Kings Place East Meets West Festival in London

A unique celebration of Indian music and its influence on the west, featuring several of the world’s leading Indian musicians coupled with two of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras takes place in May in the beautiful surroundings of Kings Place, Hall 1. During the week East Meets West (20-23 May), Kings Place welcomes such important artists as: Amjad Ali Khan, Wajahat Khan, Sinfonia Viva and Kala Ramnath. Kings Place is a new arts centre located just a few minutes walk from Kings Cross station.

Following on from the hugely successful Guided tour of Indian Music which formed part of the Kings Place opening festival, this four concert series, also curated by conductor David Murphy enables audiences to explore Indian music further with several of its leading exponents.

The festival opens with an evocation of India, with a vibrantly colorful festival of Indian music and dance featuring musicians, singers and dancers from the London’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The sarod, always a popular instrument in India and now gaining a huge following in the west links the central events of the Festival. The second concert features one of the legends of Indian music, sarod virtuoso Amjad Ali Khan, universally acknowledged as one of the greatest ever exponents of this beautiful instrument.

On Friday 22nd May Indian influences on the music of the west are explored in a rare concert performance of Holst’s Chamber Opera Savitri. Based on an episode from the Mahabharata, this performance features the dream team of the London Sinfonietta (who are resident at Kings Place) with Jean Rigby (mezzo) Daniel Norman (tenor) and Michael George (bass). Savitri is coupled with a performance by Wajahat Khan, master sarod virtuoso of the younger generation, offering reflections from an Indian perspective on Holst’s opera.

The festival culminates in a concert featuring Sinfonia ViVA (making their London debut) with their leader Benedict Holland and the virtuoso Indian violinist Kala Ramnath in a colourful juxtaposition of Ragas and Tangos celebrating the seasons of the year from the perspectives of Argentina and India.

Summary of Events:

1) Festival of India
Musicians, singers and dancers of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Wednesday May 20th 2009
Kings Place Hall 1 7.30 pm

2) Indian Legends-
Sarod Recital by Amjad Ali Khan
Thursday May 21st 2009
Kings Place Hall 1 7.30 pm

3) Indian Influences
Holst Savitri
London Sinfonietta
David Murphy Conductor
Jean Rigby Mezzo
Daniel Norman Tenor
Michael George Bass
Wajahat Khan Sarod
Friday May 22nd 2009
Kings Place Hall 1 7.30 pm

4) Bombay to Buenos Aires
Piazzolla The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Kala Ramnath The Seasons
plus Mozart, Holst and an Indian improvisation
Sinfonia ViVA
Benedict Holland Leader
David Murphy Conductor
Saturday May 23rd 2009
Kings Place Hall 1 7.30 pm

Booking: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/book-tickets
Box office: 0207 520 1490