May 22, 2013 | 01:55 AM (BD Time)
22 May, 2013 Wednesday
Breaking News:
Ravi Shankar still making magic sitar music at 91
Reuters, Los Angeles :
Baby boomers may remember classical sitar player Ravi Shankar from his legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock, or his influence on popular music culture at the time.
But what the 91-year-old musical icon remembers most about Monterey was hearing live rock 'n' roll for the first time. It was loud, he recalls, and he walked out on Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar. The three-time Grammy winner appears for one night, September 29, in Los Angeles at the Disney Concert Hall, and ahead of the show he spoke to Reuters about his music, his memories of the '60s and his friendship with late Beatle George Harrison.
Q: You collaborated with many high-profile Western artists in the past. In what direction are you taking your music now?
A: "Mostly I'm playing concerts. I just finished five concerts in Europe, in London, Birmingham and the Edinburgh Festival, then I went to Oslo, Norway.
I finished those and now I'm looking forward to playing San Francisco and Escondido."
Q: What's on the program for the Disney Hall show?
A: "I always decide what I will play at the last moment, but I can tell you the format. I always start with very traditional classical music.
The first I think will be very traditional almost dating back to 16th century. The second is a more later development known as contemporary-classical music.
Another raga, an Indian raga. It's more popular, not in the pop sense, but it's a more popular second song. Of course the form we play is known as raga. Popular music with a lot of rhythmic variations."