They came, they played, they conquered: Zakir, Niladri, Rakesh regaled the UK audience

Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) with the three Indian music maestros enthralled UK audiences says, Rahul Laud

The UK audience was overwhelmed as the vast sea of music-loving audience clapped, cheered, and gave an overwhelming standing ovation to India’s three living legends table maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, Sitarist Niladri Kumar, and flutist Rakesh Chaurasia. The recently concluded tour of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI witnessed the UK premiere of these three artists in London, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. The musical extravaganza was conducted by the Indian-born award-winning British conductor, Alpesh Chauhan OBE. Alpesh, currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, demonstrated his mastery and skilfully allowed the three maestros to display their mastery of their craft.

 Zakir Hussain is an undisputed Ustad at fusion and playing with Symphonies and Western musicians. He is undoubtedly one of the world’s best at fusion music. His 50 years with the Shakti band with world-renowned virtuoso British guitarist John McLaughlin, and his Crossing the Borders music with Chris Potter, an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, and Dave Holland one of the most versatile and prolific bassist/composers in jazz history, is well known and received with thundering applause by global audiences. Niladri with his powerful strumming on the sitar and Rakesh with his soft soothing phrases on the bansuri gave the audience a rich musical experience. The audience wanted more and stayed mesmerized by the power of their music.   

Following the  Autumn 2023 Season in Mumbai, India’s first and only professional orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), performed recently in seven cities including Coventry, London, Cambridge, Croydon, Bradford, Birmingham, and Edinburgh.

The 17-year-old orchestra returned to the UK after its well-received maiden tour of the country in 2019. The tour exhibited the orchestra’s caliber in playing complex classical compositions and its unique strength in showcasing a signature piece, specially commissioned by the orchestra, that represented a meeting of the classical traditions of South Asia and the West.

The SOI ushered in its Autumn 2023 Season in September, one of its most ambitious seasons. It featured esteemed conductors Alpesh Chauhan OBE and Richard Farnes, pianist Pavel Kolesnikov, and welcomed celebrated cellist, Steven Isserlis, for his India debut. The world premiere of the SOI-commissioned Triple Concerto by Zakir Hussain in September recorded two sold-out shows and received an overwhelming response. The orchestra’s UK Tour was an extension of the SOI Autumn 2023 Season featuring the same artists.

Khushroo N. Suntook, Co-founder, of Symphony Orchestra of India and Chairman, of NCPA, expressed, “The SOI’s seventeenth year has been special. The SOI co-founder and Music Director Marat Bisengaliev and I are pleased to witness the orchestra’s journey and hope that this is only the beginning. The Autumn 2023 Season was a great success assisted by the excitement around the NCPA’s commissioning of a Triple Concerto for the tabla, sitar, and bansuri played by the three great maestros. We can safely say that it was one of the most successful seasons of the SOI in living memory. The tour was a remarkable musical celebration.”

In the true NCPA style with its Parsi warmth hostess Brinda Khautau, who was accompanied by Nandita Anjaria, Xerxes Unwala, and Farhanaz Irani from the NCPA Mumbai team ensured that all the guests at the different concerts relaxed at the pre-event-reception-and-concerts-were-seamlessly executed.

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