Yehudi Menuhin

Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift. Through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music - one which belongs to all great music, including our own, but which, along with so much that should remain inspired and intuitive, is blueprinted out of our world.
But to young people, who their mind and heart to ravi Shnakra's art, he has made sense and brought order out of chaos, for he has restored the fundamental and supreme value of drdicated work, of self-control, of faith and of the value of living.

Phillip Glass

Ravi Shankar was already established as a Master of Indian classical music when, as a young man, he began a series of collaborations with musicians who were his peers in the world of West classical music. The violinist Yehudi Menuhin and the flautist Jean Pierre Rampal were two of his early collaborators and both remained close to him throughout their lives; and there were countless others, myself included. Ravi was, perhaps unknowingly, setting the stage for a monumental change in what would be perceived as the basis and range of a new, global art. I had the great fortune to work as his aslant in Paris in the early 1960’s. He was scoring a film (Chappaqua by Conrad Rooks), and I found that even by then he already had a practical knowledge of Western instruments. And, though I was in charge of transcribing his music into Western notation for French chamber orchestra that had been assembled, the actual orchestration was completely by Ravi himself.However, its is important to note that though he borrowed freely from Western classical art music, for Ravi the encounters that he provoked between the musical East and West would be a two - way street. He gave to those who were fortunate to meet and work with him much more than he took. To be in Ravi’s presence in those years (and even now, for that matter) was to be in the presence of a master teacher. He is constantly and joyfully sharing his knowledge of his own tradition.Those were the birth years of what is now known as World Music… though I don’t remember anyone in the 60’s calling that. And I state without hesitation or exaggeration that he was the Godfather, the Mother and the Father of that movement.

Perhaps the most striking aspect today of World Music is the breadth and the depth of its influence. In the West at least (and I think it goes farther), its influence can be felt not only in art and experimental errant music, but in popular music and jazz as well. I only have to mention the Beatles, John Coltrane and countless other who have learnt from him and benefited from his teaching. I certainly count myself among those whose musical bearing was forever changed by him. His mastery of both Eastern and Western traditions, his tireless activities in teaching and collaborations as well as his musical thought and the generosity of his spirit have had an unprecedented and global impact on music today. It may be hard to imagine that one person through the force of his talent, energy and musical personality could have almost single – handedly altered the course of contemporary music in its broadest sense. But that is actually and simply what happened.It is easy to fall into the habit of thinking of the great masters of music as beings who existed in some distant time – a hoary past celebrating its bi- or tercentennial. Yet one of those masters is here among us now. To have had the privilege to work with him, to know him or even to have heard him perform live on stage must surely be one of the most remarkable and memorable passages of ones musical life.

Foreword from the new edtion of My Music, My Life.

David Murphy
conductor

Meeting Guruji for the first time in 2004 to work on the Sanmelan Project at Dartington Hall and subsequently being involved with his new compositions has been the highlight of my musical life. Guruji has added a whole new dimension to my music-making, and I feel his influence every time I perform. More.