2500 Ft (Trafó Season Ticket is valid)
Amjad Ali Khan was 6 years old, when 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, a musician to the royal family of Gwalior, Amjad Ali Khan was born to the illustrious Bangash lineage rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music. Today he shoulders the sixth generation inheritance of 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. And 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. He has been a regular performer at the Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Kennedy Center, Santury Hall (First Indian performer), House of Commons, Theater De La Ville, Muee Guimet, ESPLANADE in Singapore, Palais Des Beaux Arts, Mozart Hall in Frankfurt, Chicago Symphony Center, St. James Palace and the Opera House in Australia.
Sanju Sahai the master tabla player from Varanasi now residing in London is not one to be missed. Sanju not only combines the traditional with the contemporary, but the rise and fall of emotion with the devotional calm, the classical with the modern and the full spectrum of sounds in between. Early in his career he had already played with many of the great Indian classical musicians, as well as Britain’s finest composers including Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustaad Shahid Parvez, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan and Aashish Khan (sarod), Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra (vocal), Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (guitar), Ustaad Sultan Khan (Sarangi), Patricia Rosario (Opera) and Michael Nyman to name a few.
Sanju is a sixth generation tabla player of the Benares gharana, At the age of 9 he had already begun his performance career, and since that time has played in many of the major music festivals and important venues of the world including Glastonbury, WOMAD, Sfinks, Carnegie Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall.
He performed for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Sanju is an extremely versatile and imaginative artist having collaborated not only with Indian classical but also hip-hip, flamenco, jazz and Egyptian artists to produce new and innovative performance pieces. He is also a passionate believer in passing on his musical knowledge to others and teaches both undergraduates and Master’s students at London University and is a seminar leader on ‘Indian rhythms’ all over the UK.
‘When Amjad Ali Khan performs, he carries with him a deep human spirit, a warm feeling and a sense of caring.’ /His Holiness the Dalai Lama/
‘For Amjad the Sarod is more than an instrument. He is more than a slave and it is more than a master. It is a friend and a spiritual companion...’ /Songlines World Music Magazine, UK 2003/
‘This player is at the height of his inventive powers and currently unequalled.’ /BBC Music Magazine, July 2003/
“Amjad Ali Khan, who, for many, is god-like in his dramatic powers on the Sarod, delivered his music with the emotional voltage of the blues, and a flexible instrument line that was almost vocal in its expressiveness….” /The Herald, UK, Edinburgh Festival, 2002/
“Khan is one of India's foremost ambassadors to the rest of the world. Famous for his elegant style and technique, after a lifetime of work on the instrument, he has breathed a new life to an ancient form....\ /Lincoln Journal Star, 1999/
Amjad Ali Khan on music
“For me, there are only two types of music. One is pure sound (which is the purest form) other kind of music is based on the literature, text, lyrics, story etc. There is an old saying “language creates barriers”. Through pure sound of the instruments or voice one cannot lie or abuse a person. Music has to be felt and experienced. I personally admire and respect the beautiful poetry or the messages of the great Saints. But I live in the world of sound. It is only through sound that I feel the presence of (God) the Supreme Being.
It is hard for an Indian classical musician to mention the Ragas or the Taals (rhythmic cycles) beforehand, because the decisions are made very near to the concert date, perhaps on the day of the concert itself! Since we don’t have a written score, it also has something to do with the accommodation of moods and emotions of an artist on that day. I treat every Raga like a living entity. A mere scale is not a Raga. A scale is more like a skeleton. Even though the literal meaning of a Raga is Improvisation within a set framework of ascending and descending notes, I feel a Raga has to be invoked. Since my childhood, I always wanted my instrument, the Sarod to be able to express the entire range of human emotions…to Sing, Shout, Whisper and cry. All the emotions! It has been a long journey so far and by the benevolence of the heavens, the Sarod has become far more expressive than it was 25 years ago." Amjad Ali Khan
Amjad Ali Khan on the concert’s programme
“I commence the concert with the very traditional and beautiful Raga, Zila Kafi, a Raga associated with the colourful Holi festival in India. There are a few Ragas, which depend totally on aesthetics. Zila Kafi is deeply associated with instrumental music. This Raga is a combination of Kafi and Khammaj. I start with an Aochar that has typical vocal phrases and the composition too is just my interpretation of the beautiful canvas of the great stalwarts I grew up hearing.
The second Raga is called Ganesh Kalyan. I don’t feel very comfortable to say that I have crated a Raga as I feel that a Raga is like a living entity. Hence, I say that I have discovered new Raga like you discover new people and places. This Raga was first presented by me in Pune, Maharashtra in 1992 at the yearly Ganesh Festival. I do a brief Alaap, the gradual unfolding of a Raga note by note following which I present a few compositions. The Tabla joins me when I start the composition. The Tabla maintains a rhythmic time cycle for me as I improvise and likewise I keep the composition for the Tabla while they take turns and improvise. We have very complex time cycles that can be set to ten beats, fourteen beats or even nine and a half beats! I usually present two to three compositions, mainly in slow, medium and fast tempos.
After the intermission I will play some folk music from Bengal called Bhatyali and from Assam called Bihu. It’s interesting to see how music can define and create a region of any country. I feel that folk music is one of the most natural forms of music which is self taught all over the world.
The concluding piece with be in Raga Kirwani from the south Indian system of Indian Classical music. Kirwani has the same notes as the Harmonic Minor scale in western classical music. Incidentally, India is the only country that has two systems of classical music i.e. of the north and of the south. I will also present Raga Mala within Kirwani like which literally means a garland of Ragas. Interesting flashes of beautiful Ragas close and far from Kirwani!
An interesting aspect of Indian Classical music is that, here you have to perform like a rehearsed orchestra! Therefore our role as performers is really that of three people, i.e., the performer, the composer and the conductor. Three in one! Along with the Sarod and the Tabla, there will be a Tanpura, which is the drone instrument, tuned to the true tonic.”
For me, there are only two types of music. One is pure sound (which is the purest form) other kind of music is based on the literature, text, lyrics, story etc. There is an old saying “language creates barriers”. Through pure sound of the instruments or voice one cannot lie or abuse a person. Music has to be felt and experience. I personally admire and respect the beautiful poetry or the messages of the great Saints. But I live in the world of sound. It is only through sound that I feel the presence of (God) the Supreme Being.
It is hard for an Indian classical musician to mention the Ragas or the Taals (rhythmic cycles) before hand because the decisions are made very near to the concert date, perhaps on the day of the concert itself! Since we don’t have a written score, it also has something to do with the accommodation of moods and emotions of an artist on that day. I treat every Raga like a living entity. A mere scale is not a Raga. A scale is more like a skeleton. Even though the literal meaning of a Raga is Improvisation within a set framework of ascending and descending notes, I feel a Raga has to be invoked. Since my childhood, I always wanted my instrument, the Sarod to be able to express the entire range of human emotions…to Sing, Shout, Whisper and cry. All the emotions! It has been a long journey so far and by the benevolence of the heavens, the Sarod has become far more expressive than it was 25 years ago.
Sanju Sahai, a brilliant Tabla (Indian two piece drums) player from the great Banaras (the holy city of Varanasi) school of Tabla playing accompanies me today.
Musicians:
Amjad Ali Khan – sarod
Sanju Sahai – tabla
Tóth Szabolcs – tampura
Programme:
Raga Zila Kafi
Raga Ganesh Kalyan
Interval
Bhatyali and Bihu
Raga Kirwani with Raga Mala
Supported by:
Shalimar Indian Restaurant, Tilos Radio, Klubradio, TATA Consulting Services
Amjad Ali Khan playing:
