Ali Akbar Khan

Ali Akbar Khan (born April 14, 1922, Shibpur, Bengal, India [now in Bangladesh]—died June 18, 2009, San Anselmo, Calif., U.S.) was a composer, virtuoso sarod player, and teacher, active in presenting classical Indian music to Western audiences. Khan’s music is rooted in the Hindustani (northern) tradition of Indian music (see also Hindustani music).

Khan was trained by his father, the master Alauddin Khan, and began performing at age 13, soon becoming the court musician to the maharaja of Jodhpur. He remained in that position for seven years, until the death of the maharaja, at which time the state conferred on him the title of master musician (ustad). In 1955 the violinist Yehudi Menuhin invited him to New York City, and thereafter he often performed and recorded in the West, frequently in collaboration with his brother-in-law, the composer and sitarist Ravi Shankar. As a composer, Khan is known for his film scores—notably for Satyajit Ray’s Devi (1960) and the Ismail Merchant–James Ivory production The Householder (1963)—and as the creator of many ragas. Khan was the first Indian musician to record the long, elaborate manifestations of Indian music performances; among his many albums are The Forty-Minute Raga (1968) and Journey (1990). He founded music schools in Kolkata (Calcutta; 1956); San Rafael, Calif. (1967); and Basel, Switz. (1985). In 1991 he received a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.