In the 50th anniversary year of its foundation, the Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies has invited Rakesh Chaurasia to give a concert. This effectively underscores the Institute’s continuous interest in the music and dance of India since its inception. For example, the Fondazione Giorgio Cini already had the honour of hosting this Indian musician as early as 2004. Originally from Allahabad, Rakesh Chaurasia is a leading authority on Hindustan classical music and a virtuoso on the bansuri (Indian bamboo flute). Grandson of the celebrated bansuri virtuoso Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh is a leading representative of the second generation of classical bansuri players, despite having developed his own, very distinctive style. In addition to continuing in the wake of the teachings of his uncle Hariprasad, Rakesh has developed a style with innovations and crossovers that have led him to collaborate with a great variety of musicians in India and elsewhere.

In the concert of classical Indian music at the Fondazione Cini, Rakesh Chaurasia will be accompanied by Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla. This young but already
well-known percussionist is also a leading member of the new generation of classical musicians in contemporary India.

30 -31 May

International Conference How Europe Discovered the Music of the World after World War II. Cold War, UNESCO, and the Ethnomusicological Debate