CONDUCTORS from India

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Indian Conductors of all time. This list of famous Indian Conductors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Zubin Mehta (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 73.09, Zubin Mehta is the most famous Indian Conductor.  His biography has been translated into 54 different languages on wikipedia.

Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and Mehta received his early musical education from him. When he was 18, he enrolled in the Vienna state music academy, from which he graduated after three years with a diploma as a conductor. He began winning international competitions and conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at the age of 21. Beginning in the 1960s, Mehta gained experience by substituting for celebrated maestros throughout the world. Mehta was music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1967 and of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1962 to 1978, the youngest music director ever for any major North American orchestra. In 1969, he was appointed Music Adviser to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1981 he became its Music Director for Life. From 1978 to 1991, Mehta was music director of the New York Philharmonic. He was chief conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence from 1985 to 2017. He is an honorary citizen of both Florence and Tel Aviv and was made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1997 and of the Bavarian State Opera in 2006. The title of Honorary Conductor was bestowed on him by numerous orchestras throughout the world. More recently, Mehta made several tours with the Bavarian State Opera and kept up a busy schedule of guest conducting appearances. In December 2006, he received the Kennedy Center Honor and in October 2008 he was honored by the Japanese Imperial Family with the Praemium Imperiale. In 2016, Mehta was appointed Honorary Conductor of the Teatro San Carlo, Naples. Mehta was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group.

2. B. Saroja Devi (1938 - 2025)

With an HPI of 49.21, B. Saroja Devi is the 2nd most famous Indian Conductor.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

B. Saroja Devi (7 January 1938 – 14 July 2025) was an Indian actress who appeared in 200 Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films over seven decades. She was one of the most successful actresses in the history of Indian cinema. She is regarded as the first lady superstar of Kannada cinema. Posthumously, Saroja Devi became the first women to be awarded the Karnataka Ratna, state's highest civilian award. Aged 17, Saroja Devi got her first big break with the Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955). In Telugu cinema, she made her debut with Panduranga Mahatyam (1957), and starred in a number of successful films until the late 1970s. The Tamil film Nadodi Mannan (1958) made her one of the top actresses in Tamil cinema. After her marriage in 1967, she continued to be in demand, acting in Tamil films until 1974 and in Telugu and Kannada films until the 1980s. She also starred in Hindi films until the mid-1960s, starting with Paigham (1959). In 1969, Saroja Devi received the Padma Sri, the fourth-highest civilian honour, and in 1992 the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, from the government of India. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Bangalore University and the Kalaimamani award from the state of Tamil Nadu. She also received the Dr. Rajkumar Award Lifetime Achievement by the Government of Karnataka and the NTR National Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh. In 2025, Government of Karnataka announced to constitute the 'Abhinaya Saraswathi B. Saroja Devi Lifetime Achievement Award' in her honour.