An evening of vibrant innovative music

The two worlds of classical music, the Indian and the Western, will have a rare meeting point this August, when the sitar and the piano will reach across their respective disciplines to mingle over raga and Beethoven.

While the piano will render Rag Jog along with the sitar and the vibrant Eastern percussion, played by the brilliant pianist Eshantha Pieris, who is currently following a Masters course in composition at New York University, the exquisite Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven will be taken up by the sitar, with the delicacy and sureness of the master musician that is Pradeep Ratnayake.

This would be at the thirteenth concert of the Pradeepanjalee series which will be held at the Kularatne Hall at Ananda College , Colombo 10, today at 7 p.m., in aid of the Ananda College Development Fund.

The galaxy of musicians who have always been associated with the series will also come on stage that evening - Ravibandhu Vidyapati and Karunaratne Bandara on Kandyan Drums, Pakawaj and Ghatam; Upula Madhushankar and Chandralal Amarakoon on Tabla; Lakshman Joseph de Saram on Violin; Alston Joachim on Bass Guitar; Nesan Thiyagarajah on Mridangam and Morsing; Jananath Warakagoda on Tammattama and Shiraz Noor Amith on Acoustic Drums to showcase their excellence in performance that brought the audience to their feet at the recently held Pradeepanjalee concert at the BMICH, where Pradeep Ratnayake's newest CD was launched.

The constant desire to experiment and reach forms of art beyond what exists at the moment, is driving the sitarist to reach further forward, and now he is essaying into the realm of Western classical music, to see how its masterpieces can be adapted to his instrument.

At Pradeepanjalee XII, compositions that were played at Asia Society, New York by this ensemble in 2005, would also be played to local audiences. The composers signature style of fusing elements of folk music with the classical and the jazz could be enjoyed that evening, like in all other memorable occasions.

Tickets for this evening can be obtained now at the College OBA Office, Torana (Liberty Plaza) and Sarasavi (Nugegoda).