Ravi Shankar
A master of the sitar as well as a famous experimenter with its classical forms, Ravi Shankar was probably the world's best-known Indian musician. First recorded in 1936, he had a rich career that spanned nine decades. His mentoring of the Beatles during the height of their fame in the 1960s helped bring him to the attention of Western audiences, but Shankar's influence obviously extends far beyond Western pop, and he spent much of his career bridging the gap between musical cultures.
Rabindra Shankar Chowdery was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, India, into a well-off orthodox Brahmin family. His father, ShyÆm Shankar, was employed as a diwan (minister) by the Maharajah of Jhalawar. By the age of 13, Ravi Shankar was going along on every tour of his brother Uday Shankar's Compaigne de Danse et Musique Hindou (Company of Hindu Dance and Music). At the All-Bengali Music Conference in December 1934, he met the multi-instrumentalist Allauddin Khan. Precisely when Allauddin Khan was born is uncertain. People hazard dates in the 1860s around 1862, but in later years he himself gave his age haphazardly. He would transform many musicians' lives, but he had an incalculable effect on Ali Akbar (his son), Annapurna Devi (his daughter), and Shankar himself. Allauddin Khan joined Uday's troupe as its principal soloist around 1935-1936.
In 1938, Shankar gave up a potential career as a dancer and went to study with Allauddin Khan in Maihar. In 1939, he began giving public recitals and came out of training at the end of 1944. Until 1948, he based himself in Bombay and gave programs all over India. He toured and wrote for films and ballet. Around this time he began his recording career with a small session for HMV (India). Work for All India Radio followed, as music director from February 1949 to January 1956 in New Delhi. Concurrently, his international star was on the rise. In 1954, he performed in the Soviet Union. In 1956, he played his debut solo concerts in Western Europe and the U.S. Within a decade he would be the most famous Indian musician on the planet. Within two decades he became probably the most famous Indian alive. His English-language autobiography, My Music, My Life (1969), is still one of the best general introductions to Hindustani music. It would be hard to over-estimate his influence in late 20th century Western music. His disciples included George Harrison and Philip Glass.
Shankar was not one-dimensional. Apart from pursuing a career as a classical performer, he also experimented outside this field. For this reason he has attracted criticism from purists. Some of this, especially during the Beatles era, undoubtedly had an element of jealousy to it, and some was certainly warranted, because Shankar did take many chances. In fact, that was one of the things that kept his music exciting. To use a cricketing image -- baseball would be wholly inappropriate -- Shankar's batting average remained high throughout a long and illustrious career. In later life, he spent a great deal of time in the U.S. at his home in California, and continued to give spellbinding live performances well into the new century. However, his final concert took place in Bangalore, southwest India, in February 2012, where he shared the stage with his daughter, Anoushka. Sadly, following a long period of ill health, Shankar passed away at a San Diego hospital on December 11, 2012, aged 92. A pair of albums appeared later that year, Living Room Sessions: Part 1 and a performance of Shankar's only symphony composition, simply called Symphony, done by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with David Murphy.
© Ken Hunt /TiVo
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Nine Decades, Vol. 6: Dutch-India Airwaves
Klassik - Erschienen bei East Meets West Music am 24.04.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 (Live)
World Music - Erschienen bei Warner Classics (Parlophone) am 01.01.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravi Shankar Milestones: A Primer to the Maestro's Music
Klassik - Erschienen bei East Meets West Music am 31.05.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ravi Shankar Collection: In New York (Remastered)
World Music - Erschienen bei Warner Classics (Parlophone) am 01.01.1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Homage To Mahatma Gandhi (Instrumental)
Ravi Shankar, Ustad Alla Rakha
Indische Musik - Erschienen bei Universal Music India Pvt Ltd. am 01.01.1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ragas Hameer & Gara (Instrumental)
Ravi Shankar, Ustad Alla Rakha
Indische Musik - Erschienen bei Universal Music India Pvt Ltd. am 01.01.1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Unforgettable Ravi Shankar
Indische Musik - Erschienen bei Old but Gold Music am 22.01.2021
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Inside The Kremlin
Indische Musik - Erschienen bei Private Music am 16.01.1989
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Golden Star Collection
World Music - Erschienen bei Rav Can Play India Records am 30.09.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deyyamtho Sahajeevanam (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Ravi Shankar, Rambabu Gosala, Rama Rao Matumuru
World Music - Erschienen bei Saregama am 20.06.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravi Shankar - Concert For Peace
World Music - Erschienen bei Moment Records am 01.01.1995
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Four Ragas
World Music - Erschienen bei BCD - 3RDP am 21.11.2000
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Ultimate Star Collection
World Music - Erschienen bei Karshan Vira Records am 26.04.2021
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Platinum - Pandit Ravi Shankar
World Music - Erschienen bei Music Today am 01.01.2007
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Megh Malhar Vol. 1
Ravi Shankar, Mallikarjun Mansur
World Music - Erschienen bei Music Today am 10.01.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Three Ragas
World Music - Erschienen bei Lumi Entertainment am 12.05.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Raga Jogeshwari (Instrumental)
Indische Musik - Erschienen bei Universal Music India Pvt Ltd. am 01.01.1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Indian's Master Musician (Mono Version)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Flowers of India
World Music - Erschienen bei EL records am 20.08.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ravi Shankar Collection: In Concert (Live; Digitally Remastered)
World Music - Erschienen bei Warner Classics (Parlophone) am 01.01.1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo