The Philharmonic Edition – Zubin Mehta

Maestro Zubin Mehta celebrates his 90th birthday on 29 April 2026. For much of the 1960s and 70s an exclusive Decca artist, he forged a remarkable recorded legacy that bridged Central European tradition and American dynamism. His performances combined interpretative insight with electrifying energy, captured in recordings renowned for their brilliance and sonic splendour.

Spanning repertoire from Mozart to Mahler, this comprehensive box set gathers Mehta’s Decca and Deutsche Grammophon recordings over nearly 50 years from 1965 to 2013. Arranged alphabetically by composer and supplemented by thematic collections, it reflects two of his principal artistic homes – Israel and Vienna – while also showcasing landmark collaborations in Berlin, London, Florence, and New York. The Mehta/Decca story began in Vienna in 1965, when, just days after his 26th birthday, he recorded a Bruckner Ninth Symphony that remains a touchstone of the catalogue.

This Philharmonic anthology features complete symphony cycles of Schubert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Schumann with the Wiener Philharmoniker, alongside two distinguished Beethoven Piano Concerto cycles – with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Wiener Philharmoniker, and with Radu Lupu and the Israel Philharmonic. Among the celebrated soloists represented are Lang Lang, Mischa Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Leontyne Price, Arthur Rubinstein, Joan Sutherland, and János Starker. A discerning champion of emerging talent, Mehta also partnered with David Garrett (in Bruch and Brahms) and Sayaka Shoji (in a programme of Romantic virtuoso works). Live recordings include highlights from the 1982 Huberman Festival (featuring a dream cast of violinists – Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel, Shlomo Mintz, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, and Pinchas Zukerman) and a 1988 celebration concert in memory of Georg Solti (with Angela Gheorghiu and Anne Sofie von Otter).

Not to be forgotten is the classic recording of Schmidt’s sheerly gorgeous Fourth Symphony, recorded at the request of the Wiener Philharmoniker, the iridescent incidental music for Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheusand a suave Mendelssohn Octet in an orchestral version performed by the string section of the Israel Philharmonic. The set includes Mehta’s major opera recordings – Turandot, La fanciulla del West, Il trovatoreand La traviata – and brings together several performances receiving their first international CD and digital release.

Presented with original jackets, a selection of rare photographs and newly commissioned liner notes by David Patmore, James Jolly and Cyrus Meher-Homji, this edition offers a fitting tribute to one of the great conductors of our time.