Exclusive Interview: Zubin Mehta and the Discomfiture in Florence

2023-12-31 22:29:35

Published on December 31, 2023 at 11:29 p.m. / Modified on December 31, 2023 at 11:30 p.m.

Discomfiture with Zubin Mehta

Away from the historic center, the Maggio Fiorentino rises like a mineral pyramid. It is here, in Florence, that we have an appointment with the famous Indian conductor Zubin Mehta, aged 87. When noon strikes, a slight nervousness is felt: the interview is a subtle encounter, in which you have to let yourself be led while keeping the reins. With the microphone on, we begin our first question. Long silence. We repeat. From a distance, the assistant beckons us to speak closer to the mage’s ear. We briefly imagine ourselves questioning Beethoven. Gradually, we feel the game slipping away from us and the answers fall one by one like an old bellows. We go from Italian to English before capitulating in French, the mage’s eye lights up. That’s it, our question about the Israel Philharmonic seems to hit the mark! Alas, Zubin Mehta has just responded next. Inside, it’s discomfiture, our pages get mixed up, fly off the sofa. The next moment, the chef shows us a photo of his son, then taps us on the shoulder. “I think you have what you need.” Mic off. Fifteen minutes of interview. A slight nervous laugh shakes us. Under the flowering Tuscan lime trees, we realize that this is probably the worst interview we have ever done. Juliette de Banes Gardonne