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News and Events
2008 08 11
A short but very evokative video featuring the electric sitar work of Jesús Auñón.
2008 08 10
Here he is again, doing with an impressive fusion show:
From Chirag Katti’s website:
Chirag Katti, fondly called as ‘Sitar Vaadan ka Naya Chirag’(a new star in the field of sitar), or ‘The Torch-bearer of musicians family’ is one of the most gifted and talented musician whose youthful exuberance and persona is well expressed through his music. This promising young lad is an upcoming Sitarist in the field of Indian classical music hailing from a musician’s family down the generation line. Chirag, born in a family of musicians, has been learning sitar from his father Pt.Shashank Katti (a national A Grade artist) for last 15 years. Pt. Shashank Katti, being the senior most disciple of Late Pt.K.T Bhatavdekar (one of the senior disciples of U. Vilayat Khan), has played a major role in moulding young Chirag. At the young age of 22, Chirag has not only won many prizes but has also performed on many television channels, radio and concerts in India and abroad.The maturity that one finds in his performance at this young age is quite appreciable.
You can see more videos by Chirag Katti here.
2008 08 09
Ravi and Anoushka Shankar video
Thanks to TrippyMonkey for this great video of Ravi and Anoushka Shankar performing at the Indian 50th anniversary celebrations in Birmingham, UK.
2008 08 08
Anoushka Shankar speaks with Graham Parker of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra about her father’s upcoming third concerto for sitar and orchestra, to debut in January 2009.
2008 08 07
Thanks to PJB for pointing out this new Nikhil Banerjee video uploaded onto YouTube. Anindo Chaterjee plays the tabla.
It looks like it’s a small part of a much longer video, leaving us to hope that more of it might come avaialble at some point. Does anyone know anything more about where or when this might have been taken? Let is know in the comments if you do.
2008 08 06
Niladri Kumar discusses his electric sitar
Thanks to Carleton for digging up this interesting video of Niladri Kumar discussing his “electric sitar” playing with John McLaughlin.
What do you think of the tone and style? Drop us a comment and let us know.
2008 08 05
George Harrison and Ravi Shankar Interview
Thanks to TrippyMonkey for this rare interview with George Harrison and Ravi Shankar together on VH1. They’re discussing the album “Chants of India.”
2008 07 26
From the video’s YouTube page:
Tribute to the wonderful Sitar player, and my good friend, John Perkins who sadly passed away fewyears ago.
These performances recorded from the BBC show John at his best. The second part is an interview with Mike Read followed by a performance on the 80s Saturday morning show “Saturday Superstore”.
About John:
The Devon-based Sitar maestro began studying the Sitar in 1970. Since then John travelled the world, honing his skills, recording albums and performing with world class musicians from all backgrounds.
John also had a strong influence and appreciation of Indian culture and made numerous trips there to study with leading gurus in the art
2008 07 24
Ancient Future: Matthew Montfort and Pandit Habib Khan
A collaboration by Matthew Montfort (guitar) and Pandit Habib Khan (sitar) called Ancient Future.
The following is from the video’s YouTube page:
The Guitar-Sitar Jugalbandi version of Ancient Future featuring Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar), Pandit Habib Khan (sitar) and Arshad Syed (tabla) performs Montfort’s composition, Dawn of Love. Jugalbandi is a classical North Indian musical duet (literally “tied together"), in this case with the unusual configuration of sitar and guitar accompanied by tabla.
Ancient Future is a colloborative “world fusion” band formed in 1978. They produced this interesting video about thieir work over the years:
You can find out more about the group at their website.
2008 07 23
How many sitarists does it take to…
This is something you don’t see everyday. How many sitar players do you think are on the stage?
There’s no information about what the occaison is, but this is from the video’s YouTube page:
Jagdeep Singh Bedi directing a sitar recital.
Jagdeep Singh Bedi is a MPhil in Music from the University of Delhi and a musician who was initiated to the sitar and surbahar by his father. He developed his skills under Shri Anil Dhar in the style of the Senia Gharana and later under the reputed sitarist Debashish Mukherjee. He has performed in the Festival of India in the USSR as well as in many festivals in India . He is an empanelled artist with ICCR and All India Radio. His CD “Soft & True” was released by Music of the World USA.
If any readers have any more information about this event, please let us know in the comments.
Now Playing:
Click to launch Sitar.co.za's continuously updated video channel. An ever-expanding collection of the best new, archival and interesting sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Click on any video for more information or to start a discussion.
Events
- 2008 07 16 :: Rex van der Spuy (sitar) and Anita Katakkar (tabla): An evening of contemporay Indian classical music featuring Rex van der Spuy on sitar and Anita Katakkar on tabla. More...
- 2008 04 25.26 :: Terra do Sangeet, Land of Rhythm: The Toronto Tabla Ensemble will be collaborating with Aline Morales and Maracatu Nunca Antes as well as the infinitely talented Ian de Souza (bass). More...
- 2008 03 29 :: Anwar Khurshid and Ustad Tari Khan: The Sitar School of Toronto is presenting a Sitar concert by Toronto's own sitarist, Anwar Khurshid. The audience will also be privileged by the accompaniment of world class Tabla player Ustad Tari Khan. More...
View all Events. Please send an email to events@sitar.co.za to have your event listed.
Music
- Ravi Shankar Interview: Audio documentary with Ravi Shankar speaking to the BBC's Anita Bhalla.
- A Chairy Tale: A rarely seen Norman McLaren animated film featuring a full soundtrack by Ravi Shankar and Sri Chatur Lal (tabla.)
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Full concerts, documentaries, and rare television broadcasts. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
View the complete Music Archive...
Articles
- Sitar Making In India: Scott Hackleman's detailed and highly readable account of the year he spent in Delhi learning the art of sitar making in Katar Chand's shop.
- Annapurna Devi: Mohan D. Nadkarni accounts his meetings with this enigmatic artist and comments on her legacy.
- Quality Sitar Construction: An informative article on sitar construction methodologies and what you should look for in a good quality instrument.
Learning Resources
- Tabla Lessons: A half hour of basic tabla lesson demonstrations, recorded in Bangalore, June 2003
- Electronic Tanpura Samples: Tampura samples in all keys (C# for sitar)
- Electronic Tabla Samples: A collection of electronic tabla samples, of about 10 minutes each, in a variety of tempos and taals.
View all Learning Resources...
Useful Links
- David and Chandra’s Sitar Forum: The epicenter of the sitar universe and the best place to find accurate, insightful and up-to-date information on all things sitar. This is the place to ask questions about sitar music, learning the sitar, or where to find a teacher. Become a member, spend some time reading the threads, and ask a question! We're there to help.
- Ali Akbar College of Music: A great place for strings, sitars, music, books and the all-important fibreglass cases.
- Tabla.co.za: Information on learning the tabla and an excellent resource for South African Indian musicians. Local events listings and information on local musicians.
- The Buckingham Music Sitar Tutorial: Excellent basic information about learning, maintaining and playing the sitar.
- Sitarplayer.net: Canadian site on learning to play the sitar. Well written with great resources, advice and practical information. This is the place to visit for the "Sargam" font.
- Patrick Moutal’s Indian Music Page: A wonderfully sprawling French site packed with rare recordings, photos, videos and all sorts of fascinating information.
- South Asian Women’s Forum Music Page: A huge collection of detailed articles (with thousands of audio clips) on aspects of Indian classical music. A very good place to visit if you are seeking info on a raga that you are just warming up to.
- The Wikipedia Sitar Entry: Although it ranks high in Google's search ratings... be careful! A lot of the information here is great, but an equal amount is not completely comprehensive, open to debate and often confusing. There's a been a lot of work done on this entry over the last year but it's very far from being an adequate, complete or accurate source of information. Come on, sitar community, we need to make this entry better! Click "edit" and contribute something!
- Radel Tabla and Tanpura Machines: The essential accessory for any sitar player is a tabla machine. Radel's models are superbly built and their customer service is exceptional. They ship worldwide.
- Swar Systems Indian Music Software: Sitar.co.za hasn't demo'd this software yet, but it gets regular complimentary reviews. If you've had a good (or bad) experience using it, let us know! Available for Windows and Macintosh.
- Audacity: Open-source audio recording software for Windows and Macintosh.
- Riyaz Studio: Tabla/Tanpura accompaniment software ideal for sitar practise. Inexpensive and easy to use. If you can't afford or obtain a tabla machine easily, this is an excellent choice.
- Amelia Maciszewski’s sitar videos: Superb instructional videos on basic sitar practise and theory by Amelia Maciszewski. Great if you're just getting into the intstrument and don't have a teacher.
- Deepak Raja’s world of Hindustani Music: A treasure trove of articles on Indian classical music, including rare interviews with many instumentalists.
- The Toronto Gharana: The Toronto Gharana: A website devoted to Indian classical music in Toronto.
- That Which Colors the Mind: 12 minute sample of Steven Baigel's wonderful documentary on sitarist Nikhil Banerjee. (from Stevenbaigel.com)
- Andy’s Music Indian Instruments Page: Rare, vintage and historic instruments. If you're looking for the best, and have the cash to spend, this is a great place to start.
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of rare sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
- The Sitar Factory: Lots on information on sitar maintenance and repair, as well as interesting info on electric and experimental sitars.
Do you have any favourite sitar or Indian classical music links? Email them to us!