Pakistani maestro Dilshad Khan mesmerizes American music fans

26 Dec, 2012

 

The maestro performed some of the famous numbers of Asian and European composers and musicians as Pakistanis, Americans and music followers from other nations enjoyed the violinist's many levels of innovations.

 

"I have been trying to find a link the Eastern music, particularly the sufi and folk music that has prospered in Pakistan over centuries to the contemporaneous music compositions in Germany, Italy and France at that time--- this has been a fascinating study," Dilshad, who has lectured on the subject in world music capitals, said.

 

After a decades-long comparative study of various genres and forms Dilshad Khan says, he has been able to discover and juxtapose scale by scale the development of music in Pakistan with that of Europe.

 

Among the masterful performances this week included compositions by Beethoven, Mozart, J S Bach and Punjabi folk legend "Lang Aja Patan Chana Da."

 

The American, Pakistani, Afghan and Indian music connoisseurs applauded the performances as the Ustad expressed emotions of joy and pain in an intense manner and in both Eastern and Western styles.

 

An important feature of the evening was a lively violin performance by Samar Khan, Dilshad's son, who was also recently crowned as "Ustad".

 

Dilshad Khan is one of the few exponents who display equal ease in rendering classical musical compositions, Sufi music, orchestra, symphony as well as folk music from Pakistan's powerful centuries-old cultural mosaic.

 

With more than 1000 American, Pakistani, Indian and Afghan students in the United States and many more around the world, Ustad Dilshad is working on his latest creation - a CD which seeks to capture moods, colors and rhythms of all four seasons.

 

The makeup of his team that includes violinist, tabla, keyboard and harmonium players from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India reflected the theme of Ustad Dilshad's work.

 

"The Sufi music in Pakistan has developed after deep meditation and creativity and it gives the message of peace, love and harmony --- my music is an attempt to find a rhythm that fosters common understanding not only in the region but also between East and the West," he said.

 

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012

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