Sitar
New Straits Times, May 28, 2001 pNSTP16909065 Sams sitar sizzles. ... The distant notes of the sitar float in the gentle breeze as the maharaja reaches for his beloved. ... The audience, caught up in the moment as well as in the serene ambience of the restaurant, had a feast for the senses with fine vegetarian cuisine followed by a soulful evening of sitar with Sam. ... Prakash Kandasamy, at his typical best on the tabla, provided brilliant accompaniment, the sharp and deep sounds of his instrument matching note for note the melody of the sitar. ... Article A75073836 New Straits Times, May 14, 2001 pNSTP16648995 The sitar man. ... THE sitar, perhaps the only instrument that embodies the colourful melodic spectrum of Hindustani music, is no longer strange to Malaysian audiences. If anything, judging by the interest in Ravi Shankars recent concert, one can gather that the sitar has captured many fans who have been entranced by its rich voice. However, it is not Shankar we must praise for having brought the sitar to audiences here. ... He has done much to help improve local appreciation of the sitar and the Hindustani genre. ... He has succeeded in mixing pop with the sitar, as his pop album Vidiyal and the Sitarasa series (which was popular Malay melodies played on the sitar) proved. He said: "It was fated that I become a sitar player; everything seemed to have been pre-determined. ... "He (my brother) hated the sitar, though, and after a couple of years of trying, my father gave up on him and taught me, which proved to be some sort of strange coincidence, for some years later, my father passed away, followed by my brother. ... Dass teaches sitar classes for all ages and levels as well as conducts a course on the appreciation of Hindustani music. ... The instrument was a sitar, which George Harrison featured again on the landmark Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Rolling Stones and others dabbled with the sitar, but most rockers left the esoteric instrument to acknowledged masters such as Ravi Shankar. ... (Indian sitar player) Dermot Clinch. ... " If Lord Menuhin has been infatuated with the great sitar player, he may surely be forgiven because so has the rest of the world. ... Pandit Ravi Shankar, it states, "is the person who introduced sitar and Indian music to the west". ... Shankar celebrated 50 years of Indian independence this week, playing the first of his two sitar concertos at the Barbican Centre. ... The sitar twittered and preened, a flute performed a twirl with the same melodic material, the work meandered toward its next cadence. The sitar, with its zingy voice, is used to intimate conversation. ... It was Woodstock with cachet: sitar with symphony orchestra. ... My own sitar teacher is in the conservative camp, but even he practises "fusion" with western musicians - which would hardly be possible without Shankars example.