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TRIBUTES TO  USTAD ALI AKBAR KHAN WHO PASSED AWAY 19/06/2009

Khansaheb Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, widely regarded as the greatest living practitioner of North Indian classical music, passed away early on the morning of June 19, 2009 at his California residence.

Son and disciple of Baba Allauddin Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan spent his childhood in Maihar, where his father was state musician. He underwent rigorous training, stories of which have passed into legend.

He gave his first public performance in Allahabad at the age of 13, and when he was 20, was appointed state musician in the court of Hanumant Singh of Jodhpur. His greatness was equally unparalleled as recording artist, performer and teacher. His commercial disks, recorded from the 1940s right down to the years immediately preceding his death have been widely studies and admired, and in no small measure have contributed to his formidable reputation as an artist whose sensitivity and authority placed him with the very greatest names of Hindustani music. His concert performances all over the world have won him millions of admirers. As a teacher too, Khansaheb furthered his father's reputation as a source of musical inspiration.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan spent nearly the last 50 years of his life in the USA, where he did more than perhaps any other Indian artist to popularize Indian music, and gain worldwide appreciation for it. He did not disappoint his Indian followers either, returning faithfully nearly every year to perform at major concerts in the country.

Khanseheb was the recipient of many awards including the Padma Vibhushan and the Mac Arthur Fellowship. However, he is said to have valued a title he received from his great father and preceptor above all things: before his death Baba Alauddin Khan bestowed the title “Swara Samrat” on his son, and Khansaheb always considered it to be the greatest accolade that he had received.

Millions of music lovers idolized Khansaheb and his concerts were always wild successes. But perhaps he is best remembered as a musician's musician: the depth, grandeur and complexity of his music never ceases to amaze.

Anindya Banerjee
Student of Ali Akbar Khan
Kolkata

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