Indian, western fusion to delight music lovers

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Kolkata: A collaborative act involving Indian musicians and a cellist from the Netherlands will be a special treat for Indian classical music enthusiasts at the 63rd edition of Dover Lane Music Conference here.

Beginning Jan 22, 2015, the prestigious annual festival will showcase talents of 21 artistes - some familiar and some new names.

"In the 63rd edition, we will have established artists who are familiar to listeners as well as those who have carved out a niche for themselves but are not so familiar with the public," Bappa Sen, general secretary of the event said here Friday.

The night-long presentations will run till Jan 25 at the Nazrul Mancha auditorium in south Kolkata.

Apart from solo performances by maestros like Amjad Ali Khan (Sarod), Bhajan Sopori (Santoor), Shujaat Khan (Sitar), Shubha Mudgal, Sarthi Chatterjee (vocal) and Swapan Chaudhury (Tabla), duets (Shehnai) and other collaborations will also be a major part of the music extravaganza.

One of the prominent collaborative acts will be a trio of flute, sitar and Indian cello, he said.

Grammy nominated flautist Shashank Subramanyam (Bamboo flute), sitarist Shubhendra Rao (a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar) and Netherlands-born Saskia Rao-de Haas (Indian cello) will offer a unique blend of instrumentals.

Saskia is known for introducing an Indian version of the cello (Indian cello) to north Indian classical music.

Besides, renowned vocalist Pandit Jasraj will be seen in a 'musical dialogue' with Durga Jasraj and his disciples at the conference.

Dhrupad recital (a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music) by Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha and other performances by a host of musicians from Karnataka are also a part of the stellar lineup.

"There will be a talent hunt in nine disciplines. So far, we have received 115 entries," said Sen.

Renowned vocalist from West Bengal, Pandit Arun Bhaduri will be honoured with the 'Sangeet Samman' title for his contributions to Indian classical music.