It is a mixed feeling for sitar artiste Joshua (Josh for short) Fienberg as he journeys from one city to another (favourite being Pune and Kolkata), during his annual stay of four to five weeks in India.
“I manage to take time out for concerts. It is tiring but exciting,” says Josh.
Jewish by birth and American by citizenship, Josh was raised in a family of music lovers. Classical piano at age four and bass at eight, Josh at 12 had decided on music as his life’s calling.
Josh’s concert at Udayswar, hosted by Pancham Nishad at the Prithvi theatre, Mumbai, as early as 7.30 a.m. was well attended.
He started with aalap and jod, followed by dhrut teen taal in raag Bhatiyar. He then played a short aalap followed by gat in Sitarkhani madhyalaya and dhrut teen taal in raag Nat Bhairav. He concluded his performance with short aalap followed by a dhun set to Dadra in Mishra Bhairavi.
Much thought and planning had gone into his choice of ragas and they were apt for the time of the day. Tabla accompaniment by Anubrata Chatterjee, was appropriate to the mood of the performance. The audience response was excellent, both in terms of attendance and appreciation.
It was to the credit of the artiste, that on a Sunday, so early in the morning, he could draw rasikas from out of the weekend slumber, to come hear him perform.
“When I came in I was a bit nervous, as I am used to microphone and amplifiers. With vocal music, it is different, but instruments are quieter. My sitar is traditional with no modern fringes. So I was unsure. But the sound was fantastic. It was a wonderful experience to perform at Udayswarand that too in a pure acoustic environment,” said a beaming Josh, as standing ovation and appreciative handshakes conveyed a stamp of approbation.
For the audience this monthly concert from the morning ragas series, was unique and intimate….a rewind to a nostalgic era of baithaks, in compact venues sans gadgets, rarely heard of in this age of technology.
Post the concert, Feinberg spoke about his music, learning experiences and more. Excerpts from the interview with The Hindu.
Why Indian Music? Why Hindustani instrument? Why sitar?
I was fifteen when I fell in love [with music]. It was the beauty of Hindustani music, particularly of sitar maestro Pt. Nikhil Banerjee that mesmerised me. Sitar was my obvious choice.
You were raised in a musical family. How did that help?
My family enjoyed music, they studied music but not in the serious way like many families in India do. I had easy accessibility to knowledge. That does not fully help in making a name in the field.
Does it give you an edge being a rarity and not one among the crowd?
May be yes. People may come out of curiosity and feel happy that a person not belonging to their country and culture is playing sitar. But there will be hesitation to approve, if I am not good enough. So it is imperative for me to be good.
About your training?
I learnt under Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in California. Now I learn under Ustad Aashish Khan, Ustad Alam Khan and Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar. I am still learning, many bandishes and gats.
Have you learnt Indian languages particularly Hindi and Urdu?
To learn a language you need to spend time. My time is not enough for learning music. I know a little Hindi and Bengali. In Hindustani genre, there are many compositions for instrument strokes, like gats, especially for sitar and sarod. I learnt the upstrokes and downstrokes, the ornamentations, the embellishments. I know the language of my instrument.
Your experiences with gurus.
My first guru was open and generous. He took special care to teach me. Only a guru can show you the path of humility. It is the shedding of ego, to know how much you need to know and learn.
How long do you practice?
Earlier it was for six to eight hours. Now my riyaaz is for two to four hours. Besides this, I teach in the U.S., which is also practice.
What about collaborative work, which is the trend?
I am essentially a soloist. I am very choosy when it comes to collaboration. Unless there is perfect understanding and adequate preparation, it could become a mess.
Are you a good listener?
Listening to others is my routine. I hear a lot of Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt. Paluskar, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri, Pt. Tajendra Majumdar and Pt. Anindo Chatterjee.
What is changing in the music scene?
We are going through new things. We have the challenge of retaining audience. One has to keep honing skills, do different things and not become stereotypical.
The role of music in your life?
Music, especially Hindustani, has helped me in so many ways, made me compassionate, given me wisdom, equipped me to face challenges, taught me to be patient, and broadened my thinking. I have immersed myself in a culture so different and evolved as a better person.
