Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan
Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan
Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan
Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan
Spotlight: Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan at Cohoes Music Hall
Publicity materials hail Shahid Parvez Khan as “one of the greatest sitar players of the world. … He has achieved success in not only preserving tradition, but also pushing its boundaries to even greater heights of aesthetic beauty.” The sitar is a stringed instrument with a distinctive tone, sometimes ringing, sometimes droning, that was used for centuries across the Indian subcontinent. Its sound became more widely known in the West in the 1960s when such groups as The Beatles, The Doors and the Rolling Stones began featuring it in their music. But Khan belongs to the heritage of Hindu classical music, which goes back far before the rise of rock music. A 2007 article in The New York Times said Khan “carries on a legacy of sitar playing that goes back seven generations in his family. He is one of India’s more celebrated younger musicians, prized especially for the vocalistic phrasing of his raga improvisations.” The Hindu, one of the major newspapers of India, described him succinctly as “Indian music personified.” His website, shahidparvezkhan.com, says Khan “regularly tours across India, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, enthralling audiences everywhere.” His virtuosic playing, usually accompanied by a tabla drummer, can be sampled on his website.
4 p.m. Sunday. $35/$45. Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen St., Cohoes. 953-0630. thecohoesmusichall.com.
— Joe Stalvey
