Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.
BIOGRAPHY
Amjad Ali Khan was born on 9th October, 1945 at a place called Gwalior located in Madhya Pradesh. His father Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan was a musician in the court of the royal family of Gwalior. He received training from the descendants of Miyan Tansen, who is considered to be the greatest musician of all times. Amjad Ali Khan was the youngest son in his family. His first tutor was his father and he began playing at a very young age. At the mere age of twelve years, Amjad Ali Khan gave his first solo recital. The rest as they say is history. It was his love for the instrument and passion for music that made him famous and recognized as one of the greatest Sarod players.
Amjad Ali Khan has contributed immensely in the field of classical music. He plays the Sarod with his finger nails instead of finger tips. This gives a clear ringing sound and is also the most difficult technique to apply on the Sarod. This innovative genius has composed many ragas of his own like Kiran Ranjani, Haripriya Kanada, Shivanjali, Shyam Shri, Suhag Bhairav, Lalit Dhwani, Amiri Todi, Jawahar Manjari and Bapukauns. He has also acquired international acclaim by composing for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. It was titled "Tribute to Hong Kong". The other musicians involved with this project were guitarist Charley Byrd, Violinist Igor Frolov, Suprano Glenda Simpson, Guitarist Barry Mason and UK Cellist Matthew Barley.
He has also given performances in Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Kennedy Center, House of Commons, Singapore, Mozart Hall in Frankfurt, Chicago Symphony Center, St. James Palace and the Opera House in Australia. The talented musician has received Honorary Citizenship to the States of Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee and the city of Atlanta. Amjad Ali Khan is the first north Indian artist to have performed in honor of Saint Thyagaraja at the Thiruvaiyur shrine. He has also been a recipient of many awards like Padmashree Award, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Tansen Award, UNESCO Award, UNICEF National Ambassadorship, Padma Bhushan, International Music Forum Award, etc. Amjad Ali Khan has two sons who are promising Sarod players. The legacy shall live on.