Gharana Festival 2009
This
Year Festival is from 23rd March – 25th March 2009. at the Museum Theatre,
Egmore.
23/03/09: Hindustani instrumental on the Sitar by Ut.Irshad
Khan, Rudra
Narayan Kalyan on Tabla
Venue : Museum Theatre, Egmore
Time : 7 pm
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24/03/09: Hindustani instrumental in the Shehnai by Pt. Krishna
Ram
Choudhary, Hemant Raj Choudhary, Sumit on Tabla,
Vivek on Harmonium,
Deepak on Swarpetti, Mangal Prasad on Dukkad
Venue : Museum Theatre, Egmore
Time
: 7 pm
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25/03/09: Hindustani Vocal by Ms Shanno Khurana, Akhtar Hasan on
Tabla,
Bharat Bhushan Goswami on Sarangi, Maitreyi Majumdar
on Swaramandal
Venue : Museum Theatre, Egmore
Time
: 7 pm
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Pt. Krishna Ram Choudhary
Pt. Krishna Ram Choudhary was born in Benaras. The musical environment of the
family enabled him to imbibe the best in Indian musical traditions and paved the
way to achieving proficiency and perfection in his chosen field. He began his
professional career in Shehnai playing at the age of twelve under the guidance
of his father late Shri Buddha Lal Choudhary, a devoted Shehnai player and
disciple of late Pandit Bade Ram Das Ji, the famous Hindustani Classical
Vocalist of India. He further went on to learn the nuances of Raga-exposition
and higher technique of Shehnai playing at the feet of the great Vocalist of
Benaras Gharana, late Pandit Mahadeva Prasad Mishra, Varanasi (India).
He has also been seeking guidance in Shehnai playing from his respected uncle
late Shri Ram Lal , the famous Film Music Director of India, who composed music
for super hit films, like 'Sehara', 'Geet Gaya Patharo Ne' etc,
He has partipated and performed in almost all important music concerts,
conferences and festivals all over India and few out side India. Recently he has
performed in Saptak Music Conference at Ahmedabad on 1st Jan.2009.
He received the Special President’s Award in All India Music Competitions
bestowed on him personally by the Honourable President of India Dr. Sarvapalli
Radha Krishnan.
He was awarded Surmani in 1976 by the SUR SINGAR SAMSAD one of the leading
cultural organizations of India.
In 1978 he received “Gold Medal” award by Bihar Sangeet Conference, Patna for
excellence in Sehanai playing.
In recognition of his famous contributions towards the Indian Classical Music he
received a Certificate as a Sensational Sehanai Player and was honoured by
Indian Social Lovers Organisation (ISCLO) in 1982.
He received the C.C.I (Critic Circle of India)Award in 1981 towards his
outstanding in enriching India’s cultural and social tradition in playing
Sehanai in 1982.
He has been Awarded “Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi” Award in 1991.
He received “Bharat Ke Sangeet Ratna” Award by The Art And Culture Trust of
India, New Delhi on 23rd October 2008 at Stein Auditorium,Habitat Centre, New
Delhi .
The Central Sangeet Natak Akademi , New Delhi has conferred on him its
prestigious National Award Sangeet Puraskar for the year 2008 for his
contribution in the field of Hindustani Instrumental Music (Shehnai). This award
is the highest National honour an artiste can look forward to in India.
Besides giving numerous solo-Shehnai performances, he has also given charming
Sehanai recitals as a partner in duet with renowned Violin Maestro
Padamvibhushan Pt. V.G.Jog. Sitar maestros sujat Khan accompanied Tabla Samrat
Padamvibhushan Sri Shamta Prasad, Nishat khan, Mani Lal Nag and Somitra Lahari.
Sri Krishna Ram Choudhary is a popular and excellent Sehnai Player and has
received wide acclaim for truly representating the pure Hindustani Classical and
Semi-Classical Music such as Thumari, Chaiti, Kazari,Holi, Dadra and Purvi etc
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IRSHAD KHAN
As one of the foremost representatives of a musical heritage unprecedented in
India and the torch bearer of the younger generation of the ImdadKhani Etawa
Gharana, Irshad Khan is internationally recognized as one of the greatest sitar
players and as the leading Surbhar exponent of his generation. Irshad Khan's
individual stamp in both these instruments ascends from the distinctiveness of
his technique and mental prowess. His style is followed and inspired by many
formative and professional sitar players of his generation. His dedication to
the subtleties of the raga, in bringing out its essence in rendering its pure
form of feelings and expressions. His phenomenal control of the intricate "Gayaki-Ang"
(vocal) and "Tantra-Ang" (instrumental) styles makes Irshad Khan one of the most
dynamic musicians of today.
Being recognized as a child prodigy, today he has emerged, to be among the most
sought after and versatile Indian musicians of India. He has achieved
unparalleled mastery over Sitar-Surbahar technique and in different genres of
Indian music such as Dhrupad, Khyal, Tappa and Thumree. Whether he is performing
pure classical, folk or worldbeat/newage, audiences are stunned by his supreme
virtuosity and musicality. This remarkable versatility allows Irshad Khan to
transcend cultural barriers and turn each performance into a spellbinding and
unforgettable experience for audience every where.
Irshad Khan is the son and disciple of Ustad Imrat Khan and nephew of Ustad
Vilayat Khan. His family represents the most respected Gharana (musical
heritage) known as the Imdadkhani Gharana, of Sitar and Surbahar players in the
world. Dating back over four hundred years, Irshad's ancestors had been among
the best musicians and leading sitar players of India and are credited for the
introduction of the Gayaki -Ang, vocal style on the sitar. His family has been
paramount in the evolution of the sitar into its present form as well as in the
creation of the Surbahar, which was invented by Irshad's great-great grandfather
Ustad Sahebdad Khan.
Irshad Khan gave his first public performance at the age of seven. His
international debut was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England when he
was only 13. At 18, he made history by becoming the youngest soloist to perform
at one of the most prestigious international music festivals held in London,
known as the Indian All night concert at the Proms Since then, through his
performances and International press accolades and ground breaking albums, he
has proved to be an outstanding world musician. He has given more than 2000
performances, over 30 nations in 5 continents.
You can use some of these press reviews, which you can down load,
To listen to...... TOI,Bombay.
Breathtaking virtuosity... Navbharat, Gwalior.
A musician extraordinary....TOI, GOA, Bangalore.
His instruments emulates....The Lance, Windsor,Canada.
The blurred speed of hands... Irish Times, Ireland.
This was music.... South China Morning Post.
The Mozart of Indian Music.
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Shanno Khurana
Shanno Khurana’s legendary voice
continues to capture our hearts even today, 63 years after her first broadcast
on Lahore radio in 1945. Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in 1927, she was trained
from a young age to carry her voice with open abandon, zest and power, a far cry
from the modern voices that are created for microphones. Shanno Khurana is one
of the greatest living treasures of Hindustani music who has enthralled
audiences from the United States to London, Vienna and Paris, through the Middle
East, Southeast Asia to Tokyo in some of the most memorable concerts of our
times.
Shanno Khurana excels in the entire gamut of Hindustani musical forms. Her
Khayal recitals are marked by their deeply affecting plaintive vilambit
compositions that are contrasted with vivid drut and taranas. She sings thumris
and dadras with the typical lilt and poignant depth of the poorab-ang. And a
Maand, Hori, Kajri or Chaiti can see her voice dance sentimentally. Musically,
she has inherited a serious legacy: the tradition and rigour of the
Rampur-Saheswan Gharana from Padmabhushan Ustad Mushtaq Husain Khan and the
intellectual vision of the eminent philosopher and musicologist Padmabhushan
Thakur Jaideva Singh.
In a pioneering effort to bring classical and folk music to the public, she
composed, directed and sang in five operas which were each based on over 70
classical ragas. These achieved unprecedented acclaim right from the first one
in 1956 to the last one in 1980. Her organization Geetika (est. 1968) has
brought our attention to some of the most serious issues affecting our music and
musicians. To give women musicians (vocalists and instrumentalists, Hindustani
and Carnatic) a viable and respectable profession she started a festival called
Bhairav-Se-Sohni in 1983 which has now grown into a nation-wide movement. For
the past ten years her prime concern has been to bring awareness to the many
disappearing rare ragas that are hardly heard anymore.
She is also an eminent musicologist and has published over 40 papers on Indian
classical and folk music, their history, Ragamalas and Indian aesthetics, music
therapy in neuro-psychiatry, etc. Further, she has produced two substantial
pieces of research: the first providing a stylistic analysis and history of the
eight major Hindustani Gharanas, and the second, her doctorate, was an in depth
musicological analysis of the folk music of Rajasthan. Both have been published.
Shanno Khurana was recorded by UNESCO in Paris as part of the Intangible
Heritage of the World. She was given the honorific of “Oltin Bulbule”, the
Golden Nightingale of the East, by UNESCO in a glittering ceremony in Samarkand.
She has performed in every major festival in India and across Europe, Asia and
the US. The country’s highest professional honour for the performing arts, the
Ratna Sadasya or Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi was conferred on her in
2003. She has been awarded the Padmabhushan, Padmashri, Panjabi Akademi Award
2006 – 07 for lifetime contribution to music, Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
and the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani, the Baba Alauddin Khan Award, amongst many
others.