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Trending in Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s World
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Quick Facts
Born
1922
1922
From
IN
IN
Journey
The Indian artist Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was born in Shibpur, Comilla District, then part of British India and now in Bangladesh. He was raised in the Maihar gharana under the rigorous guidance of his father, the legendary musician Allauddin Khan. Beginning his musical training at the age of three, he studied vocal music, percussion, and several instruments before dedicating himself to the sarod, practicing for many hours each day.
Khan gave his first public performance as a teenager and later became court musician to the Maharaja of Jodhpur. His international breakthrough came in 1955 when violinist Yehudi Menuhin invited him to perform in New York, introducing Hindustani classical music to many Western listeners. He later founded the Ali Akbar College of Music in Kolkata in 1956 and established its California branch in 1967.
His notable recordings include “Morning and Evening Ragas,” “Raga Chandranandan,” “The Classical Music of India,” and “Karuna Supreme.” He collaborated with Ravi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Nikhil Banerjee, John Handy, and many leading classical musicians.
Khan received the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, National Heritage Fellowship, and the MacArthur Fellowship. He was nominated for five Grammy Awards and is widely regarded as one of the greatest sarod maestros in history. He died on 18 June 2009 in California, leaving a profound legacy in Hindustani classical music.
