Ali Akbar Khan

Ali Akbar Khan
Background information
Born(1922-04-14)14 April 1922
Shibpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
OriginMaihar
Died18 June 2009(2009-06-18) (aged 87)
San Anselmo, California, U.S.
GenresHindustani classical music
Occupation(s)Composer, Sarodiya
InstrumentSarod

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.

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "50 Most Influential Indian Americans". Rediff.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  3. ^ Rappaport, Scott. "Ali Akbar Khan Endowment for Indian Classical Music". UC Santa Cruz.
  4. ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India). Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2019.