Amjad Ali Khan

Amjad Ali Khan

Khan performs in Kuthira Malika, Thiruvananthapuram in 2000
Background information
Birth name Masoom Ali Khan
Born 9 October 1945 (1945-10-09) (age 66)
Gwalior, Central Provinces and Berar, British Raj
Genres Hindustani classical music
Instruments sarod
Associated acts Hafiz Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Khan, Ayaan Ali Khan, Gurdev Singh
Website sarod.com

Amjad Ali Khan (Hindi: अमजद अली ख़ान; IAST: Amjad Alī Khān) (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod. Khan was born into a musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2001.

Contents

Early life and career

Khan was born in Gwalior on 9 October 1945 as Masoom Ali Khan, the youngest of six children, to Gwalior court musician Hafiz Ali Khan and Rahat Jahan.[1][2] His family is part of the Bangash lineage and Khan is in the sixth generation of musicians; his family claims to have invented the sarod.[2][3][4] His personal name was changed by a sadhu to Amjad.[1] Khan received homeschooling and studied music under his father.[1] His family moved frequently and Khan performed on the sarod from a young age.[1]

Khan first performed in the United States in 1963 and continued into the 2000s, with his sons.[1][5] He has experimented with modifications to his instrument throughout his career.[3] Khan played with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and worked as a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico.[2]

Recognition

Khan was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989, and received the Padma Shri in 1975, the Padma Bhushan in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.[6][7] He was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2004.[8] The U.S. state of Massachusetts proclaimed April 20 as Amjad Ali Khan Day in 1984.[9] Khan was made an honorary citizen of Houston, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, in 1997, and of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2007.[9] He received the Banga-Vibhushan in 2011.[10]

Family and personal life

Khan cared for his diabetic father until he died in 1972.[1] His family arranged a marriage, which failed, and Khan was married a second time, to Bharatanatyam dancer Subhalakshmi, on September 25, 1976.[1] Subhalakshmi Barua Khan is a native of Assam and has stopped performing.[11] They have two sons, Amaan, and Ayaan, who were taught music by their father.[1] Khan is a Muslim and his wife is a Hindu.[2] Their family home in Gwalior was made into a musical center and they live in New Delhi.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Sawhney, Anubha (23 November 2003). "Amjad Ali Khan, unplugged". Times News Network (The Times of India). http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/297188.cms. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d Bhatia, Shyam (1 October 2002). "The sound of sarod music". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/oct/01spec.htm. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  3. ^ a b Weisman, Steven R. (7 June 1988). "Traditionalist Reshapes India's Ancient Sarod". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/07/arts/traditionalist-reshapes-india-s-ancient-sarod.html. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  4. ^ Rockwell, John (24 February 1991). "Review/Music; Another Indian Master, This Time of the Sarod". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/24/arts/review-music-another-indian-master-this-time-of-the-sarod.html. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  5. ^ Ratliff, Ben (30 October 2006). "From India, a Sarod Dynasty Represented by Father and Sons". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/arts/music/30khan.html. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  6. ^ "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees – Instrumental – Sarod". Sangeet Natak Akademi. http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist-sarod.htm. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  7. ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. http://india.gov.in/myindia/advsearch_awards.php?start=0&award_year=&state=&field=3&p_name=Amjad&award=All. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  8. ^ "Amjad Ali Khan – The 15th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes 2004". Asian Month. 2009. http://asianmonth.com/prize/english/winner/. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  9. ^ a b "Amjad Ali Khan honoured in the US". Press Trust of India (The Times of India). 11 April 2007. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Amjad_Ali_Khan_honoured_in_US/articleshow/1889599.cms. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  10. ^ State honours nine with Banga-Vibhushan
  11. ^ "Zakir Hussain and Bangash brothers' ode to heritage". The Tribune. 13 December 2003. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031214/ncr1.htm#3. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  12. ^ Ramnarayan, Gowri (8 January 2006). "Commitment to tradition". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/01/08/stories/2006010800010100.htm. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 
  13. ^ Steinberg, David (11 April 2004). "Sarod player preaches music". Albuquerque Journal. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-919303_ITM. Retrieved 21 November 2009. 

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