Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar October 15, 2009

Ravi Shankar, the legendary sitarist and composer, is India’s most esteemed musical ambassador, a singular phenomenon whose artistry crosses all cultural and musical boundaries. As a performer, composer, teacher, and writer, he has done more for Indian music than any other musician and is well-known for his pioneering work in introducing India’s classical music tradition to the West. The youngest son of a Bengali family, Ravi Shankar was born in 1920 in Varansi, the holiest of Indian cities. He performs in concert with his daughter, Anoushka, whom he began teaching when she was nine. Now one of the leading figures in world music today, Anoushka is deeply rooted in classical music but has also flourished as a performer and composer, exploring fertile ground in the crossover between Indian music and a variety of genres, including electronica, jazz, flamenco, and Western classical music. Ravi and Anoushka Shankar appear in Hill Auditorium for the first time since 2004. “Most people are musicians simply because they play a certain instrument; when they play that instrument, the music appears. But Ravi — to me, he is the music; it just happens to be that he plays the sitar. And it’s like that with Anoushka. She has that quality — she is the music.” (George Harrison)

Presented by the University Musical Society, www.ums.org.

Official Website: http://www.ums.org/s_current_season/artist.asp?pageid=533