The National Symphony Orchestra welcomes the Kennedy Center’s maximum India celebration with two fascinating works: excerpts from “Padmavati,” an opera-ballet by French composer Albert Roussel, and the world premiere of Zakir Hussain’s Concerto for Four Soloists, uniting Hindu, Islamic and Christian elements. The soloists are American mezzo-soprano opera singer Kelley O’Connor, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Hussain. Mahadevan and Hariharan, popular Indian musicians, are singers and composers who hold numerous film and recording awards. Both are good friends of Hussain from their Bollywood associations. Hariharan will sing the part of the Hindu, Mahadevan will take the Sufi (Islamic) role and O’Connor will sing hymns appropriate for the church. Hussain ties the three cultures together with his tabla, a pair of hand drums that creates many sounds and pitches utilizing 360 rhythm cycles.
| Onstage |
| Zakir Hussain’s Concerto for Four Soloists |
| Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall |
| When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| Info: $20 to $85 at 202-467-5600, 800-444-1324 or kennedy.center.org |
“This work happened in a roundabout way,” Hussain said. “B?la Fleck, Edgar Meyer and I were asked to open the celebration with our Melody of Rhythm Triple Concerto, but B?la and Edgar were both busy at this time. Then I was asked to write a full concerto. Without thinking, I said yes.”
Hussain, a child prodigy, left India and came to the United States in 1970 to begin a collaboration with percussionist Mickey Hart, drummer with the Grateful Dead and former pupil of Hussain’s father, one of India’s most famous tabla players. A tabla virtuoso himself, Hussain composes, performs and acts as Indian music advisor for Merchant and Ivory on Bollywood films. Along with writing movie scores, he has starred in several films and played tabla on soundtracks, among them Francis Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” and Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Little Buddha.”
“The concept of this work is to show that we are not dissimilar. The Hindu, Islamic and Christian music is cooked in different kitchens, but it is served up on universal plates,” he said. “In all three movements, I use Indian raga, melodic structure and western harmonic counterpoint.”
