In april 2007 gaf de jonge Indiase zangeres Kaushiki Chakrabarty in Nederland en BelgiĆ« een serie concerten. Vlak voor de start van deze tournee sprak ik in Amsterdam met deze winnares van de BBC World Music Award 2005 (voor haar album ‘Pure’) en enkele dagen later bezocht ik haar concert in het Amsterdamse Tropeninstituut.
In het wereldmuziekmagazine Mixed (no.1, zomer 2007) gaf ik in een artikel, Kaushiki Chakrabarty-Een vocaal wonder uit India, mijn indrukken van dit concert, aangevuld met achtergrondinformatie over haar muziek. Klik op de foto hieronder (en daarna nog een keer om verder te vergroten) om het artikel te lezen.
Tag Archives: raga
Great! New videos of prodigious Carnatic violinist Athira Krishna
An exceptionally gifted young musician is Carnatic violinist Athira Krishna, born in Trivandrum in Kerala. I know about her since 2007 after I found a clip of her published on Youtube on which I responded with enthusiasm and admiration.
I was more than pleased to find three recently published video’s of this prodigious young Carnatic playing violinist, who has won a lot of prestigious awards already and is widely recognized as one of India’s most gifted young musicians.
As far as I know she has played in Europe only in Germany so far. This really should change. She’s an incredible talent and I’m sure audiences in Holland (and other European countries) would love to hear her. Anyway, I, for one, will keep on namedropping her for sure š
Here’s in three video’s -click on the following links- some of her fabulous playing, from a concert recorded on 4 December 2009: Part One – Part Two – Part Three.
Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna in ‘Gharana’ 31-07-09 on Concertzender
On Friday 31 July 2009, from 21.00 to 22.30 PM (dutch time), Gharana – my Concertzender programme on raga musicians and their performing tradition – features singer T.M. Krishna (b.1976) from Chennai (formerly Madras), one of the young top performers in carnatic -or South Indian- raga music. He’s known for his glowing voice and Continue reading
Kaushiki Chakrabarty radio-special, 25 July 2009, with me as studio guest
Hey, that picture… looks like… is it…?… YES! …it’s Kaushiki-ji !!
On Saturday 25 July 2009, dutch national channel Radio 6 featured a special on Kaushiki Chakrabarty in VPRO’s world music programme De Wandelende Tak. The programme’s host Walter Slosse interviewed me on Kaushiki’s career and music.
I also selected the music that was played in the programme, great music of course! The programme is still available for listening on demand.
The programme was highligted as ‘radio programme of the day’ – with a photo (see above) of Kaushiki added and with additional info elsewhere on the same page (see below) – in the VPRO-guide (no.30, 25-31 July 2009), Holland’s best TV&Radio Guide.
The picture shown in the VPRO guide is a cutout from this picture, showing me and Kaushiki in Leicester, during the Darbar Festival 2008.
Two years ago I portrayed Kaushiki in my radioprogramme Gharana and this episode is still ‘on demand’ available on the Concertzender website and I’ve also published a Youtube-portrayal of Kaushiki and some clips of her great Amsterdam concert in April 2007. Check it out, it’s great to hear and see her in performance!
You can still listen online to the special on Kaushiki.
Don’t miss Kaushiki at her best in this radio-special!
Ali Akbar Khan passed away, but his music lives on!
Sad news, a pillar of Indian Classical Music has fallen… Ali Akbar Khan passed away on Friday 19 June 2009. The one time I heard him live in the Mozes en AƤronkerk in Amsterdam in the eighties was an overwhelming experience, an unforgettable concert. Fortunately we can all access more than fifty years of good recordings of this no longer living legend.
There’s a lot of video footage of him too, for instance watch & listen him playing in a beautiful performance of Raag Brindabani Sarang, a clip that was published on 19 june(!) 2007.
Good comfort is that his music lives on forever!
Radio: World Routes – Darbar Festival 2009 (Pt.2): Aruna Sairam
Aruna Sairam
Last saturday, 30 May 2009, BBC Radio 3’s World Routes focused once more on the Darbar South Asian Music Festival 2009 at London’s Southbank Centre, this time highlighting the concert of carnatic star singer Aruna Sairam. I was there too in the Purcell Room in London, it was a fantastic concert! The programme offers large segments of the concert and an interview with Aruna Sairam who explains some of carnatic music’s intricacies. This edition of World Routes is available for ‘on demand’ listening until 6 June 2009. Read more at BBC Radio 3. A must for evryone with an interest in Indian classical music.
23/5 BBC Radio 3 – Darbar Festival 2009: Rahul Sharma and Ashwini Bhide
In April 2009 I visited the Darbar Festival in London. Among the great concerts were those featured on Saturday, 23 May 2009, 15:00 on BBC Radio 3. The BBC Radio 3 programme World Routes brings highlights from Continue reading
Facebook profile ragamusic-programme ‘Gharana’
A segment of the Facebook profile-page of ‘Gharana’
Yesterday I’ve created a Facebook profile on my Concertzender radioprogramme Gharana. The profile-page is named ‘Gharana – in depth radio on raga performers’. For an impression of the programme watch the Gharana-promo-video on Youtube.
If you like raga music and like to know more about my programme, feel free to join the Gharana Facebook-profile as a member. I’d love to welcome you there!
Youtube-video on my find of Ravi Shankar recordings from 1957

Imdadkhani sitarist Irshad Khan in Gharana 30-1
On Friday 30 January 2009 9:00 pm my 90-minute Concertzender radio programme Gharana features renowned sitarist Irshad Khan (1963). He grew up in Continue reading