Wajahat Khan

Sarod Virtuoso - Indian Classical Master Musician “An Exhilarating Experience...Wajahat’s Virtuosity On The Sarod Can Be Taken For Granted” - The Independent London "Music At Its Most Spontaneous Vibrant And Sensual…” - South China Morning Post “Wah Ustad Wah Bravo Maestro Bravo … His Distinctive Style And Virtuoso Technique Expands Over A Wide Spectrum Of Dhrupad Khyal And Thumri Forms ” - The Asian Age Calcutta “breathtaking In Its Scope And Attention To Melodic And Rhythmic Detail. You Will Rarely Hear Playing That Is More Focussed And Intelligent Than This.” - Gramophone / Songlines Source Http //www.Wajahatkhan.Com/index.Htm Ustad Wajahat Khan - The Performing Musician Ustad Wajahat Khan Is One Of The Most Outstanding Sarod Virtuosos Of India Today. Son And Nephew Of The Legendary Maestros Ustad Imrat Khan And Late Ustad Vilayat Khan Respectively He Represents The Eighth Generation Of India's Most Distinguished Dynasty Of Sitar And Surbahar Players Whose Lasting Contributions Have Profoundly Influenced And Shaped The Course Of North Indian Instrumental Music Up To The Present Day. Wajahat Khan Started His Training Under His Father From The Age Of Three Studying Singing Sitar And Surbahar In His Family’s Tradition And Later The Sarod. He Started His Musical Career As A Child Prodigy Vocalist But Soon In His Early Teens He Went On To Become The First Sarod Player In This Eminent Family. He Is Now Established As One Of The Exceptional World-Ranking Indian Musicians Of His Generation. Based In Calcutta And London He Tours Regularly And Has Performed At Prestigious Venues And Festivals In Over 30 Countries Of The Indian Sub-Continent The UK Europe Scandinavia The USA The Former USSR Africa South-East Asia And The Far-East. For Some Of His Career Highlights Please See International Career. Wajahat Khan's Distinctive Style On The Sarod Even Though Several Renowned Sarod Players Have Trained Under His Musical Dynasty Wajahat Khan Is The First Member Of This Illustrious Family Of Sitar And Surbahar Players To Take Up The Sarod. He Has Brought To The Sarod The Intricate And Fluid Styles Evolved And Popularised By Generations Of His Family Including His Pioneering Adaptation Of The Four-String Technique Of The Surbahar To The Sarod And Interweaves A Wide Spectrum Of Dhrupad Khyal And Thumri Forms Of The Vocal Tradition With The Authentic Sarod Baaj Instrumental Repertoire . He Uniquely Uses Seven Pegs Instead Of The Conventional Six Or Eight Pegs That Are Used By Other Contemporary Sarod Masters. In An Age Where Music Is Increasingly Influenced And Made With The Aid Of Computers Wajahat Khan's Live Performances Are An Unforgettable Experience Of Great Depth And Musicianship Of The Highest Level Rarely Found In Live Performance Today. Source Http //www.Wajahatkhan.Com/musician.Htm Ustad Wajahat Khan - International Career Highlights Wajahat Khan Made His International Debut In 1977 And Is Now Well Established As An Artist Of Worldwide Acclaim. He Now Divides His Time Between India And The West And Tours Regularly. He Has Performed Extensively At Prestigious Venues And Festivals In Over 30 Countries - The Indian Sub-Continent The UK Europe Scandinavia The USA Former USSR Africa South-East Asia And The Far-East. Some Of His Career Highlights India Spending His Hectic Indian Winter Music Seasons Based In Kolkata Calcutta And Mumbai Bombay Wajahat Khan Has Performed At Major Venues And Music Conferences Of India Including * Sajan Milap Festival Mumbai IMG St. Xavier’s Music Conference Mumbai Hirabai Smruti Sangeet Samaroh Mumbai National Centre Of Performing Arts Mumbai Nehru Centre Mumbai Suburban Music Festival Mumbai Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan Mumbai * Sadarang Sangeet Samaroh Kolkata Rajya Sabha Sangeet West Bengal Music Conference Kolkata Dover Lane Music Conference Kolkata * Vishnu Digambar Festival New Delhi Delhi University Habitat Centre New Delhi * Baba Harballabh Sangeet Mahasabha Jalandhar * Maifil Conference Nagpur * BHU Music Festival Banaras * Maharana Kumbh Sangeet Sammelan Udaipur * Saptak Music Conference Ahmedabad * The SPICMACAY Concert Series - In New Delhi Kolkata Banaras Bhubaneswar Ranchi Kharagpur As Well As Many Other Towns And Cities All Over India. United Kingdom For Part Of Each Year He Is Based In London Where He Has Appeared In Prestigious Venues And Numerous British Festivals Including * BBC Proms Royal Albert Hall Henry Wood Promenade Concerts - London * House Of Commons First Sarod Performance In The Parliament - London * Spitalfields Festival On 8 Consecutive Years - London * Capital Radio Music Festival - London * Wigmore Hall London * Windsor Festival In The Royal Windsor Castle * Brighton Festival At The Royal Pavilion * The Snape Proms At Aldeburgh Festival * Other Festivals Include Glastonbury Canterbury Bath Lichfield Wingfield Bury St Edmonds Norwich And Norfolk Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Nottingham Asian Festival And Many More * The Sage - Gateshead * Manan Festival - Isle Of Man * Usher Hall Edinburgh - Scotland Glasgow May Festival - Scotland * Numerous Concerts At The Queen Elizabeth Hall In London. In 1979 He Performed For The Commonwealth Conference In Edinburgh Where He Was Presented By Mr Inder Kumar Gujral The Prime Minister Of India. USA And Canada Several Concert Trips And Tours - Performing At Major Venues Festivals And Universities Including * Smithsonian Institute Washington DC * Lincoln Centre New York * Universities Of Washington - St. Louis New York Amherst Pittsburgh Albany Cleveland Baltimore Massachusetts Columbia Orlando Florida Maryland Utica Augustana College And Many More. * Universities Of Toronto Montreal Ottawa - Canada Europe Several Concert Trips And Tours - Performing At Major Venues Festivals And Universities Including * Theatre Du Rond Point Paris - France Festivals In Strasbourg Nantes Ettempes Melle Colmar Avignon - France * Philharmonic Hall Koln - Germany Symphony Hall Berlin Important Venues And Festivals In Berlin Munich Kassell Dusseldorf Freiburg * Istanbul Festival - Turkey * The Megaron Centre Athens - Greece Herod Atticus Theatre At The Acropolis Athens - Greece Ancient Delphi Stadium Greece Greece-India Festival - On Invitation Of The Government Of India * Festivals In Madrid And Barcelona - Spain * Concerts In Brussels And Antwerp - Belgium * Mozes And Aaron Church Amsterdam - Holland Concerts In Utrecht Rotterdam Hague - Holland * Kulturzentrum Bei Den Minoriten Graz - Austria Festivals In Saltzburg And Halstatt - Austria * Rietburg Museum Zurich - Switzerland Festivals In Geneva And Zurich - Switzerland * Festivals In Milan Venice And Cabella In Italy * Concerts And Festivals In Norway Sweden And Denmark Eastern Europe And Russia * Festival Of India - On Invitation Of The Government Of India * 28 Concerts At The Former Soviet Union Including The Kremlin Palace - Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall - Moscow Moscow Conservatoire Operatta - Moscow * Festival In Prague - Czechoslovakia * National Philharmonija Hall 3 Concerts Vilnius - Lithuania Vilnius Festival - Lithuania Prazalus Festival - Lithuania Africa Several Concert Trips - Performing At Major Venues Festivals And Universities Including * Playhouse Theatre For HRH King Of Kwa Zulu Natal Durban City Hall - DurbanDurban Film Festival * City Hall - Cape Town * Indian Cultural Centre - Johannesburg * Opera Hall - Port Elizabeth Bangladesh Numerous Concert Trips To Bangladesh Performances Include * Shilpokala Academy * Dhaka Club * Bangla Academy * Dhaka Museum Far East * Traditional Muslim Music Festival Of The World Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia * World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur - For The Prime Minister Of Malaysia Victoria Concert Hall In Singapore 4 Concerts * Suntori Hall Tokyo 2 Concerts - Japan Yakushiji Temple Nara - Japan Concerts In Kyoto Kobe And Osaka - Japan * Hong Kong International Arts Festival City Hall 3 Concerts - Hong Kong BROADCASTS Several Of His Recitals Have Been Broadcast By Leading International TV And Radio Channels - Including * BBC Television * BBC Radio 3 * BBC World Service * Channel 4 Television London * Zee TV London * Sunrise Radio London * Doordarshan Television Kolkata * All India Radio From Several Cities Of India * NHK TV Tokyo * TV3 Kuala Lumpur * Lotus Channel Durban * Radio Paris * WDR Koln * Radio Saarbrucken * Radio Bremen * Sender Freies Berlin For The Millennium Celebrations He Performed An Historic BBC Millennium Concert From London Broadcast Live On The BBC World Service And Over The Internet. Source Http //www.Wajahatkhan.Com/events.Htm The Composer Ustad Wajahat Khan Is An Accomplished Composer And Has Led Numerous Successful World Music Collaborations In Indian Classical Jazz Flamenco Rock And Western Classical. He Has Written Orchestral And Chamber Scores For Western As Well As Indian Instruments Working With Renowned Soloists And Ensembles Including Two Sarod Concertos And An Award Winning Quintet For Sarod And String Quartet. This Extraordinary Collaboration Of Indian And Western Classical Music Is Written And Performed By Wajahat Khan. The Highly Acclaimed Work Was Premiered At A Sold Out Wigmore Hall In London To A Standing Ovation With The One Of The UK's Leading International Ensembles The Medici String Quartet. It Has Also Been Performed With Other Renowned 1international Quartets Such As The Ciurlionis Quartet. Wajahat Khan Has Performed This Work At Prestigious Venues And Festivals Including The Megaron Athens The Sage Gateshead UK And The Festivals Of Bath UK Vilnius Lithuania Geneva Switzerland And Istanbul Turkey . The Recording Release Has Also Received Rave Reviews Globally. Wajahat Khan Has Expanded The Repertoire Of The Sarod Into Western Classical Symphony Orchestras With Two Sarod Concertos Receiving Worldwide Acclaim. In 1991 He Performed The World Premiere Of His First Sarod Concerto In Kassell In The Presence Of The German President. Since Then He Has Collaborated And Performed With Leading International Orchestras Such As The Singapore Symphony Orchestra The London Sinfonietta The KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra Durban And The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra In South Africa. Launched At The Prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hall In London For The 50th Anniversary Of India's Independence Wajahat Khan Created For The First Time An Ensemble Comprised Solely Of All The Traditional Instruments And Percussion That Are At The Forefront Of North Indian Classical Music Scene Today - Sarod Sitar Surbahar Sarangi Santoor Shehnai Bansuri Pakhawaj And Tabla Played By Some Of The Leading Soloists Of The UK. Subsequent Performances Have Included The Prestigious Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival In The UK. Wajahat Khan Continues To Work As A Composer And Performer Globally. He Has Toured Europe And The UK On Several Occasions With His Own World Music Ensemble Which Includes The Renowned Flamenco/jazz Guitarist Eduardo Niebla. He Has Also Performed With Respected Musicians In Other Genres Such As The Japanese Shakuhachi Maestro Yoshikazu Iwamoto And Composed/recorded For The BRIT Award Winning Rock Band Kula Shaker. More Recently His Duet Performances And Tours With The Great Indian Shehnai Virtuoso Ustad Ali Ahmad Khan Have Been Memorable. Their CD Was The First Sarod And Shehnai Duet Ever Recorded - Another Of Wajahat Khan's Innovations To The Sarod And Indian Classical Music. Source Http //www.Wajahatkhan.Com/composer.Htm read less