Music transcends all barriers and brings the world closer. Conductor David Murphy from the U.K.’s renowned orchestra Sinfonia Verdi, and sarod masters Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash aspire to spread this message through their performance on Friday night. The quartet will strive to have a musical dialogue between the East and West through ‘ Roots of Fire ’, an evening where Western classical music will meet Indian classical music under the aegis of Murphy.
For Amaan and Ayaan, performing with Murphy is like creating music with a family member; the musician has been closely associated with their father, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan. Players of Sinfonia Verdi, on the other hand, are soloists and experts in historical performance and virtuoso performers on modern instruments. Ayaan says, “It’s a great honour for us to perform with Sinfonia Verdi and David and convey this message of universal togetherness and brotherhood. We share an old equation with him. In fact, he had conducted my father’s concerto when it premiered in Orkney Island, Scotland, in 2009. We have performed with him with London Philharmonic and other orchestras he has conducted. He has also been a part of many of our projects.”
He adds that it’s important to know the individual with whom you work, because that relationship translates onto the stage. “On a personal level too, when Amaan and I need help on some written notation while working with other artistes, David always bails us out. It’s been a relationship of trust and friendship and every time we perform, this is executed on stage,” says Ayaan.
Artistes from Sinfonia Verdi will kick off the evening with Mozart, following which the Bangash brothers will perform a traditional raga. Then, a musical piece called samadham will follow. Ayaan says, “Usually, this piece is written and performed with a large orchestra. However, this time, we will be playing a version for the smaller group with the orchestra. There will be a lot of improvisations. It will be an interesting collaboration because western classical music has a written score, while Indian classical music doesn’t have one. So artistes from both the sides will come out of their respective comfort zones and push the boundaries of music.”
Quiz him on how he thinks the performance will challenge him as an artiste and he smiles, and replies, “Usually, western classical musicians execute a piece in the same immersion as it was written by someone else, whereas in the case of Indian classical music, we do what we want to do. Of course, we stick to certain rules when we are improvising, but beyond that, we are just doing what we feel like at that point of time, which is a different kind of a challenge. Both sets of artistes have to come to a meeting point without any verbal dialogue, but only through music.”
Ayaan says unity and brotherhood is the need of the hour, especially today, when the world is torn by conflict. “These kind of performances spread the message that all of us are just human beings who have come from the same source. Look at what is happening in Syria and back home in Jammu and Kashmir. We must realise that all of us are worshippers of love and peace. Only then will we hopefully have a better world for the coming generations,” he says.
Roots Of Firewill be held tonight at the Royal Opera House Theatre 7 p.m. onwards. For details, visit bookmyshow.com
