mehta_il_mio_contratto_col_maggio_fino_al_2017_poi_saro_un_uccello_libero_-111877036/|title=La Repubblica, 13 April 2015|access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref> From 1998 until 2006, he was music director of the [[Bavarian State Opera]] in Munich. The [[Munich Philharmonic]] named him its Honorary Conductor. Since 2005, Mehta has been the main conductor of the [[Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía|Palau de les Arts]], the new opera house of the [[Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències]] in [[Valencia]], Spain.

While he was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Mehta commissioned [[Ravi Shankar]]'s Concerto No. 2 for sitar and orchestra. Following New York performances, the concerto was later recorded with the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]].<ref name=Score>Mehta, Zubin. ''Zubin Mehta: The Score of My Life'', Hal Leonard Corp. (2006), translated from Droemer Verlag (Germany) (2006)</ref>{{rp|vii}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/Zubin-Mehta-2.jpg|title=Photo of album cover for "Ravi Sharkar and Zubin Mehta, Sitar Concerto No. 2"|access-date=20 May 2017|archive-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925230158/http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/Zubin-Mehta-2.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnFYxh2wQys&list=PLbBfVVaL_GQOrLvtreprQ_27ohbjifr4n |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211113/dnFYxh2wQys |archive-date=13 November 2021 |url-status=live|title=Ravi Shankar, Mian Ki Malhar, Raga-Mala, Sitar Concerto 2, Roerich|date=30 January 2011 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>