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Nishat Khan

Michael Berkeley's guest is sitar player Nishat Khan. His choices include works by Bach, Bruckner, Britten, Mozart and Falla, plus sitar music played by Khan's father and uncle.

Nishat Khan is one of India's finest musicians; born into a dynasty of famous sitar players, he first went on stage with his father and uncle when he was only seven. Since that first appearance in Calcutta in the 1970s, he has performed worldwide, collaborated with all kinds of musicians, from Philip Glass to Gregorian choirs to Django Bates, and composed both for the 91Èȱ¬ Proms and for Bollywood films. He's here in Britain to appear at the Aldeburgh Festival this June, fresh from recording the soundtrack to a Bollywood movie.

In Private Passions he talks to Michael Berkeley about the musical family he grew up in - he started playing the sitar before he could even walk. He explores too the spiritual meaning of music within this tradition and its power to reveal the voice of God. And he shares his excitement at discovering Western classical music, still very much a minority taste in India.

Nishat Khan's choices include Bach's B Minor Mass; Bruckner's 8th Symphony; Mozart, Manuel de Falla; Britten's "Sea Interludes"; and sitar music played by his father and uncle.

Produced by Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus Production for 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3.

Available now

31 minutes

Last on

Sun 11 Jun 2017 12:00

Music Played

  • Imrat Khan

    Night at the Taj

    Composer: Vilayat Khan.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Mass in B Minor (Kyrie)

    Choir: Collegium Vocale Gent. Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Symphony No.40 in G minor (1st mvt: Allegro)

    Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
  • Manuel de Falla

    The Three-Cornered Hat (Final Dance)

    Orchestra: The Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductor: Eugene Ormandy.
  • Anton Bruckner

    Symphony No.8 in C minor (2nd mvt: Scherzo)

    Orchestra: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Zubin Mehta.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Peter Grimes (Act 2: Sunday Morning)

    Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Conductor: Benjamin Britten.
  • Trad.

    Tibi Dixit

    Ensemble: Ensemble Gilles Binchois.

Broadcast

  • Sun 11 Jun 2017 12:00

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