SUBROTO ROY CHOWDHURY Gurjari Todi Alap, Jor, Vilambit, Drut (teental, 16 beats) 22.49" Raga Desh Alap, Jor 8.54" (teental, 16 beats) 22.49" Tabla Solo in Raga Desh (teental, 16 beats) 8.12" Mishra Bhairavi Dhun (dadra, 6 beats) 5.34" – Serenity – a cloudless sky, unruffled waters, calmness of mind, absence of passion, harmony of man and universe, nobleness, purity, wisdom, peace... serenity. This soft and harmonious sounding word that may apply to atmospheric conditions, to landscape, to human thoughts and behaviour, to justice, to a monarch, also seem to have been created to describe this recording.Out of serenity, with serenity, for our serenity, the music quietly unfolds, progressively disclosing its richness and beauty without ostentation. Even in the faster parts, no haste, no brusqueness disturbs the peaceful atmosphere built up by Subroto Roy Chowdhury and Manikrao Popatkar. Groomed in the purest senia tradition, he follows the classical dhrupadic raga structure fast dying out even in India. He is considered the most progressive among traditonalists for his associates in a logical synthesis ancient and modern musical expressions without in anyway diluting the former. His improvisations are celebrated for their melodic beautiy and the harmonious blend of classical and folk music, highlighted by his both intellectual and emotional approach to the sitar. Subroto Roy Chowdhury was born in Calcutta in 1943. His teachers were famous masters such as Nirmal Chakravarty, Suresh Chakravarty, Radhika Mohon Maitra and Birendra Kiskore Roy Chowdhury. He gave his first public performance when he was 21 years old and since then has won several trophies and medals, among others at the All Bengal and All India Radio music competions. In 1969, the title "surmani", a highly coveted musical award, was bestowed on him. In India, Subroto Roy Chowdhury is regularly invited to participate in the important musical events of both the North and the South. Innumerable concerts, lectures and workshops all over Europe and his participation in several international festivals have made European listener well aware of Subroto Roy Chowdhury. Radio France – France Musique and France Culture –, the Radio Télévision Belge, the Radio Suisse Romande, Netherlands radio AVRO, the BBC, Radio Bremen, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk und the Bayerischer Rundfunk recorded and broadcasted several of his recitals. Subroto Roy Chowdhury is also a highly regarded composer of film and theater music. His very succesful music direction in Hansgünther Heyme’s Indo-German production "Antigone" shows that his scope is not limited only to composing for the sitar. He is also an eminent member of the teaching staff in one of the leading institutions under the University of Calcutta, an All India Radio and Television artist, a known music critic and a member of the experts committee of the Benares Hindu University. Pandit Manikrao Popatkar (tabla) was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in 1933. He was initaially trained by his brother Shanker Rao Popatkar from the age of ten. In 1962, he was accepted as a disciple of the tabla virtuoso Tapsavi Samta Prasad of Benares. During his wide international tours and as a staff artist of All India Radio for nineteen years, he has accompanied the most renowned musicians of India, such as Nikhil Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shiv Kumar Sharma, V.G. Jong, Ram Naradayan. He was selected to tour Europe with Vilayat Khan in 1968. Pandit Popatkar has developed a unique style for the tabla as an accompanying and as a solo instrument. His teaching methods are highly celebrated in India and Europe. His playing is both subtle and compact. It combines empathy with wisely measured audacity, the strictest classicism with the verve of the romantic poet. Our price: 13,45 EUR incl. 19.0% MWSt. / VAT