On Friday 29 May -from 21.00 to 22.30 PM, dutch time- there’ll be a broadcast of a new episode of Gharana, my programme on Indian classical music for Holland’s finest musicstation, the Concertzender. This time the programme focuses on Chitravina N. Ravikiran (b.1967), a celebrated musician in South Indian carnatic music. He has been labeled ‘the Mozart of India’ by critics. He’s a virtuoso on a lute called the chitravina. It’s the world’s oldest fretless slide instrument still being played. Ravikiran was a prodigy and he became famous already at the age of two Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2009
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
Persian Surgery Dervishes: great minimal music-oldie by Terry Riley
My copy of Terry Riley’s “Persian Surgery Dervishes”
On the brink of Thursday 14 May (dutch time 00:00-01:00 AM) to Friday 15 May my edition of ‘OpgeHoesd‘ –dutch radiostation Concertzender‘s great weekly LP record programme- features a great minimal music ‘cult-classic’ by Terry Riley from 1972: Persian Surgery Dervishes. Fantastic mesmerising music, especially the A-side of the album. More info and a possibillity to listen ‘on demand’ after broadcast you’ll find here (after broadcast a speaker icon there will enable ‘on demand’-listening). Since the music’s hypnotic mood and cyclic repetitive structure clearly refers to the process of breathing and the way of reciting names of God (and the divine) in islamic zikr-ceremonies, I’ve added a recording of a zikr-ceremony of a Naqshbandi Sufi Order from Turkmenistan. Give it a listen and maybe this music will get you tuned into a different mindset, one that will make you wonder and exclaim ‘Thank God it’s friday!’ 🙂
Valentina Lisitsa’s highly addictive piano magic: a playlist
Valentina Lisitsa
A while ago I made a playlist on my Youtube-channel of some electrifying video’s of the incomparable, one and only Valentina Lisitsa. Highly recommended, but with a warning: this ‘piano magic’ is highly addictive stuff, before you know it you can’t get enough of it! Can you take it? Find out here 🙂
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!