Ali Akbar Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 14 April 1922 Shibpur, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Origin | Maihar |
| Died | 18 June 2009 (aged 87) San Anselmo, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Sarodiya |
| Instrument | Sarod |
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,[citation needed] California, with a branch in Basel, Switzerland.
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 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.
- ^ Grimes, William (19 June 2009). "Ali Akbar Khan, Sarod Virtuoso of Depth and Intencity, Is Dead at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "50 Most Influential Indian Americans". Rediff.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- ^ Rappaport, Scott. "Ali Akbar Khan Endowment for Indian Classical Music". UC Santa Cruz.
- ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India). Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2019.