MUSIC

New York Philharmonic music director Zubin Mehta performs on “automatic pilot, with no discernible viewpoint or involvement in the music he leads,” according to a scathing Wall Street Journal column by Barbara Jepson that blamed Mehta for the orchestra’s lackluster concerts--the latest in a barrage of negative commentary by New York music critics. Calling the former Los Angeles Philharmonic music director a “textbook example of empty virtuosity,” Jepson suggested that New York Philharmonic officials’ continued support for Mehta was based on the economic success of the company during his tenure, rather than musical quality, commenting, “The orchestra usually sounds better without him.” Mehta has said that he probably will leave when his contract expires after the 1990-91 season. But Jepson wondered why patrons “should endure three more dreary seasons.” Ironically, the column ran while Mehta, the orchestra and most of its officials are on tour in the Soviet Union.