Ali Akbar Khan

Ali Akbar Khan was an Indian classical musician known for his expertise in playing the sarod. He was born in Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, present-day Bangladesh, and was trained by his father Allauddin Khan, who was a strict taskmaster. At an early age, Khan started playing the tabla and pakhavaj before settling on the sarod. In 1956, he established a music school in Calcutta, and in 1967, the Ali Akbar College of Music, which later moved with him to the United States. He was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and was instrumental in popularizing Indian classical music in the West. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor, and was a five-time nominee for the Grammy Award.

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8 articles related to Ali Akbar Khan:

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  MEDITATION

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  Bharata Muni was an eminent Indian philosopher and musicologist who is believed to have lived around 200 BC. The only...
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  The mohan veena: classic instrument developed by Radhika Mohan Maitra is a child of veena, sarod, and sitar

  Radhika Mohan Maitra was an outstanding Bengali musician who enriched the Hindustani classical tradition by not only... 2 comments
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  Violin

  The fifth string of the Maihar school lead violin

  For more than a century, the tiny town of Maihar—now the de facto cradle of the Indian Classical—has been breathing with... 1 comment
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  Vasant Rai's fretless guitar arrangements for Indian classical

  Vasant Rai (1942-1985) was one of the world's most acclaimed masters of Indian music. Born in Unjha, in the province of...
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  SAROD

  Malkauns night music was composed to tame Shiva's dance

  Malkauns is one of the oldest music pieces in North Indian tradition that equivalent to Hindolam raga of Carnatic...
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  SAROD

  100 years for 1 career: the great artist and teacher Allauddin Khan

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  SITAR

  Humid Kolkata air sways with Nikhil Banerjee's sitar

  Nikhil Banerjee (1931–1986) was an Indian classical musician who emerged as one of the leading masters of the sitar. In...
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  SAROD

  Ali Akbar Khan: the true guru of Indian classical harmony

  The first key point of Indian classical music is its structure. Unlike the Western canons, it is structured horizontally...