Zubin Mehta has finished chemo

Manish Mehta says:

Respected Zubin Mehta Sir:
We were eagerly looking forward to seeing you and the Israel Philharmonic on February 8 at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium, but learned recently you were unable to travel for the concert. Wishing you Godspeed and well-being forever! Thank you for your milestone contributions to the world of music, and for doing India & the Parsi community proud!

Karin Ruttenberg says:

Mr. Zubin, you look sooooo much like your ‘father’, Mehli, who was my ‘conductor’ of the American Youth Symphony Orchestra. I was ‘Honored’ to be ‘able’ to be in his orchestra, even though I wasn’t a very accomplished violinist at age (15-21). I took private lessons from your dad, that was in the ‘upstairs’ separate room from your house. Andre Below, who was a child Genius, had his ‘lesson’ before ‘mine’. You dad was sooooo funny. He said to me, ‘Why can’t you play like Andre?” I told him that I was not a ‘child protege’, and I wanted to continue to play in the American Youth Orchestra. We would meet every Saturday, at Shoenberg Hall, at UCLA, for three hours. I played in the ‘2nd’ violin section, last stand, but I was Still Honored to be able to be with such a great conductor. I sat next to a girl named ‘Karen’. MY name is Also Karin. Well, Karen, didn’t enjoy playing the violin and would start to ‘Hiccup’, a lot, while we were practicing.Your dad would yell, ‘Karen, Stop that or you are out’!! I thought that he meant ‘me’. (lol) What was so great about being in the orchestra, at that time, was this;
We had a ‘Music Camp’ during the summer, near Big Bear, and would practice a few hours a day. It was beautiful. There was a lake, a canoeing, when we had ‘free’ time for ourselves. One day, there was a party, with music, in the hall there. Your dad, and Temi, wife, were sitting together in those ‘fold-up’ chairs. I went up to your dad, and asked him to ‘dance’ with me. He just ‘grinned’ and said, ‘No thanks’. I will never forget the time, the orchestra got to play for a ‘Christmas’ TV special, with other choirs, as well. It was televised. My eyes were and still Are very sensitive to bright lights. Well, when he TV lights came on, and we were ‘Live’ on TV, I couldn’t ‘see’ the music score, and decided just to ‘fake it’, and made ‘sure’ that my violin bow was at least going in the same direction as the other 2nd violinists. I couldn’t ‘wait’ until it was over.
I had to ‘drop out’ of the orchestra at (21) years old, due to a ‘pinched’ nerve in my left shoulder and couldn’t ‘hold up’ the violin. Many years later, (like 20 yrs) I was at the Brentwood post office and your dad was there. He said, ‘Karin, how are you? are you still playing the violin’? I told him that I play every now and then. He said, ‘Come to rehersal on a Saturday. I ‘thought’ that he meant to ‘Play’ at the rehersal, so I practiced a lot…..then got up the ‘nerve’ and brought my violin to rehersal on one Saturday. The orchestra was just getting ‘set up’, and he saw me, and said, “Karin, what are you doing here’? I told him that he invited me to attend rehersal. He explained that he meant, only to’ Watch’ and ‘Listen’. Well, I wanted to crawl under a chair, I was soooo embarrassed, and told him that it was ‘ok’ and I would just ‘watch’. He said, ‘Well, after all these years, do you think that you can still play’? I said that I wasn’t sure. He told me to sit in my ‘old chair’ (way back). Well, apparently, the orchestra was well prepared to play very fast. I just held my violin up, looked at the music, and couldn’t keep up with it, as so many years had passed. I left at the ‘break’. I will tell you that I loved your parents. I will never forget the time when I had my ‘private’ lesson from him. There was a knock at the door, and he asked me to open the door, and YOU were standing there. I Almost Fainted! You were so gorgeous, and I was sooo nervous. He introduced you, as his son, the conductor. As you’ve aged, you are looking more like you dad, it’s incredible!
I just wanted you to know these things, as I have been ‘missing’ being in a great orchestra, all these years.
By the way, when I was (15) yrs old, I had a statue of a ‘conductor’, made for your dad. I hope that you still have it. It was with ‘love’.
Take care. Hope you will be well soon.
Karin Ruttenberg