Ravi Shankar with his daughter Anoushka. Photo courtesy Huffington Post.
Washington,
Dec 12 (IANS) Indian Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who died in a US
hospital Tuesday, gave just a little over a month back what was to be
his final public performance, billed as a celebration of his tenth
decade of creating music.
For the 92-year-old musician, who had
suffered from upper-respiratory and heart issues over the past year
performing, and especially touring, became increasingly difficult in
recent months, the Ravi Shankar Foundation said in a statement.
"However,
health couldn't prevent Shankar from performing with his daughter,
sitarist Anoushka Shankar, on Nov 4 in Long Beach, California," it said.
This
need of Shankar's to constantly be moving forward and creating was
present even in the final years of his life as he embarked on
establishing his own recording label, East Meets West Music.
The
album "The Living Room Sessions, Part 1" has received a 2013 Grammy
nomination, news of which reached Shankar the night prior to his
surgery.
In a review of the record, Songlines magazine stated
that the master has lost "absolutely nothing in the way of musical
virtuosity, technical brilliance and the kind of high-energy passion
that belongs in concert performances."
"Memorial plans will be
announced. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be
made to the Ravi Shankar Foundation. Donations can be made online at
JustGive.org, the statement said.
Ravi Shankar maintained residences both in India and the United States.
He
is survived by his wife Sukanya; daughter Norah Jones; daughter
Anoushka Shankar Wright and husband Joe Wright; 3 grandchildren, and 4
great-grandchildren.
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