Sunday, March 27, 2016

Another Sitar Genius

Anupama Bhagwat, sitar

accompanied by Sandip Ghosh, tabla

plays the magnificent Raag Malkauns 
and other ragas

Sunday, 27th March at 7pm



Winner of All India Radio Competition 1994

"Disciple of a sitar legend, destined to be a legend in her time"
"Tremendous control of the sitar ... a sheer delight to listen to." 

Attenborough Arts Centre

"Spontaneous, versatile, grounded" The Hindu
"...full of substance, fluent ease and confidence" www.gurdain.com
"...incredible talent". R. Girouard

Anupama Bhagwat is one of the most brilliant sitar players of her generation. She is a disciple of sitar legend, Bimalendu Mukherjee, father and guru of one of the greatest living sitar players, Budhaditya Mukherjee (who, in his youth, was likened to Jimmy Hendrix for his extraordinary virtuosity). She has performed in the US, both east and west coasts, Switzerland, Paris and at the most prestigious Indian music festival in London at the Southbank, The Darbar Festival. She has twice been invited to perform at the Dover Lane Music Conference, one of the most important music festivals in India. I heard Anupama, live, at the recent Dover Lane Music Conference (January 2016) and her performance left me speechless. This is a talent not to be missed.

The music: The program will include the great raga, Raag Malkauns, which is a major raga in Indian music with a great history of lore and legend. The name purportedly means, 'He who wears serpents as garlands', a reference to Shiva. Legend has it that the raga was created by Parvati, Shiva's wife, in order to placate him after dancing the 'Tandava' dance - the dance of creation. The raga has been described as "the expression of pathos through melody". It is said to have supernatural powers, which, if rendered correctly, can conjure spirits. It has also been described as "one of the moody close cousins of the blues".


Shiva performs the Tandava Dance


Anupama's recording of Raag Malkauns inspired me to invite her to Eelswamp. Her rendition is superb. It easily brings to mind the quote of musicologist, Vasudev Murty, 

"I rule over the emotions. I cause the deepest and gravest feelings to swirl slowly around you just as the Milky Way with millions of stars moves imperceptibly around a central point."
~ Malkauns -What the Ragas Told Me.

Finally, let me assure you that the Magnificent Malkauns will enrapture you whether you are versed with Indian music or not. According to musicologist Ramshreya Jha, Malkauns is 

"Easy for the beginner and challenging  for the most accomplished artist ... as pleasing to the ears of a listener who has just begun to appreciate it, as it is for a music connoisseur". I'll second that!

Join me on Sunday 27th March for a special opportunity to hear an exceptional talent perform the Magnificent Malkauns.

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp
: can be found at the bottom of this page:http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html. If you haven't been to Eelswamp before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.



Taxi service to Eelswamp: we recommend Grabtaxi




Anupama at Indian by Nature
Monday 28th March

Anupama will play a program of light classics at a special dinner concert at Pattaya's finest Indian Restaurant







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Sunday, March 20, 2016

Junghwa Lee plays Mozart, Debussy, Schumann and Chopin


Sunday, March 20th, 5pm




"...a pianist of acute intelligence, conviction… and passion." New York Concert Review

"Lee…delivered her highly demanding program with masterful artistic control, integrity, and refinement." Manhatten Mercury


Mozart: Rondo in D Major, K485 and Gigue in G Major, K574

Schumann: Kreisleriana Op.16

Debussy: Arabesque No. 1

Doo Young Sung:
Gyeong for piano (1978)

Chopin: Nocturnes op. 48 no. 1 and op. 15 no. 2 and Scherzo no. 3, op. 39.

Junghwa Lee is a Korean pianist and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. Lee has performed in Korea, Holland, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, China, the United Kingdom and the United States, including appearances at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center and her New York debut recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as a winner of Artists International’s Special Presentation Award. She is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Reservations:
1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp
: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html. If you haven't been to Eelswamp before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.

Taxi service to Eelswamp: we recommend Grabtaxi

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Official media partner



Sunday, March 6, 2016

Bees plays Chopin and Beethoven



Julie Bees, piano

Sunday 6th March, 5pm




Beethoven: Waldstein Sonata (no. 21 in C major, op. 53)

Chopin: 24 Preludes op. 28


Celebrated pianist and pedagogue, Julie Bees, is Professor of Piano and Director of the Konrad Wolff-Ilse Bing Chamber Music Endowment Award at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.  She is also a founding member of The Orfeo Trio which has previously toured South-East Asia. She has also collaborated with the Vermeer Quartet and the St-Petersburg String Quartet, two of the finest string quartets in recent history.

She has performed around the world, including performances in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Vienna, Brussels, The Hague, Leipzig, Milan, Helsinki, Warsaw and St. Petersburg.  She has also performed and taught master classes in China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. Her pedagogic successes include a prize-winner at the Van Cliburn competition, one of the top four competitions in the world.

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp
: can be found at the bottom of this page:http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html. If you haven't been to Eelswamp before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.



Taxi service to Eelswamp: we recommend Grabtaxi

A member of 




Official media partner