Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/Nov/2018
Genre - Ensembles
COSMOS project: Beethoven and India, a spiritual relationship between great musical cultures
Shani Diluka, piano
Sahana Banerjee, sitar
Edouard Prabhu, tabla
In a programme of Beethoven: Piano Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight sonata and Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor Op. 57 ‘Appassionata’; Moonlight Raga for sitar and tabla; Piano and Raga improvisation, based on a Beethoven leitmotiv
There is a genuine historical link between Beethoven and Indian culture: in search of the depth of this culture and fascinated by the translation of mystical Indian texts (the Upanishads), which was released in 1816 in Germany, Beethoven immersed himself in these texts and even wrote a Brahmani Indian poem in his notebooks to put it to music! This relationship has never been explored in concert or recording. That’s why we want to pay tribute to Beethoven with this “Cosmos” project.
The sound spectrum imagined by Beethoven with his five-pedal pianos at that time and his long resonances found in sonatas or string quartets seem to call and shimmer the spectrum and resonance of the Sitar.
Very mystical in his search for the link between Man and Cosmos and curious about other cultures, some researches, notably by J.S. Shedlock, prove Beethoven’s interest in Indian culture. Some extracts of documents written by Beethoven are thus reproduced in Beethoven ‘s Letters with explanatory notes by Dr. A.C. Kalischer (translation by J. S. Shedlock), 1926. Here is the English translation of Beethoven’s notebooks by Shedlock.
As an “exceptional” performer (Figaro) blessed with a “winged virtuosity” (Classica), Shani Diluka establishes a bridge between the East and the West. Born in Monaco of Sri Lankan parents, she came to notice at the age of six thanks to a programme set up by Princess Grace of Monaco and was then chosen to take part in a specialised programme at the Académie Prince Rainier III in the Principality. She later entered the CNSMD in Paris, where she won a first prize, with the unanimity of the jury, after being advised by B. Rigutto, G. Pludermacher, M.-F. Bucquet and J. Chaminé. During this period, her meeting with Leon Fleisher philosophically and definitively marked her career. So it was that during her post-grade course, she met Maria Joao Pires, Menahem Pressler and Murray Perahia, all three of whom invited her to work with them. Other encounters were to follow in 2005, when she joined the Fondation de Come, presided by Martha Argerich.
In summer 2018, Shani Diluka recorded the Concerto Wq23 by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, conducted by Ben Glassberg. This album project, using historical and modern pianos, in collaboration with the Fondation Royaumont, and devoted to the heritage connection between C.P.E. Bach and Mozart will be released in January 2019 by Mirare.
2018 also saw the publication of her first collection of poetry with Editions Art3, which was included in the short list of Académie Française awards. Among her future projects, Shani is preparing a “Cosmos” programme around the links between Beethoven and Indian music, whose mysticism historically inspired the Viennese composer. This project will lead, in 2020, to one of the films coproduced by the Philharmonie de Paris for the Beethoven Year, a series that will bring together H. Grimaud, N. Freire, F. Say…
She is also pursuing other commitments, such as a residency with Charles Berling at the Théâtre de l’Œuvre in the autumn of 2019, and the organisation of a series of concerts in 2018-2019 around reflections between the arts at David Lynch’s Club Silencio.
Sahana Banerjee is one of the most accomplished and outstanding female sitar players of India belonging to the Rampur Senia Gharana. Sahana was born in a family of rich musical heritage and was readily recognised as a child prodigy at an early age of four. Her father Prof. Santhosh Banerjee, a celebrated Sitar and Surbahar player of India and former Head of the Department of Instrumental Music of Rabindra Bharati University, in Calcutta. Prof. Banerjee was a disciple of famous ‘Veenkar’ Ustad Md. Dabir Khan of Rampur Senia Gharana whose family lineage traces back to MianTansen himself.
Sahana has also received extensive training on vocal music from her illustrious mother Mrs. Chhabi Banerjee, daughter of Sangeetacharya Kashinath Chattopadhyay of Sahaswan Gharana. Sahana’s unique presentation reflects the traditional Veenkar Dhrupad style of Rampur Senia Gharana maintaining the purity of Raga along with her own aesthetical blends of Gayaki.
Prabhu Edouard is an Indo-French percussionist and composer. A key figure of Indian percussions in France, he is regarded as one of the most versatile tabla players of his generation, he is a worthy disciple of renowned tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh. Prabhu has played with Indian music and dance stalwarts like Hariprasad Chaurasia, Laxmi Shankar, V.G. Jog, Ashish Khan, Debashish Bhattacharya, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, T. Vishwanathan, Shashank, Rohini Bhate, Rajendra Gangani, Astad Deboo… His cosmopolitan nature and love for experiments have led him to collaborate across the globe with artists like Jordi Savall, Nguyen Lê, Joachim Kühn, Saïd Shraïbi, Moriba Koita, Jamchid Chemirani, J.P. Drouet, Jeff Mills…
Not only a sought after performer, Prabhu is also an experienced pedagogue sharing his musical vision on various percussion masterclasses and international music seminars.
