ZUBIN MEHTA

One shouldn't know the future.

I am jealous of all those people who live on the shore of Dal Lake.

American musicians are very giving - they have the highest standard in the world - but they are also very demanding in their conditions.

I am not only a Parsi, I am a Kashmiri too.

Israel is a piece of real estate that neither Jew or Arab will let go of; neither will leave these shores. And so they will have to learn to live together.

I knew at university that medicine was just not for me. I saved many lives by not being a doctor!

Some musical directors have more chutzpah. They pick up the phone and talk people into giving. I prefer to call and say 'thank you' after the money has been contributed.

You might say that Richard Wagner was the Queen Victoria of Europe. He had musical children everywhere!

I respect the Indian government for the fact that there are no settlements in Kashmir.

Indian hotels are doing well globally because they understand hospitality.

I am an Indian, so I do yoga.

One learns how to change gears within a concert repertoire.

New York for a long time was a kind of conductor's graveyard.

My life is so full of sacrifices.

There are people who think I am Israeli. That's rubbish.

Go to the young conductors who are not making it, and you will hear how we shouldn't push ourselves or sell ourselves, how they don't have the right connections and the right opportunities. Well, you can be sure they've had the opportunities.

I am always hearing from Israelis, 'Oh, CNN is anti-Israel,' or 'BBC is against us.' But no, they are reporting facts.

I sometimes feel it is to my disadvantage that I have not conducted the Cleveland Orchestra or the Boston or Chicago symphonies, but then I have had to sacrifice something in order to have enough time with my orchestras.

I love rap because it talks about pain that comes authentically from the ghetto. It moves me.

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.

Though there is such a rich tradition of culture and arts, I have never been invited to perform at a concert in South India.

All these people who scream about Kashmir being an armed camp are in fact responsible for keeping it that way.

I just want to play for Hindus and Muslims that sit together. That's all I want to do.

Israel gives the West Bank water twice a week! One way of promoting good would be not to ration water.

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?