Music is his diplomacy and he isnt shy about his efforts, starting with his own ensemble. It is my dream that an israeli arab will sit amongst israeli jews and make music. All kinds of music. Even wagner, adolph hitlers his favorite composer. There are a lot of musicians with numbers on their arms. But that music invites them back to the time of terror and we want to avoid that. I spoke to mehta in new york. Zubin mehta, welcoming to talk to al jazeera. Thank you. You are now the most famous orchestra conductor in the world. Youve won every award you can imagine. Did you ever think you would have this kind of life . Not in my wildest dreams. Its not as exaggerated as you put it. Im just a musician carrying his craft all over the world. How does it feel for you zubin mehta to be a representative ever israel all the way around of israel tall way around the world . This orchestra is really the positive face of what the world views israel today. We are not on the first page. We are on page 56. And i wish that all of israel would be on page 56. In other words, that israel to the world would be the arts and sciences. Because thats what excels in israel beyond anything else. You said in the past that the israel snrar philharmonic orches israel when it plays around the world, what do you mean . We play our concerts, we are not going there with an israeli flag and just talking about it. There is no propaganda going on. We play european music. In Carnegie Hall we started it with a little israel piece, then we played brahms and chie co c. We make communicative. Yet there are a lot of people around the world who see the orchestra as an extension of the state of israel. There have been boycotts, efforts to are disrupt the performances. But very few times i must say. There wa was only one case in london two years ago when they tried to interrupt a concert but this has never happened before. This was the only time and i kept on playing the piece. And the audience, there were 6,000 of them in london at the prom concerts and they were completely on our side. And im sure many of them sympathized with those who stood with the banner said free palestine. Im sure they were. What do you make of these passions particularly as they are trying to target what youre trying to do . Well, we are not really targeted at all. So we just carry on our you know, ill tell you an examples in 1972 when this incredible tragedy struck the Israeli Olympic team in munich. We were in sao paulo on a tour. It happened to be that that day was the national day of brazil. Well, the orchestra hearing the news of People Killed in munich, that night we played mahlers first symphony like our life depend on it. The symphony ends with a great musical victory. And they played that victory that night. That was an example of extreme tragedy thousands of miles away. And we are and we showed that this spirit goes on. And we are not disturbed by it on stage. And we show what we can do under those circumstances. Youve had this affinity, this association with israel for more than 50 years. They adopted me. I adopted them. Im a great friend of the country. I may not agree with everything thats going on. But im a great friend of israel. And this orchestra has become my family. You know it was founted in 36. Its not a its not a young orchestra. Founded the orchestra from exiles from europe, from palestine. He convinced hundreds to come to palestine and the orchestra was called the palestine symphony orchestra. They came to form with their guest conductor. I inherited that orchestra. There were austrians, poles, czech, et cetera. Then they retired and in the 70s and80s came the immigration soviet union. We didnt engage in just because it came from moscow, they had to pass a very difficult audition. We didnt know who they were because they were behind a curtain. You still do that to today, play audition behind a curtain . Thats right, each one has won an audition. Will there come a day when one of these students will sit behind a curtain and successfully become a curtain and become part of the orchestra . It is my dream that an israeli arab will sit among israeli jews and be an orchestra. I have a program in the north of israel in the cities of sharam and nazareth, where we have 250 kids studying israeli music, with members of the israel philharmonic. And we have wonderful charitable donors who support this program. And in th in the tel aviv, proge have seven or eight arab students from the north who are high enough technically to be in that school. So seven or eight kids have now come from the north to tel aviv and sometimes we take one or two of them in the orchestra as substitutes. So the process is working. And one of these days well shifd the curtain shift the curtain and surprise, there will be an arab. What surprise will it be to you or the orchestra . The orchestra has no problem with that. There are soloists playing. They should be included as one of us. You sympathize with the palestinians who are opposed to these settlements. Im opposed to the settlements. I dont want to make a big discussion out of it. Im just telling you that i think settlements to the future of both palestine and israel are counterproductive. But this is for not only this government of israel but the people who are pushing them from outside to negotiate as soon as possible. And youve also said the palestinians also bear some responsibility in term of because there have been attacks not ton settlements but on israel proper. Well, there are fanatics on both sides. Both there are i would not say majority at all. Theres a minority in israel, and on the other side, too, that want the status quo to continue. Those people have to be convinced, or just not paid attention to. And people who are negotiating should just go on in a positive direction. Is there something called music diplomacy that can work . In other words if the israeli orchestra is integrated and has israeli arab playing for it our diplomacy doesnt top. There is somebody sitting in the orchestra that says really, we didnt know there is such a high cultural level in israel, all they do is read the front page. You are watching talk to al jazeera. More with zubin mehta ahead. A global finacial powerhouse the Roman Catholic church, they have an enormous amount of power accusations of corruption. There is a portion of the budget that takes care of all the clerical abuse issues. Now we follow the money and take you inside the vaticans financial empire. When it comes to money, this is one of the sloppiest organizations on earth. Al Jazeera America presents. Holy money only on al Jazeera America scared as hell. As american troops prepare to leave afghanistan get a first hand look at what life is really like under the taliban. Were going to be taken to a place, where theyre going to make plans for an attack. The only thing i know is, that they say theyre not going to withdraw. Then, immediately after, an america tonight special edition for more inside and analysis. Why did you decide to go. Its extremly important for the western audience to know why these people keep on fighting. Its so seldom you get that access to the other side. Faultlines on the front lines with the taliban then an america tonight special edition, only on al Jazeera America we must never stop using our art to help people. To bring people together. In the world of Classical Music there are few conductors youre watching talk to al jazeera. Our guest is world renown conductor zubin mehta. People who are unfamiliar with the music world, explain your role. Well, a lot is communication. I have the good fortunate at this point in my life, to make music as with soloists that i know for years and years or young soloists who i have auditioned and i choose to introduce. With both i work privately. The rehearsals and see what they have to say. How much i have to be flexible and flexibility musically speaking is very important. For the soloist to be flexible but mostly, for myself. So i have to be flexible. But you know, we are both freethinking, free we supply in space together. And its not as complicated as it sounds. There are some music critics who have suggested that with some conductors, not necessarily including you but some conductors that the dramatic arm movements according to these critics says more about the conductor tapconductors ego thr responsibility. Murveg is what you hear not music is what hear knot what you see. Many Holocaust Survivors recoil at the idea of playing wagner which is the favorite of the nazis. You trialed to get israel philharmonic to play it. It didnt work out. Would you try it again . We will but we have to have patience. I hope it happens in my lifetime. I hope. But there are still quite a few people with tattooed numbers on their arms. They are revered saints in israel. Not that they hate the music of wagner but it transports them back to the time of terror and we want to avoid that. Ask there something that is the most awe struck that stood out in front of you or something you witnessed . Im a musician, its the music that keeps me awe struck. It is the interpretation of my colleagues. But if you talk about an occasion, this orchestra has had many occasions which go down in their history as being very vitally significant. First time we played in berlin, after the war. 1971. And germans were really with tears in their eyes, especially at the end of the concert, when we played the israeli anthem. And what was that like for you and for members of the orchestra . Well, im neither jewish nor israeli nor german. I was proud and honored to be part of this. Daniel baroboyne was our soloist in that concert and it was an occasion that nobody will forget. Another occasion was in 1982, we went across the border into lebanon. In those days, there was this war between the Southern Lebanese Army and the north, and fatah et cetera, and the israelis erected a good fence where doctors were treating wounded lebanese. Right they are doing that now with syrians also. Israeli doctors are helping out on the border. And we went across this border into southern lebanon into a tobacco field with the help of an Israeli Border police. We erected a stage and a sun stage for the orchestra and are only southern lebanese came to this concert. After the concert which lasted about an hour and 20 minutes they rushed on the stage, climbing on the stage, hugging the musicians, this is the lebanon and israel i would like to see today. Unfortunately then in 1983 came the israeli invasion of lebanon for which the southern lebanese were very grateful in the beginning. I think the israelis stayed too long. In the same southern lebanese turned to be the same suicide bombers, if you can imagine. This is how history turns through if you mind me saying so, mistakes of leaders. The relationship of israel you described as a marriage, its going on now going on 50 years, in 1967 you went the israel to show solidarity during the sixday war. A marriage has its ups and downs ups and downs, a matter of daily discussion. Yeah, we are a family. We are a family that, since we are cooperative orchestra we dont have a board of directors that raises, its cooperatively that decides Economic Policy and musical policy, Economic Policy by themselves, musical policy as their advisor. You were a conductor for 13 years, you have been associated with the los angeles philharmonic, the berlin philharmonic, you have very long relationships with them in a field that sometimes is nose or the use for conductors and musicians notorious for conductors and musicians hopping around. Ive never hopped around. When i was in los angeles for 15 years i had always had the israeli philharmonic. Thats where i would pendulate. Ive conducted them every single season since 1961. Ive passed my 50 year mark with both orchestras as with the israelis too. You have conducted orchestras in sarajevo and kashmir. There seems to be conflict that draws one another, what is that . We plus not stop use our art to help people, bring people together. The sarajevo, we played a concert in the bombed courtyard of an islam ick library. One of the first things that the seshserbs bombed was the courtyd of book. No public could be allowed it was only for television. But we did the rehearsals in the nonbombed theater. Where three or four times it was full and the sarajevo public came to listen. It was my lifelong dream to have muslims and hindus, come and listen together. I didnt change history from the end of that concert but they sat together and heard beethoven and tchykofsky. India is very important to you. I wonder if you could describe your path from india to israel, i know its a very long story. No, im still an indian with my pas passport. I studied in berlin. I got a call that a very venerable conductor Eugene Ormandy was ill. They had nobody, i had just conducted in philadelphia was in 61. I went there and its very important to note that every conductor gets a first chance because of these older conductors falling sick. But then they conducted, then they invited me the second time. Thats important. Because if i went there to help them out and nothing nuskly musically happened between us, they would say thank you very much and i would never see them again. But they invited me th second te the third time, and et cetera, et cetera. And that started the friendship with me and israel philharmonic and israel. In 1971 they made you conductor for life. Thats an honor not a contract. What must it feel like . Any conductor given that honor is something that you just dream of. It doesnt come every day. Why did you become a conductor, why not play an instrument or always wanted to be. My father founded the bombay symphony orchestra, when he came back from america he continued as a soloist and conductor. I would prepare the musical parts for him. I would put the music on the stands. I was his assistant. And i just always wanted to be associated with that orchestra. And then of course, through his love of symphonic music which he brought and imbibed in me, thats the music and thats the life i always wanted to have. Youre 78 years old. How long do you want to keep doing this and what do you want your legacy to be . Im not going to die in a sanatorium. That i promise you. Do you want to die in front of an orchestra . Why not . If somebody had to describe your legacy and you could write it, what would it be . That i tried to be as honest a musician, that i try with the music to bring people together and that i spent as much time with my family as i possibly could which was never enough. Coming up on talk to al jazeera what can does zubin mehta the internationally claimed organize str orchestra r think of shows like American Idol . Well ask him just ahead. And join the conversation online ajamstream. Youre watching talk to al jazeera and our guest today is world renowned orchestra conductor zubin mehta. I understand that you are a fan of the lated fromy mercury from the late Freddy Mercury from rock n roll fame. Can you explain that . I wasnt really a fan but in his obituary i read he was a farsi, i come from a really small minority in india, Freddy Mercury, balsara, a very common farsi name. He is a great performer. Im not at home with his music. Which is not also a criticism, its just not my stuff. But hes a really great performer. And im sorry, i didnt meet him. Rock n roll you described as predictable. But what do you make of how popular it is and the effect it has on pop culture . While it has had a pretty long life, when it first started some of us didnt think it would last but it has lasted. But recently in new york, i went to a theater where i saw a musical, dedicated 90 minutes to jazz. Now, jazz is a style which has been dying out. And people like Winton Marsalis has reinvigorated this old style. 90 minutes of jazz, i was in heaven. That was the pop music that i grew. With. When i was a student in vienna i would go to concerts of Louis Armstrong and suddenly my youth came back to me with this marvelous performance of wintons band on stage and excellent singers and tap dancing. So in other words im not falling into that world. Do you ever watch musical shows like American Idol im doing concerts when those shows go on. I dont watch television in the evenings. But the concept of amateur musicians getting up in frond of millions of people and maybe they have a hidden talent that coming out is there anything about i can tell you one thing, if i would send on one of these shows a talented american german or israeli violinist or musician, they would wipe all of them out. Im talking about teenage musicians they are superb. I dont think the judges can judge them. They dont have the education. I have insulted all of them, i may be wrong. How about keith urban i dont know them. You mentioned youre traveling a lot, you dont get a chance to watch tv. How do you decompress after your concerts, after your tours . I playback gam monda play bay wife. Ive got it pretty settled everywhere. Any food secrets that zubin mehta can share . I dont like japanese food. There you are. Im sure they will at this time invite you to another concert. Thank you for appearing on talk to al jazeera. Thank you. This is alJazeera America. 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