Krishna Mohan Bhatt (born 1949) is a

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

player, teacher and scholar from

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...

, India.

Background

He comes from a family of musicians in Jaipur. His father, the late Shashi Mohan Bhatt, a sitarist of great repute and a professor at the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur trained many musicians in the family including Krishna Bhatt, Manju Mehta in Ahmedabad and

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt (born 27 July 1950), is an Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena ( slide guitar). Personal life Bhatt lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, with his wife and ...

. Krishna Bhatt's forefathers migrated from the south of India (Andhra Pradesh) to the state of Rajasthan in the northwest, a princely state then, to seek employment in the “Gunijankhānā” (department of learned scholars) of the Maharaja of Jaipur. They were Sanskrit scholars, poets, and musicians. In his teens, Krishna's musical grooming was further enhanced by many years of study under the tutelage of his Guru

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

, and musicians Nikhil Banerjee and

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...

, who had a strong impact on Krishna's musical growth. While developing his own individual style, Krishna's music was greatly influenced by twentieth century stalwarts such as the vocalists Amir Khan, Bade Gulam Ali Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, Begum Akhtar, Shobha Gurtu as well as folk singers of Rajasthan. Krishna's repertoire in performance includes a wide variety of rare and old traditional compositions from these masters of music.

Career

Krishna Bhatt has received numerous awards and honors including the Sangeet Kalaratna (Jewel of Music) in 2009. He was also presented the “Gunijan” award by the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Patil in 2005 and was conferred the “Kalashiroman” samman by the Maharaja of Jodhpur Shri Gajsinghji and Shri John Singhji of Jaipur Virasat Foundation in 2007 in Rajasthan, India. Krishna Bhatt has been twice the recipient of the AIIS fellowship awards in 1998 and 2004 in the category of performing arts. In addition to performing

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

, Bhatt has also performed and recorded with the American composer

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

(working on the score for the

Alain Tanner Alain Tanner (6 December 1929 – 11 September 2022) was a Swiss film director. Early years and education Tanner was born in Geneva, and studied economics at the University of Geneva. In 1951, he joined the film club which Claude Goretta had r ...

film ''No Man's Land''), Zakir Hussain, the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary class ...

, Jody Stecher, jazz saxophonist George Brooks, and Rajasthani folk musicians. He plays tabla on

Robert Ashley Robert Reynolds Ashley (March 28, 1930 – March 3, 2014) was an American composer, who was best known for his television operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. His works often involv ...

's 1978 record ''Private Parts''.Gann, Kyle: "Robert Ashley", University of Illinois Press, 2012, pg 55 - He divides his time between

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, where he continues to perform and teach.

References

External links

Krishna Mohan Bhatt
* 1949 births Hindustani instrumentalists Living people Musicians from Jaipur Sitar players Date of birth missing (living people) Pupils of Ravi Shankar Claddagh Records artists {{india-musician-stub