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Ravi Shankar
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Photo by Carolyn Jones Legendary virtuoso sitarist, composer, teacher and writer, Ravi Shankar is renowned throughout the world for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. He has been a cultural influence in the West for more than three decades as India's most recognized and esteemed musical ambassador. The youngest son of a Bengali family, he was born in 1920 in Varansi (Benares), the holiest of Indian cities. At a young age he accompanied his elder brother, Uday Shankar, with his company of dancers and musicians to Paris where he attended school. He spent several years in the West absorbing different kinds of music but returned to India in 1938 where he began his career in his native India. He combined his concert performances with his work for All India Radio (1949-56) where he established the National Chamber Orchestra. As word of his virtuosity spread throughout India, then Europe, Asia and the United States, Shankar embarked on one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of contemporary music.
Ravi Shankar is a prolific composer and in addition to his numerous ragas and talas, he has written for musicians from the East and West including Menuhin, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Japanese artists. Among his works are two Concertos for Sitar and Orchestra, the first commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and premiered under Andre Previn. In 1980 he was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of Zubin Mehta, to compose "Raga-Mala" (A garland of Ragas), which was his second Sitar Concerto. Ravi Shankar also wrote, composed and choreographed the ballet "Ghanashyam," a work that made history on the British and Indian cultural scenes. He has composed extensively for ballets and films including Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy, which raised film music to a new standard of excellence, and Gandhi, the Academy Award winning classic by Richard Attenborough which won him nominations for both an Oscar and a Grammy Award. Ravi Shankar is the recipient of many awards and honors including the Presidential Padma Vibhushan Award (1980) and the Award of Deshikottam, given by Vishawa Bharati and presented in December 1982 by the then Prime Minister, the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of the Arts and Letters and recipient of twelve doctorates. In 1986 he became a member of the Rajya Sabha, India's Upper House of Parliament. He is a Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Academy and Founder President of The Research Institute for Music and the Performing Arts. In 1999 the government of India honored Ravi Shankar by awarding him its highest civilian award, the "Bharat Ratna" or Jewel of India. In February 2000, Mr. Shankar received France's highest civilian award, the "Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur". Ravi Shankar's extensive extensive discography of over 60 albums continues to grow, and in 1996 Angel Records released In Celebration, a lavishly documented 4-CD retrospective of his greatest recordings, in honor of his 75th birthday. Angel/EMI is continuing to release many of Mr. Shankar's albums previously unavailable on CD. In 2004, Ken Hunt, Pandit Ravi Shankar?s approved biographer, a full-time freelance writer, broadcaster and translator specializing in music, compiled The Rough Guide To Ravi Shankar. Thealbum is an excellent introduction to the music of the most famous Indian alive. Called the "Godfather of World Music" by George Harrison, Ravi Shankar has also been given the title "Global Ambassador" by the World Economic Forum. He continues to tour each season all over the world dividing his time between India and the USA with regular visits to Europe and the Far East. He is the author of three books My Music, My Life (in English), Rag Anurag (in Bengali) and Raga Mala (English) - the latest of which is an autobiography that was released in Fall 1999. Perhaps no other greater tribute can be paid to this remarkable musician than the words of his colleague, Yehudi Menuhin, "Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift and through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music. To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart's." |
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Ragas, with Ali Akbar Khan (Fantasy Records 24714, 1990) From Dusk To Dawn - The Raga Collection (EARTH ATLAS4003, 2000) The Rough Guide to Ravi Shankar (RGNET1134CD, 2004) |
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