Press Release Soorya Festival 08 May 2011
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PRESS RELEASE “Amjad Ali Khan – Live!” – Musical Magic on Strings Soorya Festival of Indian Music (Singapore) 2015 INTRODUCTION The Soorya Global Festival series events have been showcasing some of the most acclaimed classical art forms of India by very accomplished top performers in dance and music. This is the seveteenth in the Soorya Global Festival of Indian Dance & Music series in Singapore. Amjad Ali Khan – Live!, Musical Magic on Strings, is a Hindustani Musical concert on the Sarod, a 16 to 25 stringed musical instrument. One of India’s greatest and revered living musicians, Amjad Ali Khan, is the unrivalled Master of the sarod. The Soorya Festivals highlight the rich and colourful tapestry of Indian classical dance & music traditions to the Singaporean audience as well as across the cultural capitals of Europe, Middle East and South East Asia by the accomplished Masters in their respective genres. This seventeenth event in the series to be held in Singapore, will yet again enthrall the art connoisseurs, educate the art students and captivate the minds and hearts of the art lovers of Singapore. EVENT OVERVIEW As in earlier events, the event to be held on 01 May 2015 too will be a top quality Indian classical music performance. It is also planned to have a 20-30 minutes classical music integration segment with top Chinese classical musicians of Singapore, as a symbol of cultural integration, between prominent races/cultures of Singapore. Heir to illustrious musical lineage that invented the instrument itself, Khan gave his first recital at age 6 and was a national celebrity by his teens. In his hands, the sarod produces a rich palette of overtones mimicking the complex tone colours and expressive range of the human voice. Marked by superhuman speed and clarity, Khan’s artistry has attracted legions of fans from across the globe. Khan is creator of several new Ragas himself and integrates his deep knowledge of Indian classical music with his own personal interpretations of traditional styles to produce original works and renditions of timeless value. Over his illustrious career, he has recorded dozens of genre-defining albums and received an impressive collection of awards, including the UNESCO Award, the “Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters” by the French government, Fukuoka Cultural grand prize of Japan, Grammy nomination and the “ Padma Vibhushan”, the highest civilian honour awarded of India. Khan has collaborated with a staggering array of artists from around the world, including the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, Violinist Igor Frolov, Soprano Glenda Simpson, Guitarist Alvaro Pierri, Cellist Claudio Bohorquez, among others. In 1984, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis honoured him by declaring April 20, 1984 as the ‘Amjad Ali Khan Day’ in Boston. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s concerts have been rightly called magical. Be entranced and enraptured by the magic on strings. Genre: Hindustani (Northern Indian) Classical Instrumental Music Concert Musicians: Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Khan, Ayaan Ali Khan (Sarod), Satyjit Talawalkar (Tabla), India. It is also planned to have a 20-30 minutes classical music integration segment with top Chinese classical musicians of Singapore, as a symbol of cultural integration. Date & Time: 01 May 2015 (Friday), 7:00 pm Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall Website: www.sooryafest.org This performance will also feature Khan's two sons, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, both virtuosos Page 1 of 7 Soorya Festival (Singapore), 01 May 2015 PRESS RELEASE in their own right, who have earned considerable recognition on the sarod, extending the legacy and acclaim of the family into its seventh generation of musicians rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music. The great Sarod trio will be accompanied by the consummate percussionist, Satyajit Tal walkar on Tabla. Recently, Amjad Ali Khan, along with Amaan and Ayaan, performed at the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony on as well as the Nobel Peace Prize Concert at Oslo, Norway. MAIN ARTISTE PROFILE – USTAD AMJAD ALI KHAN He was all of 6 years old when Amjad Ali Khan gave his first recital of Sarod. It was the beginning of yet another glorious chapter in the history of Indian classical music. Taught by his father Haafiz Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Khan was born to the illustrious Bangash lineage rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music. Today he shoulders the sixth generation of inheritance in this legendary lineage. After his debut, the career graph of this musical legend took the speed of light, and on its way the Indian classical music scene was witness to regular and scintillating bursts of Raga supernovas. Thus, the world saw the Sarod being given a new and yet timeless interpretation by Amjad Ali Khan. Khan is one of the few maestros who consider his audience to be the soul of his motivation. As he once said, "There is no essential difference between classical and popular music. Music is music. I want to communicate with the listener who finds Indian classical music remote." Married and with two sons, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan are well known names in the music scene and are the seventh generation of musicians in the family. Amjad Ali Khan's wife Subhalakshmi Khan has been a great exponent of the Indian classical dance, Bharatnatyam, which, she sacrificed for her family. As a soul, so in his heart, he is a man who has proven his indomitable belief in the integration of two of life's greatest forces, love and music. He is a living example of a man who practices that integration each day of his life, both on stage and off stage. KEY AWARDS Ustad Khan is the winner of several innumerable international and national very high level awards and accomplishments and some of them are listed below. UNESCO Award. “Padma Vibhushan”, Highest Indian civilian award from Government of India, given by President of India for Lifetime achievements for contribution to arts. Gandhi UNESCO Medal in Paris for his composition “Bapukauns” [1995]. “Commander of the Order of Arts and letters” by the French Government [2003]. Fukuoka Cultural grand prize, Japan [2004]. UNICEFf's National Ambassadorship. The Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of York, England [1997], Delhi University [1998], Rabindra Bharati University [2007], Kolkata and the Vishva Bharti (“Deshikottam”) in Shantiniketan [2001]. Represented India in the first World Arts Summit in Venice [1991]. Honorary Citizenship to the States of Texas (1997), Massachusetts (1984), Tennessee (1997), the city of Atlanta, Georgia (2002), Albuquerque, NM (2007)and the Key of the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fort Lauderdale, Miami. Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Academy. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS Visiting professorship at the Stanford University, Indiana University, York University, Washington University, Stony Brook, North Eastern and New Mexico University. BBC Magazine had voted one of his CDs titled ‘Bhairav’ among the best 50 classical albums of the world [1995]. Khan’s name was included biographically in "International Directory of distinguished Leadership", 5th edition [1994]. Inaugurated the World Festival of Sacred Music with His Holiness the Dalai Lama [1999]. Khan composed the signature tune for the 48th International Film Festival [1998]. Page 2 of 7 Soorya Festival (Singapore), 01 May 2015 PRESS RELEASE On the ninth anniversary of 9/11, Amjad Ali Khan gave a Peace Concert at the United Nations in New York in the presence of the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon. Two books have been written on him. (1)‘The world of Amjad Ali Khan’ by UBS Publishers [1995] and (2) ‘Abba-God’s Greatest Gift to us’ by Amaan and Ayaan, Roli Books-Lustre Publications [2002]. A documentary on Mr Khan called ‘Strings for Freedom’ won the Bengal Film Journalist Association Award and was also screened at the Ankara Film Festival in 1996. Performance at the Central Hall of the Indian Parliament on the commemoration of India's 60th year of Independence [2007]. Grammy nomination in the best traditional world music album category [2009] for the album 'Ancient Sounds', a joint-venture with Iraqi oud soloist Rahim Alhaj. Khan’s first book, “My Father, Our Fraternity” [Dec 2012]. An intensely personal memoir which brings alive the rich classical music tradition from the early twentieth century to the present. Amjad Ali Khan offers an insider’s view of this era, through the life and times of his father, the famous sarod icon, Haafiz Ali Khan. 20 April 1984 was cleared as Amjad Ali Khan Day in Boston, Massachusetts. KEY COLLABORATIONS Composition for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yoshikazu Fukumora titled “Tribute to Hong Kong”. Duets with guitarist Charley Byrd, Violinist Igor Frolov, Suprano Glenda Simpson, Guitarist Alvaro Pierri, Guitarist Barry Mason, Cellist Claudio Bohorquez and UK based Cellist Matthew Barley. Collaboration with American Folk artist Carrie Newcomer at Lotus Arts Festival in Bloomington. Khan’s concerto for Sarod, Samaagam premiered with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at St Magnus Festival, at Kirkwall, Orkney Islands [2008]. This was an extraordinary collaboration with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which was the latest embodiment of his unique ability to give new form to the purity and discipline of the Indian classical music tradition. Sarod concerto Samagam with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra [2009]. Amjad Ali Khan was the focus of a 4-concert residency at the Wigmore Hall in London including a new piece with the Britten Sinfonia [2011/12]. Stanford University residency at Stanford University titled “Indian Classical Music: A Way of Life”. Finale to the residency: Amjad Ali Khan along with Conductor Jindong Cai and the Stanford Philharmonia at the Mozart and More Festival. [2014]. “Ananta Opus 195” composed by Pierre Thilloy and performed by Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan with the Avignon Provence Symphonic Orchestra and the Kords Collective premiered a concerto for Sarod, symphonic and electronic orchestra, conducted by Samuel Jean [2013].