Raag Beethoven

East and West try hard to come together, says SYDNEY SRINIVAS

The name drew me instantly. “Raag Beethoven” was billed as a “truly unique and meaningful recital, exploring the DNA of classical Indian and Western music forms”.  Featuring Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on mohan-veena (Indian slide guitar) and Himanshu Mahant on tabla, with classical pianist Ambre Hammond, it was to be a confluence of the two streams of music.

However in this Asheesh Kalmath production at the Sydney Opera House, for most of the time, East remained east and the West remained west, the pair coming together only for two of the seven items presented.

The intimate baithak-style recital started with Ambre presenting three Chopin pieces, Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op.posth (Reminiscence), Etude in A flat major and Grand Valse Brilliante in A flat major, Op 34 No 1. She built a sombre atmosphere and truly excelled in the third item. Then it was the turn of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt who elaborated raag Yaman. It was a masterly performance: within a span of fifteen minutes he had captivated the audience. Listening to Vilambit and Drith presented in a sublime manner, it was as if the very divinity had descended upon us. The various shades and colours of the raga were brought out with an equally masterly tabla accompaniment from Himanshu Mahant.

Post intermission, everyone waited eagerly for Raag Beethoven. This actually turned out to be a theme based on Beethoven’s Piano Sonnata No. 14 in C minor also known as Moonlight Sonata. The veena and the piano joined hands to present this. To me it appeared as if Ambre just followed the maestro without any embellishment of her own.   That dialogue between the two streams – that practice of one throwing a challenge to the other, the sense of competition – was sadly lacking. This happened again in the final item Raag Tilang when the two presented a composition of Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin. Of course, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt performed admirably, but Ambre seemed to be content in adhering to the notes. The experience that comes when each type of music is taken to its great heights was just not there. 

The maestro also presented a part of his Grammy award winning number A Meeting by the River. 

Tabla solo by Himanshu Mahant was a treat.