Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 1922 – 18 June 2009) was an Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he also composed numerous classical ragas and film scores.[1] He established a music school in Calcutta in 1956, and the Ali Akbar College of Music in 1967, which moved with him to the United States and is now based in San Rafael, California, with a branch in Basel, Switzerland.
For other uses, see Ali Akbar Khan (disambiguation).
Ali Akbar Khan
14 April 1922
Shibpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
(present day Bangladesh)
Maihar
(present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
18 June 2009 (aged 87)
San Anselmo, California, U.S.
Composer, Sarodiya
Khan was instrumental in popularizing Indian classical music in the West, both as a performer and as a teacher. He first came to America in 1955 on the invitation of violinist Yehudi Menuhin and later settled in California.[2] He was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[3]
Khan was accorded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1989.[4] Nominated five times for the Grammy Award, Khan was also a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship.
Personal life[edit]
Khan was married three times and had at least 11 children, including sarod players Aashish Khan and Alam Khan.[16]
Khan was based in the United States for the last four decades of his life. He toured extensively until he was prevented from doing so by ill health. He had been a dialysis patient since 2004. He died from kidney failure at his home in San Anselmo, California on 18 June 2009, at age 87.[17]
Awards[edit]
Khan was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1967[18] and the Padma Vibhushan in 1989,[19] among other awards. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1991,[10] the first Indian musician to receive the so-called "genius grant".[17] In 1997, Khan received the National Endowment for the Arts' prestigious National Heritage Fellowship, the United States' highest honour in the traditional arts.[20] Khan received five Grammy nominations over the course of his life.[17] In September 2014, a postage stamp featuring Khan was released by India Post commemorating his contributions.[21]
Solo albums:
With Ravi Shankar:
With John Handy: