NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 17, 2003: Sitar virtuoso Pandit Ravi Shankar, often praised for pioneering collaborations with musicians from the West, does not identify with the fusion music of today. “I was never involved in fusion music as it is understood today,” he said at a press conference to announce a concert with daughter Anoushka on March 22. Shankar, called the “father of world music” by the late Beatle George Harrison, maintained his musical collaborations with Harrison, British violinist Yehudi Menuhin, French flautist Jean Pierre Rampal, Japanese musicians and symphony orchestras the world over were “experiments.” “I have experimented, but the compositions were always based on Indian classical music,” Shankar said. He felt fusion music of today was more of a commercial attraction and a gimmick. “But I do agree there are many brilliant musicians doing a lot of good work in the area.” The maestro plans to teach the nuances of classical music to talented students through the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music and Performing Arts that will be fully operational in the capital later this year.
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