Interview"I have composed bhajans. Mixing is yet to be done. I need to plan how to release it," Kavita told Ians in a telephonic interview.IANSBollywood Hungama via wiki commonsPopular vocalist Kavita Krishnamurti, who has sung in multiple Indian languages over four decades, will soon make her debut as a composer. "I have composed bhajans. One day, I was sitting in a car and humming a tune. I was wondering what words to put since I don't write lyrics at all. Suddenly, the word of Meera bhajan fitted beautifully into it. "That inspired me to make more songs. My husband (violinist L. Subramaniam) said I should record them. We recorded 20 days ago. Mixing is yet to be done. I need to plan how to release it," Kavita told Ians in a telephonic interview. The "Hawa hawai" hitmaker feels "very nice" to have attempted "this as a composer". "It's something...
- 10/2/2018
- by Surya
- The News Minute
Patrick Shen’s occasionally pretentious but persuasive documentary wants us to reclaim the art of silence in an age of cultural digital tinnitus
This documentary is calling for a nothing less than a global audio detox; it’s about reclaiming the lost virtue of silence. The film occasionally hits a rather loud note of passive-aggressive piety, but it is very persuasive. The great violinist Yehudi Menuhin used to tell his pupils to cultivate and appreciate silence: musicians need it the way painters need a blank canvas. But the canvases of our lives are increasingly splodged and muddled with traffic noise, street noise, loud music from other people’s houses and cars, not to mention our own, TVs and radios. Then of course there is the even more insidious digital white noise we fill our heads with – the frantically insecure smartphone-checking chatter on Facebook, Twitter, etc. (I am on this final...
This documentary is calling for a nothing less than a global audio detox; it’s about reclaiming the lost virtue of silence. The film occasionally hits a rather loud note of passive-aggressive piety, but it is very persuasive. The great violinist Yehudi Menuhin used to tell his pupils to cultivate and appreciate silence: musicians need it the way painters need a blank canvas. But the canvases of our lives are increasingly splodged and muddled with traffic noise, street noise, loud music from other people’s houses and cars, not to mention our own, TVs and radios. Then of course there is the even more insidious digital white noise we fill our heads with – the frantically insecure smartphone-checking chatter on Facebook, Twitter, etc. (I am on this final...
- 10/20/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Royal Opera, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Curve present the world premiere of Ravi Shankar’s only opera Sukanya which tours venues across the UK in May 2017. With a libretto by Amit Chaudhuri, the semi-staged opera is directed by Suba Das and conducted by David Murphy, with soprano Susanna Hurrell in the title role, bass-baritone Keel Watson, Brazilian baritone Michel de Souza, the BBC Singers and the full force of a 60-strong London Philharmonic Orchestra. The Orchestra is supplemented with Indian classical instruments including the sitar, shennai, tabla, mridangam and ghatam. The innovative Aakash Odedra Company provide the choreography and dancers and Tony Award-winning 59 Productions are providing production design.
Shankar was composing his pioneering opera Sukanya at the time of his passing, an opera exploring the common ground between the music, dance and theatrical traditions of India and the West. Conductor and collaborator David Murphy – who worked with Shankar for many years,...
Shankar was composing his pioneering opera Sukanya at the time of his passing, an opera exploring the common ground between the music, dance and theatrical traditions of India and the West. Conductor and collaborator David Murphy – who worked with Shankar for many years,...
- 9/22/2016
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
How's this for The Great British Bake Off: Royal Edition? Prince Charles and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, went head-to-head in a bread-kneading contest at an old water mill in Wales on Thursday. "It's The Great Welsh Bake Off," Charles quipped as he and Camilla were shown how to prepare the loaves. "You're not going to make me do this?" Camilla, who had already tasted some spelt loaf with local blackcurrant-and-apple jam, asked miller Neil MacPherson, before adding, "I'll have a go at anything!" Smiling, she then cracked, "Think of all the people you'd like to punch." For his part,...
- 7/7/2016
- by Simon Perry, @SPerryPeoplemag
- PEOPLE.com
Is Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) the greatest conductor ever? While there are some who, in preference to his highly inflected, interventionist style, would prefer a more straight-forward conductor such as his contemporary Arturo Toscanini, many cognoscenti believe that at the least Furtwängler, when heard in his favored 19th century Austro-Germanic repertoire, ranks supreme of his type in the pre-stereo era. The aforementioned Toscanini himself was an admirer; asked who aside from himself was the greatest conductor, he named Furtwängler, and also pushed for the German to take over the directorship of the New York Philharmonic when Toscanini relinquished its reins, though controversy prevented that.
While Furtwängler was a more versatile conductor than some observers give him credit for, his reputation is based firmly on his masterful conducting of the symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, and Brahms and the operas of Wagner. He said, "A well-rehearsed concert is one in which you have...
While Furtwängler was a more versatile conductor than some observers give him credit for, his reputation is based firmly on his masterful conducting of the symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, and Brahms and the operas of Wagner. He said, "A well-rehearsed concert is one in which you have...
- 12/1/2014
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
This worthwhile centenary documentary centres on the influence on Britten's music of the lifelong leftwing convictions, pacifism and hatred of cruelty that were engendered by his education at the progressive Gresham's school in Holt, East Anglia, the alma mater of Wh Auden and Donald Maclean. The case is well argued. There are useful contributions from, among others, the composer and teacher Joseph Horowitz and the cellist Anita Lasker Wallfisch (former inmate of Auschwitz, who heard him accompany Yehudi Menuhin at Belsen after the liberation in 1945). The music is well chosen and performed. John Hurt delivers the commentary with characteristic authority. Unfortunately, the dramatised sequences are acted with stilted tentativeness.
DocumentaryBenjamin BrittenPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
DocumentaryBenjamin BrittenPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 5/25/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Chennai, Apr 23: Carnatic violist and composer Lalgudi Jayaraman passed away in Chennai on Monday evening following cardiac arrest. He was 82.
He was ailing since December last year. He died at 6.50 p.m. on Monday. He is survived by his wife and son Lalgudi G J R Krishnan and daughter G J R Vijayalakshmi, both violinists.
A purist whose work spanned six decades, Jayaraman's legions of fans, disciples and collaborators included violinist Yehudi Menuhin and vocalists M Balamuralikrishna and Bombay Jayashri.
Along with T N Krishnan and the late M S Gopalakrishnan, Jayaraman made up a triumvirate of celebrated string.
He was ailing since December last year. He died at 6.50 p.m. on Monday. He is survived by his wife and son Lalgudi G J R Krishnan and daughter G J R Vijayalakshmi, both violinists.
A purist whose work spanned six decades, Jayaraman's legions of fans, disciples and collaborators included violinist Yehudi Menuhin and vocalists M Balamuralikrishna and Bombay Jayashri.
Along with T N Krishnan and the late M S Gopalakrishnan, Jayaraman made up a triumvirate of celebrated string.
- 4/23/2013
- by Anita Agarwal
- RealBollywood.com
Photographer celebrated for his informal portraits of artists, actors and musicians
David Farrell, who has died aged 93, was known primarily for his photographic portraits of the most prominent artists, actors, authors and, particularly, musicians of his time. These ranged from classical performers such as Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Jacqueline du Pré to Louis Armstrong, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He would take his portable darkroom with him to filming locations, where he photographed Albert Finney, Julie Christie, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, among others. His main body of work dates from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, by which time he was working primarily in cinema, but he continued with his photography well into the digital age.
Taking Henri Cartier-Bresson's "humanitarian" photography as his model, Farrell specialised in taking portraits in informal situations – he preferred to photograph artists at home or in the studio, rather than in...
David Farrell, who has died aged 93, was known primarily for his photographic portraits of the most prominent artists, actors, authors and, particularly, musicians of his time. These ranged from classical performers such as Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Jacqueline du Pré to Louis Armstrong, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He would take his portable darkroom with him to filming locations, where he photographed Albert Finney, Julie Christie, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, among others. His main body of work dates from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, by which time he was working primarily in cinema, but he continued with his photography well into the digital age.
Taking Henri Cartier-Bresson's "humanitarian" photography as his model, Farrell specialised in taking portraits in informal situations – he preferred to photograph artists at home or in the studio, rather than in...
- 2/11/2013
- by Amanda Hopkinson
- The Guardian - Film News
Norah Jones, Anoushka Shankar and Olivia Harrison were among the guests paying their personal tributes to Pandit Ravi Shankar at a private memorial service. The three-time Grammy award-winning musician died on December 12, following heart valve surgery. He was 92.
[Second from right: Anoushka Shankar / Third from right: Sukanya Rajan / Fourth from right: Norah Jones] According to Ndtv, George Harrison's widow Olivia said her husband had great respect for Shankar and "thought his music was celestial". The legendary sitar player performed at events such as Woodstock and won international acclaim and respect amongst Western audiences, influencing icons such as violinist Yehudi Menuhin and The Beatles. Shankar personally taught Harrison how to play the sitar, and the former Beatle once described (more)...
[Second from right: Anoushka Shankar / Third from right: Sukanya Rajan / Fourth from right: Norah Jones] According to Ndtv, George Harrison's widow Olivia said her husband had great respect for Shankar and "thought his music was celestial". The legendary sitar player performed at events such as Woodstock and won international acclaim and respect amongst Western audiences, influencing icons such as violinist Yehudi Menuhin and The Beatles. Shankar personally taught Harrison how to play the sitar, and the former Beatle once described (more)...
- 12/21/2012
- by By Priya Joshi
- Digital Spy
New Delhi -- The walls of Sanjay Sharma's music shop are lined with gleaming string instruments and old photographs of legendary musicians.
Beatles George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Indian classicial musicians Zakir Hussain, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Vishwamohan Bhatt. And the man who brought these two very different musical worlds together: Ravi Shankar.
Like his grandfather and father before him, Sharma built, tuned and repaired instruments for the sitar virtuoso, who introduced Westerners to Indian classical music, and through his friendship with Harrison became a mainstay of the 1960s counterculture scene.
From his tiny shop tucked into the crowded lanes of central Delhi's Bhagat Singh market, Sharma traveled the world with Shankar. Late in the maestro's life, as his health and strength flagged, he even designed a smaller version of the instrument that allowed him to keep playing.
Shankar, who died Tuesday at age 92, was "a saint,...
Beatles George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Indian classicial musicians Zakir Hussain, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Vishwamohan Bhatt. And the man who brought these two very different musical worlds together: Ravi Shankar.
Like his grandfather and father before him, Sharma built, tuned and repaired instruments for the sitar virtuoso, who introduced Westerners to Indian classical music, and through his friendship with Harrison became a mainstay of the 1960s counterculture scene.
From his tiny shop tucked into the crowded lanes of central Delhi's Bhagat Singh market, Sharma traveled the world with Shankar. Late in the maestro's life, as his health and strength flagged, he even designed a smaller version of the instrument that allowed him to keep playing.
Shankar, who died Tuesday at age 92, was "a saint,...
- 12/14/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitarist and composer whose collaborations with Western musicians - both classical and rock - made him a familiar concert name by the late '60s and earned him the title "godfather of world music," died Tuesday in a hospital near his home in Southern California, his family said. He was 92. Shankar's foundation said in a statement that he had suffered upper respiratory and heart problems and had undergone heart-valve replacement surgery last week, reports the Associated Press. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also confirmed Shankar's death, calling him a "national treasure." But it was his daughter,...
- 12/12/2012
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Legendary musician Pandit Ravi Shankar died on December 11 at the age of 92 in San Diego, reports the Associate Press.
British band Beatle’s guitarist George Harrison called him “the godfather of world music.” Shankar collaborated with Harrison, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane as he worked to bridge the musical gap between the West and East.
Pandit Ravi Shankar composed score for three of Satyajit Ray films: Pather Panchali, Aparajit, Paras Pathar. His composition for Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi was nominated for Oscar.
Pandit Ravi Shankar was born in Varanasi on April 7, 1920.
British band Beatle’s guitarist George Harrison called him “the godfather of world music.” Shankar collaborated with Harrison, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane as he worked to bridge the musical gap between the West and East.
Pandit Ravi Shankar composed score for three of Satyajit Ray films: Pather Panchali, Aparajit, Paras Pathar. His composition for Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi was nominated for Oscar.
Pandit Ravi Shankar was born in Varanasi on April 7, 1920.
- 12/12/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Sitar legend Ravi Shankar has died at the age of 92.
Over the course of the past year Shankar suffered from upper-respiratory and heart issues, according to Billboard. Last Thursday he underwent heart-valve replacement surgery, but was unable to recover from the procedure and passed away at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif. Tuesday night.
Shankar is often noted for his influence on the Beatles, and for introducing traditional Indian music to the West on a broad scale. He was also the father of popular singer/songwriter Norah Jones.
This is a developing story...
More from the AP below:
New Delhi -- Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who became a hippie musical icon of the 1960s after hobnobbing with the Beatles and who introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over an eight-decade career, has died. He was 92.
The prime minister's office confirmed his death and called him a "national treasure.
Over the course of the past year Shankar suffered from upper-respiratory and heart issues, according to Billboard. Last Thursday he underwent heart-valve replacement surgery, but was unable to recover from the procedure and passed away at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif. Tuesday night.
Shankar is often noted for his influence on the Beatles, and for introducing traditional Indian music to the West on a broad scale. He was also the father of popular singer/songwriter Norah Jones.
This is a developing story...
More from the AP below:
New Delhi -- Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who became a hippie musical icon of the 1960s after hobnobbing with the Beatles and who introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over an eight-decade career, has died. He was 92.
The prime minister's office confirmed his death and called him a "national treasure.
- 12/12/2012
- by AP/The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Associated Press Hyung-ki Joo, left, and Aleksey Igudesman.
Here’s how violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo perform Bach. With blissful expressions on their faces, they start with the gentle strains of Prelude in C—then John Malkovich interrupts, Igudesman falls to his knees in prayer and the piece somehow erupts into tango master Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango.”
Known as Igudesman & Joo, the duo lampoons the perceived stuffiness of classical music using daffy comedy skits and genre-blurring music mashups.
Here’s how violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo perform Bach. With blissful expressions on their faces, they start with the gentle strains of Prelude in C—then John Malkovich interrupts, Igudesman falls to his knees in prayer and the piece somehow erupts into tango master Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango.”
Known as Igudesman & Joo, the duo lampoons the perceived stuffiness of classical music using daffy comedy skits and genre-blurring music mashups.
- 4/17/2012
- by John Jurgensen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
The Kennedy Center Honors have been handed out since 1978. Recipients hail from various branches of the American performance art world — including film, stage, music, and dance — even though performers more closely associated with British show business have managed to sneak in every now and then, e.g., Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Elton John, Pete Townshend. Since recipients are supposed to attend the Washington, D.C., ceremony in order to take home their Kennedy awards, Doris Day has remained unhonored by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Katharine Hepburn kept putting it off until she finally relented in 1990. (Irene Dunne, see above photo, was one who managed to be honored though absent due to ill health.) Ginger Rogers, for her part, was present at the ceremony, but her films with Fred Astaire weren't — because Astaire's widow, Robyn Astaire, demanded payment for the televised clips. At the time, Kennedy Center Honors...
- 9/7/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This week my mind has been on instrumentalists. First we learnt that Manohari Singh, a helmsman of R.D. Burman's techni-colour dreamboat, passed away on July 13 at the age of 79. Singh, whose saxophone lit up songs such as 'Roop tera mastana' and 'Mehbooba mehbooba', could play the alto and soprano versions of the instrument with a mesmerising ease that's rare in our part of the world. Then, a couple of albums leapt up in neon pink from a shop shelf. Both promised a fusion of Hindustani melodies and western arrangements. Now, ever since Ravi Shankar met Yehudi Menuhin, most fusion ...
- 7/16/2010
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
In his review of the play Greta Garbo Came to Donegal (Garbo's Irish adventure captures a country in revolt, Reviews, 13 January), Michael Billington refers to Greta Garbo's "improbable descent on Donegal". In fact, she did visit the county in the late 1960s to stay at Glenveagh Castle, at the invitation of its wealthy and flamboyant owner, Henry McIlhenny.
She was one of several Hollywood stars and other celebrities to spend time at the house, which is a castle only in name. On my first visit to the "castle", just after it passed into the hands of the Irish state, a young guide showing us around the bedrooms recited the names of famous people who had previously spent nights there.
One name baffled us. "In this bed slept the world-renowned fiddler," he said, "Hughie McMenamin." It later transpired that the fiddler in question was Yehudi Menuhin.
Roy Greenslade
Brighton,...
She was one of several Hollywood stars and other celebrities to spend time at the house, which is a castle only in name. On my first visit to the "castle", just after it passed into the hands of the Irish state, a young guide showing us around the bedrooms recited the names of famous people who had previously spent nights there.
One name baffled us. "In this bed slept the world-renowned fiddler," he said, "Hughie McMenamin." It later transpired that the fiddler in question was Yehudi Menuhin.
Roy Greenslade
Brighton,...
- 1/14/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Sitar, in India, is perhaps synonymous with Pandit Ravi Shankar. One of the greatest Indian music icons and a three-time Grammy winner, this living legend knows just the right mix of Indian classical and western influences that go into making magical music. His collaboration with George Harrison, Philip Glass, Yehudi Menuhin, among many others, ushered in a completely new era of music in India. The maestro will now perform along with daughter Anoushka Shankar at a concert that is part of a series of concerts across the world commemorating his 90th year. The concert titled Anant, ...
- 12/16/2009
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Ravi Shankar was he first Indian to win a Grammy in 1967 for his performance, West Meets East, with violinist Yehudi Menuhin, in the Best Chamber Music Performance category. In 1972, The Concert For Bangladesh, featuring Shankar and legends like George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston and Eric Clapton was named Album of the Year. In 2001, it was a third Grammy, for his album, Full Circle – Carnegie Hall 2000 in the Best World Music Album category Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, creator of Mohan Veena, won the Grammy, along with guitar guru Ry Cooder for A Meeting By The ...
- 12/10/2009
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.