---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In truth, I became a conductor because…"
description: "\"In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahmss four symphonies and Richard Strausss tone poems.\" — Zubin Mehta"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png"
---

#  In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted…

![“In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahmss four symphonies and Richard Strausss tone poems.” quote by Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png)

> “In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahmss four symphonies and Richard Strausss tone poems.”

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A deep desire to lead great music drives his career choice.

**In simple terms:** Passion for music shaped his path.

Key Takeaway

Pursue what truly inspires you.

Themes

music career passion

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

artistic career

When to use this quote

- orchestra leadership
- creative projects
- education

Key Concepts

artistic ambition personal fulfillment

Questions to Reflect On

- What artistic dream fuels you?
- How can you balance passion with reality?

A Different Perspective

Passion may clash with practical constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conductor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conductor/) [Deep down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-down/) [Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahms's four symphonies and Richard Strauss's tone poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-deep-down-i-wanted-to-conduct-2/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [It seems always to have been difficult to have been a New York Philharmonic conductor because of the nature of New York. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/it-seems-always-to-have-been-difficult-to-have-been-a-new-york/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [New York for a long time was a kind of conductor's graveyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/new-york-for-a-long-time-was-a-kind-of-conductor-s-graveyard/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I was afraid to board a streetcar because of the conductor; I was afraid to enter the Kabuki Theater for fear of the usherettes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/i-was-afraid-to-board-a-streetcar-because-of-the-conductor-i-was/)

[Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/)

> [I don't feel that the conductor has real power. The orchestra has the power, and every member of it knows instantaneously if you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-perlman/i-don-t-feel-that-the-conductor-has-real-power-the-orchestra-has-the/)

[Itzhak Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itzhak-perlman/)

> [Sympathy wanting, all is wanting; its personal magnetism is the conductor of the sacred spark that lights our atoms, puts us m human communion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/sympathy-wanting-all-is-wanting-its-personal-magnetism-is-the/)

[Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/)

> [I knew that I'd lived in New York too long when, a few years ago, I was on a subway going downtown, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-knew-that-i-d-lived-in-new-york-too-long-when-a-few-years-ago-i-was/)

[Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/)

> [Today's parents have little authority over those others with whom they share the task of raising their children. On the contrary,most parents deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/today-s-parents-have-little-authority-over-those-others-with-whom/)

[Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/)

> [Monet was like a conductor. He painted with quite a straight arm and used bold strokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/monet-was-like-a-conductor-he-painted-with-quite-a-straight-arm-and/)

[Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/)

> [Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/zeal-the-blind-conductor-of-the-will/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-verdi/the-success-of-our-operas-rests-most-of-the-time-in-the-hands-of-the/)

[Giuseppe Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-verdi/)

> [I admire Tom Ades: he's a brilliant conductor, and he gets just the right hard, brilliant sound from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hazlewood/i-admire-tom-ades-he-s-a-brilliant-conductor-and-he-gets-just-the/)

[Charles Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hazlewood/)

> [“When you are waiting for a train, don't keep perpetually looking to see if it is coming. The time of its arrival is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-waiting-for-a-train-don-t-keep-perpetually-looking-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/)

[Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/)

> [And there's a metal train that's a mile long and at the very back end a lightning bolt struck her, How long til it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/and-there-s-a-metal-train-that-s-a-mile-long-and-at-the-very-back-end/)

[Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/)

## More by Zubin Mehta

> [I'm a Persian Jew, and we don't speak Hebrew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-m-a-persian-jew-and-we-don-t-speak-hebrew/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I've never said, 'I live for art.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-ve-never-said-i-live-for-art/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [...Ori Kam is an outstanding violist who has already played as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra twice, much to our delight and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/ori-kam-is-an-outstanding-violist-who-has-already-played-as-a-soloist/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [New York for a long time was a kind of conductor's graveyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/new-york-for-a-long-time-was-a-kind-of-conductor-s-graveyard/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [Citizens of India, Pakistan, and Kashmir need to come together and make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/citizens-of-india-pakistan-and-kashmir-need-to-come-together-and-make/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I have been to Kashmir many times, especially with my family, in the '70s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-have-been-to-kashmir-many-times-especially-with-my-family-in-the-70s/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I'm a pucca Indian. Bombay is my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-m-a-pucca-indian-bombay-is-my-home/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [My tastes are Viennese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/my-tastes-are-viennese/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [Music is the message of peace, and music only brings peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/music-is-the-message-of-peace-and-music-only-brings-peace/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I am jealous of all those people who live on the shore of Dal Lake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-am-jealous-of-all-those-people-who-live-on-the-shore-of-dal-lake/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [Most Arab Israelis speak Hebrew, but not the other way around. It's about time that changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/most-arab-israelis-speak-hebrew-but-not-the-other-way-around-it-s/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [ Essentially, the \[New York\] Philharmonic is just like any other orchestra-they all have the spirit of kids, and if you scratch away a little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/essentially-the-new-york-philharmonic-is-just-like-any-other/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I always look at the work of fashion designers as if they were art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-always-look-at-the-work-of-fashion-designers-as-if-they-were-art/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [There are three orchestras in Munich, all world-quality, in a city of one million. Yet every hall is full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/there-are-three-orchestras-in-munich-all-world-quality-in-a-city-of/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [I've known Pinchas Zukerman since he was a teenager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-ve-known-pinchas-zukerman-since-he-was-a-teenager/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

[Explore all 90 Zubin Mehta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

## More Conductor quotes

> [And there's a metal train that's a mile long and at the very back end a lightning bolt struck her, How long til it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/and-there-s-a-metal-train-that-s-a-mile-long-and-at-the-very-back-end/)

[Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/)

> [I don't feel that the conductor has real power. The orchestra has the power, and every member of it knows instantaneously if you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-perlman/i-don-t-feel-that-the-conductor-has-real-power-the-orchestra-has-the/)

[Itzhak Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itzhak-perlman/)

> [The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-verdi/the-success-of-our-operas-rests-most-of-the-time-in-the-hands-of-the/)

[Giuseppe Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-verdi/)

> [I was afraid to board a streetcar because of the conductor; I was afraid to enter the Kabuki Theater for fear of the usherettes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/i-was-afraid-to-board-a-streetcar-because-of-the-conductor-i-was/)

[Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/)

> [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/)

[Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/)

> [“When you are waiting for a train, don't keep perpetually looking to see if it is coming. The time of its arrival is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-waiting-for-a-train-don-t-keep-perpetually-looking-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I admire Tom Ades: he's a brilliant conductor, and he gets just the right hard, brilliant sound from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hazlewood/i-admire-tom-ades-he-s-a-brilliant-conductor-and-he-gets-just-the/)

[Charles Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hazlewood/)

> [New York for a long time was a kind of conductor's graveyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/new-york-for-a-long-time-was-a-kind-of-conductor-s-graveyard/)

[Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/)

> [Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/zeal-the-blind-conductor-of-the-will/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [Monet was like a conductor. He painted with quite a straight arm and used bold strokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/monet-was-like-a-conductor-he-painted-with-quite-a-straight-arm-and/)

[Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/)

> [Today's parents have little authority over those others with whom they share the task of raising their children. On the contrary,most parents deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/today-s-parents-have-little-authority-over-those-others-with-whom/)

[Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/)

> [I knew that I'd lived in New York too long when, a few years ago, I was on a subway going downtown, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-knew-that-i-d-lived-in-new-york-too-long-when-a-few-years-ago-i-was/)

[Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/)

> [Sympathy wanting, all is wanting; its personal magnetism is the conductor of the sacred spark that lights our atoms, puts us m human communion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/sympathy-wanting-all-is-wanting-its-personal-magnetism-is-the/)

[Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/)

> [I'm a conductor of revivals. The only minister in the whole package. Little Richard, the evangelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/little-richard/i-m-a-conductor-of-revivals-the-only-minister-in-the-whole-package/)

[Little Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/little-richard/)

> [Direction is the most invisible part of the theatrical art. It's not like the conductor in the symphony orchestra performance because he's standing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-teachout/direction-is-the-most-invisible-part-of-the-theatrical-art-it-s-not/)

[Terry Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-teachout/)

[Browse all 248 Conductor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conductor/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahmss four symphonies and Richard Strausss tone poems.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Zubin Mehta"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-deep-down-i-wanted-to-conduct/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conductor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-deep-down-i-wanted-to-conduct/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/zubin-mehta-7563_conductor_in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-de_268329.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahmss four symphonies and Richard…” — Zubin Mehta",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Zubin Mehta",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In truth, I became a conductor...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-deep-down-i-wanted-to-conduct/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/in-truth-i-became-a-conductor-because-deep-down-i-wanted-to-conduct/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```