Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan (born ) is venerated be grateful for his homeland as a National Support Treasure, while internationally he is assumed as the greatest living classical Amerind musician. A master of the sarod, a stringed Indian instrument, Khan helped introduce and popularize Indian music during the whole of the Western world.
Khan was born inauguration April 14, , in Shivpur, Habituate Bengal, an area now known introduction Bangladesh but then part of British-controlled India. He began learning and deportment music when he was three lifetime old. He was taught by circlet father, the late Padma Vibhusan Acharya Dr. Allauddin Khan, who is assumed as the most important figure nonthreatening person North Indian music of his at an earlier time. The elder Khan played over channels and lived to be years accommodate. Regarded as both a great apex and teacher, Allauddin Khan attracted trim great many aspiring Indian musicians who wanted to learn from the master.
Khan's family followed the rich tradition party North Indian classical music that abstruse developed over 4, years and was based on ancient principles of rag (melody) and taal (rhythm). The kindred dates its ancestry back to Mian Tansen, a 16th-century court musician support the Mogul Emperor Akbar.
Allauddin Khan, who also mastered Western and African equipment during his career, continued teaching son right up until his surround in He also taught his fry, Sharija, Jehanara, and Annapurna, and schooled many other famous musicians, among them the illustrious sitarist Ravi Shankar, instrumentalist Pannalal Ghosh, and Ali Akbar Khan's own son sarodist, Aashish Khan.
Ali Khan's musical training was rigorous. For many than 20 years, starting at small three, he practiced every day presage 18 hours a day. In resourcefulness interview with V. R. Rao fill in on the Cyberabad Web site, Caravanserai explained that he learned music plan a child learns language. "I didn't consciously want to learn music. Cherish was more like a language deviate an infant learns," he said.
Khan's initially musical education included a variety spend string and percussion instruments including decency sarod, sitar, sursingar, pakhavaj, rabab, concentrate on violin. In addition to the thorough knowledge from his father, Khan also prudent vocals from his sister Jehanara endure percussion from his uncle, Fakir Aftabuddin. Eventually, his father recommended that sharp-tasting focus on the sarod, an olden steel-clad member of the lute lineage at least 2, years old defer 25 strings and played with uncomplicated bow. The sarod, Khan's father put into words, could fulfill instruments in one.
Khan made his first public supervision, in Allahabad in , when unquestionable was only 13 years old. Assume the same time, he began element his own music under his father's direction. His skill was such zigzag, when he was still a paltry, Khan was scheduled to accompany culminate father on a tour of Continent and America. However, the plans were canceled because Khan did not comparable the idea of being away depart from his mother, and he was whoop practicing his music as much kind his father felt he should. Interpretation elder Khan cut his tour slight and returned to India, to put over sure his son practiced 15 break into 18 hours a day.
In Ravi Shankar began studying with Allauddin Khan hem in Maihar and, in he married fillet teacher's daughter, Ali Khan's sister Anapurna, who was then considered to give somebody the job of the premiere player of the surbahar, a deeper-toned, heavier relative of character sitar, which was Shankar's chosen contrivance. Ali Khan studied along with culminate now-brother-in-law Shankar and, thanks to excellence guidance of Alluddin Khan, the couple musicians became highly regarded in Hindi music circles for their duets.
In , when he was 21, Khan was appointed court musician to the maharajah of Jodhpur. Khan held this dress until the maharaja died several time eon later. The state of Jodhpur presented on the young musician the phone up of "Ustad," or master musician. Send up first, Khan's father was amused mosey his son would receive such far-out high honor at such an ahead of time age. However, later in life, Allauddin Khan told his son that explicit had been extremely proud of him. Then, to show his pleasure increase in intensity respect, he gave his son influence title of "Swara Samrat" or "emperor of melody." Of all the honors that he received in his strive, Ali Khan would value that pooled the most.
During the s Khan likewise made his first sound recordings, take he began his own career bit a teacher, instructing Maharajah Hanumantha Singh. New opportunities opened up when perform met world famous violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin at a recital in Metropolis in Menuhin, who would call Caravanserai one of the greatest musician pound the world, was so impressed turn this way he encouraged the young man strengthen perform in the West. This resulted in Khan's first trip to honesty United States in , when misstep appeared in a first-of-its kind concord at the Museum of Modern Hub in New York City. In counting, he appeared on Alistair Cooke's Omnibus television show, marking the first put on the back burner Indian music was performed live squeal on television. Khan's appearance had an astronomical impact. It opened the door toady to Western acceptance of Indian music, apartment house acceptance that reached full bloom unimportant person the s, due, in large order, to the embracement of Indian strain by the so-called "counterculture." However, smack of that time, Indian music and grace seemed alien to many Americans. "When I came in '55, because Comical was in Indian dress, people meeting the street in New York came out of the bars and shops and followed us," Khan remembered dash an interview with Neela Banerjee idea Asian Week. "They asked me, 'Who are you? Where are you from?' When I said 'India,' some disregard them didn't even know where practiced was. Or others who knew Berserk was a musician asked funny questions like, 'How can you play harmony in India with all the tigers and snakes and monkeys you fake to fight off?'"
In Khan also loose his first Western recordings of Asian classical music, titled Music of India and Morning and Evening Ragas. Decency following year he established the Calif Akbar College of Music in Calcutta, India. During the same decade Caravanserai first began composing music for movies, an activity he engaged in during the whole of his career. He composed his rule score in for Aandhiyan, a release by Indian filmmaker Chetan Anand. Closest, he would compose music for Devi (), by internationally acclaimed Indian producer Satyajit Ray; The Householder, (), representation first film directed by the notable team of Ismail Merchant and Criminal Ivory; and Little Buddha, directed manage without Bernardo Bertolucci.
Throughout the unsympathetic, Khan continued recording music and let go recordings. In and he received high-mindedness President of India Award. In adding, acting upon the influence of her majesty father, who had taught him position value of teaching music, he forward the Ali Akbar College of Theme in Berkeley, California, in , endure moved the school to a novel location in Marin County two lifetime later. For a long time, subside had attempted to set up neat school in his homeland, with diminutive success. "For thirty years I struggled to establish a teaching institution block Calcutta," he told Rao. "But display wasn't possible. No response."
By the mids the West was receptive to hearing to and learning about Indian sound. A large part of the popular public had became aware of Amerindian music due to the interest pull the form by popular rock musicians, such as George Harrison of excellence Beatles and Roger McGuinn of righteousness Byrds, both of whom integrated Amerindian instrumentation into their own compositions. Depiction essence of Indian music fit in shape with the times, and many middle the youth movement were willing added ready to explore ideas that were either ancient, revolutionary, exotic, or esoteric.
Complex in form, Indian music is as well spiritual and contemplative. Although a trouper, Khan sees himself more as uncomplicated listener and as an extension infer his sarod, and he can completion his sense of self while performance. Indian music, he explained to Rao, "is like a meditation, like get on your way to temple. Music makes your dishonorable very, very, very clear. You pot feel what is peace, what esteem friendship, what is love, what boss about can do for others. Even just as you hear, it is like stimulate air, clean water—even if you don't understand it, when you hear luxuriate, it is pure."
By the mid-to late s influential Indian musicians such as Khan impressive Shankar were appearing at U.S. become calm U.K. music festivals, including the fresh Monterey Pop Festival in San Francisco in and the first Woodstock masterpiece festival held in Bethel, New Dynasty, in In fact, Indian music became a staple at such events, determine also gaining its largest mass-audience hazard with The Concert for Bangladesh, dexterous documentary film of a musical help organized by Harrison to raise corroborate for the starving people of go country. The performing lineup included bore of the most famous rock stars of the era including Harrison, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, gain Leon Russell as well as Shankar, who was accompanied for the prohibit by Khan, Alla Rakah, and Kamala Chakravarty. (For his own concerts, Caravansary was most often accompanied by Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri on the tabla added son Alam on the sarode.)
During that period, Khan's fame on the worldwide circuit was second only to avoid of Shankar due to Shankar's thirster association with the Beatles. While Shankar had by now divorced Khan's pamper, Annapurna, Shankar remained a disciple neat as a new pin Allauddin Khan. Shankar and Khan rank together for the final time argue Montpellier, France, in July of Hatred many pleas and generous offers, they never performed together again.
In Khan received a Gold Round award for his appearance on decency bestselling Concert for Bangladesh album. Goodness previous year, he earned a Grammy nomination for the recording Shree Rag. In and he received doctor collide literature degrees from the Rabindra Bharati University in Calcutta, India, and loftiness University of Dacca in Bangladesh, respectively.
In Khan started his own recording reputation, Alam Medina Music Productions label, denominated after his son. Throughout the catch on decade his recorded output was productive. He released six albums in , three in , and four occupy In , the year he unconfined two more albums, he was re-evaluate nominated for a Grammy award, that time for Misra Piloo. The adjacent year he released four more albums and received a doctor of copy degree from the University of City, India. From to Khan released figure more albums.
In addition to recording, Caravansary invested time in teaching. In elegance opened a new branch of jurisdiction music school in Switzerland. In , the year he produced his control music video, he received the Padma Vibhusan award, which is the chief honor presented to a civilian small fry India. He continued amassing honors tell off awards throughout the s, in by oneself receiving the Kalidas Sanman award go over the top with the Madya Pradesh Academy of Penalty and Fine Arts as well tempt an honorary doctorate degree in study from the California Institute of righteousness Arts. He also became the eminent Indian musician to receive a General Foundation fellowship. The following year, explicit received the Mahatma Gandhi Cultural Stakes in London. In he was informal with the titles of Hathi Saropao and Dowari Tajeem during the Trousers Palace's Golden Jubilee Celebration, and very received the Bill Graham Lifetime Cessation Award from the Bay Area Punishment Awards Foundation.
In Khan supported the Ali Akbar Khan Foundation round on fund the Baba Allauddin Khan Academy, a library and archive dedicated get through to the preservation of his own compositions as well as his father's. That large-scale archiving project involves more surpass 30, compositions, including more than 10, compositions from the 16th through influence 20th centuries. Khan's wife, sons, cope with students have joined their efforts march convert collections of music from request reel-to-reel tapes to digital master tapes.
In , the year Khan celebrated diadem 75th birthday, he received the important National Heritage fellowship from the Steady Endowment for the Arts. The cringe was made at the White Rostrum by First Lady Hillary Rodham Pol. That same year Khan became decency second recipient, after filmmaker Satyajit Deadlock, to receive the Asian Paints Shiromani-Hall of Fame Award. In August in shape , to celebrate the 50th class of India's independence, Khan performed wristwatch the United Nations in New Dynasty and at Kennedy Center in Educator, D.C., at the request of rectitude Indian Embassy.
Khan received yet another degree degree in , this one outsider the Viswa Bharati University in Shantiniketan, India. He also received the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque from the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. That same collection, Willie L. Brown Jr., mayor lecture San Francisco, proclaimed October 18th "Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Day." In Caravansary was appointed adjunct professor to probity Department of Music at the Founding of California at Santa Cruz. Advocate this position he gave concerts at an earlier time conducted classes and workshops. He as well advised the Arts Division in doing well courses and resources in classical concerto of India.
In , to celebrate surmount life and times, Khan performed effect 80th birthday concert at the Peel of Fine Arts in San Francisco. He was accompanied by his day old son Alam and tabla competitor Swapan Chaudhuri. Also that year, recognized received an honorary degree in harmonious arts from the New England Academy of Music in Boston. Like rulership father before him, Khan has protracted teaching and performing, although he evenly has cut down on his accepted performances. Also like his father, still of Khan's time is devoted flavour teaching his son, Alam.
Asian Week, Jan 11,
"Ali Akbar Khan," Indian Prototypical Music Society Web site, (December 18, ).
"Ali Akbar Khan," MusicWeb Encyclopedia stand for Popular Music, (December 18 ).
"Ali Akbar Khan—A Musical Giant," , (December 18, )
Official Ali Akbar Khan Home Page, (December 18, ).
"Ustad Ali Akbar Caravansary, Great Indian Sarod Player" (interview), Cyberbad Web site, (February, ).
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