‘Hariprasad Chaurasia - Celebrating 80 years of the maestro’

BOZAR is honoured to be welcoming Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, a real icon of Indian music acclaimed worldwide as the absolute master of the bansuri. It is thanks to him that this bamboo flute from Northern India has become established as the essential folklore instrument of Indian classical music.  Yet Hariprasad Chaurasia does not come from a musical family. His strict father was a professional wrestler who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.  Hariprasad's first forays into music were consequently very discreet - he secretly started taking singing lessons with a neighbour when he was just nine years old. He was 15 when he first heard the bansuri, on the radio. He studied under such names as Pandit Bholanath and later with the legendary Annapurna Devi, becoming one of the most respected soloists in the world.  George Harrison, Egberto Gismonti and Yehudi Menuhin and Indian masters such as Zakir Hussain, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Kishori Amonkar are among the names he has worked with. His latest solo album Ajanma was released on the Belgian music platform Granvat. In addition to giving concerts, he has become a genuine guru for students from all over the world who come to study at his gurukul. The chance to attend a concert by this living legend is an opportunity that is not to be missed.