Uwishunu.com

Review By Joel Franke

On Sunday, October 19, 2008, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar shared the Verizon Hall stage at the Kimmel Center. Each sitar (and musician) had a distinctive voice; the music was wholly organic and spellbinding as the two performers carried on a stylistic and generational dialogue using not the language of tired chords or intervals, but an aesthetic irregularity that spoke to humanity’s simplest and most intangible emotions.

The elder Shankar established his voice early when introducing the first half of the evening’s set. He incorrectly related the details of the first traditional form and started describing the wrong piece altogether. After he was corrected, he spoke candidly: “I’ve made a serious mistake. Old age, you see.” Even as he and his daughter deliberately explored the various elements and themes of the classical arrangements, Ravi found a way to interject some rhythmic wit and unusual harmonics into his improvisations. (And this expert jesting was certainly showcased in the night’s second set, where he and his daughter traded highly technical and highly entrancing runs and themes; the two even condescended to play a few playful lines from the old American folk favorite, Yankee Doodle.)

Anoushka was a perfect compliment to her father. Her technical command was impressive, and her phrasing was absolutely engrossing. Her father obviously acknowledged her playing at points, seemingly dancing with downbeats and nodding in approval of her sometimes syncopated runs. And though her style is very much different from her father’s — smoother, sweeter, mellower, maybe — she is very much the product of his tutelage; she was on point with her father’s sometimes-not-so-subtle conducting and Tanmoy Bose’s infectious and emphatic tabla playing.

In short, I thank you, Maestro, and I touch your feet.