Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Shibpur, Bengal Presidency, British India (present day Bangladesh) | 14 April 1922
Origin | Maihar (present-day Madhya Pradesh, India) |
Died | 18 June 2009 San Anselmo, California, U.S. | (aged 87)
Genres | Hindustani classical music |
Occupation(s) | Composer, Sarodiya |
Instrument(s) | Sarod |
Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 1922 – 18 June 2009) was an Indian
Khan was instrumental in popularizing Indian classical music in the West, both as a performer and as a teacher. He first came to America in 1955 on the invitation of violinist Yehudi Menuhin and later settled in California.[2] He was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[3]
Khan was accorded India's second highest civilian honour, the
Childhood and training
Ali Akbar Khan was born in the village of Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, in present-day Bangladesh, to musician and teacher, Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum.[5] Soon after his birth, Khan's family returned to Maihar (in present-day Madhya Pradesh, India) where his father was the primary court musician for the Maharaja of the princely state.[6]
From an early age Khan received training from his father in various instruments as well as vocal composition, but finally gravitated towards the sarod. Allauddin was a perfectionist and a strict taskmaster, and Khan's lessons started before dawn and often lasted 18 hours a day.
Of his training on the sarod, he wrote:
If you practice for ten years, you may begin to please yourself, after 20 years you may become a performer and please the audience, after 30 years you may please even your guru, but you must practice for many more years before you finally become a true artist—then you may please even God.[9]
Career
Khan, after years of rigorous training, gave his debut performance at a music conference in
In 1943, on his father's recommendation, Khan was appointed a court musician for the
In Bombay, he won acclaim as a composer of several film scores, including
Beginning in 1945, Khan also started recording a series of
He performed in India and traveled extensively in the West. In 1956, Khan founded the
Khan has participated in a number of classic
Personal life
Khan was married three times and had at least 11 children, including sarod players Aashish Khan and Alam Khan.[16]
Khan was based in the United States for the last four decades of his life. He toured extensively until he was prevented from doing so by ill health. He had been a dialysis patient since 2004. He died from kidney failure at his home in San Anselmo, California on 18 June 2009, at age 87.[17]
Awards
Khan was awarded the
Selected discography
Solo albums:
- Sound of the Sarod: Recorded in Concert (World Pacific) (recorded in LA, c1962)
- The Classical Music of India (Prestige, 1964)
- Bear's Sonic Journals: That Which Colors the Mind (Owsley Stanley Foundation, 2020)[22][23]
With Ravi Shankar:
- The Master Musicians of India (Prestige, 1964)
With John Handy:
- Karuna Supreme (MPS, 1976)
- Rainbow (MPS, 1981)
References
- ^ a b Grimes, William (19 June 2009). "Ali Akbar Khan, Sarod Virtuoso of Depth and Intencity, Is Dead at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "50 Most Influential Indian Americans". Rediff.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- ^ Rappaport, Scott. "Ali Akbar Khan Endowment for Indian Classical Music". UC Santa Cruz.
- ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India). Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "Sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan passes away at 87". Sify News. Asian News International (ANI). 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
- ^ a b Lavezzoli 2006, pp. 51–52
- ^ a b c Lavezzoli 2006, pp. 53–55
- ISBN 81-7017-332-9.
- ^ Thomason, Robert E. (20 June 2009). "Bengali Musician Ali Akbar Khan Dies at 87". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c d Thomason, Robert E. (19 June 2009). "Sarod Virtuoso Ali Akbar Khan Dies at 87". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "Soul-stirring strains". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "Ali Akbar Khan biography". AMMP. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Lavezzoli 2006, pp. 55–56
- ^ "Ali Akbar Khan: Many firsts to his credit". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Press Trust of India (PTI). 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Curiel, Jonathan (20 June 2009). "Famed Indian-born musician Ali Akbar Khan dies". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Massey, Reginald (22 June 2009). "Obituary Ali Akbar Khan". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Thurber, Jon (20 June 2009). "Ali Akbar Khan dies at 87; sarod player helped bring Indian music to U.S." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "Sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan passes away". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Press Trust of India (PTI). 20 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 1997". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ Patel, Madhu (29 October 2020). "Owsley Stanley Foundation to Release Rare Performance by Ali Akbar Khan from 1970". India Post. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Kureshi, Anisa (8 December 2020). "Smoke in a Bottle: That Which Colors the Mind". India Currents. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
Cited sources
- Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The dawn of Indian music in the West: Bhairavi. London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-1815-5.
External links
- Ali Akbar Khan at AllMusic
- Ali Akbar Khan at IMDb
- Ali Akbar College of Music