 |
Grammy History:
Winners Best Chamber Music Performance ~ 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards (2003)
Winners Best Contemporary Composition ~ 32nd Annual GRAMMY Awards (1989)
The Interview
The Record spoke to Kronos Quartet violinist David Harrington.
TR: Congratulations on the nomination!
David: Thank you! We found out just a few hours ago. We’re very proud of this nomination. We already emailed Ashaji in Mumbai so hopefully she’ll know very soon too.
TR: How did this project with Asha Bhosle come about?
David: It was kind of an evolution, not a decision. About 15-16 years ago is when I first began to really recognize the music of R D Burman and Asha Bhosle. I don’t know why it took me so long but it did. [Laughs] The more I began listening to Burman’s music the more I realized he’s just an amazing composer.
About six years ago, when we recorded the Kronos Caravan album, we recorded an R D Burman song called Aaj Ki Raat with Zakir Hussain. A friend of mine in London, Ken Hunt, was interviewing Ashaji at the time. He played that track to her and then he took a photograph of her singing along, and she was holding our record cover. So that’s really when I had the idea that maybe someday we could record with her.
Then what happened is I began really listening to hundreds of R D Burman’s songs. It was about 2 years ago and that’s when we were directly in touch with Ashaji. She seemed very interested in making an album of R D Burman’s music with us and so basically I chose 12 songs that I thought would give our audience a real sense of R D Burman as a composer, as a musician, Kronos as a group and Ashaji as the amazing singer she is. We invited our friends Zakir Hussain and a great pipa player from China ~ Wu Man ~ we invited them to be with us on this recording and basically we started doing it!
TR: Which song inspired you the most?
David: That would have to be Mera Kuchch Saman. That was the song that I absolutely had to have on this album. To me it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard in my life! In my opinion all of these songs are great songs in the sense that they stay in your memory, they stay with you, become part of your life.
I think of R D Burman as a writer of melodies ~ I believe he’s as good as George Gershwin, Schubert, the Beatles…anyone you can think of that writes great melodies that stay in your mind. And as an orchestrator of different instruments I think he’s in the same level as Stravinsky or anyone you can think of that is a great orchestrator.
Of course Ashaji is kind of like Elvis! We don’t have anyone in our culture in America that has the same role in our society that she has in your society. There’s certainly no artist that has recorded as many different songs and styles and whose voice is so miraculous like hers is and can take on so many musical colours. It’s just incredible!
The idea that Kronos could have Asha Bhosle as our first lead singer was just too good to be true. [Laughs] It still is too good to be true, I can’t even believe it actually. You know as we say here I knock on wood everyday when I think about this.
You can read the rest of our exclusive Grammy Nominees Special in the November 2005 issue of The Record Music Magazine available at your local newsagent.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The Record has been around since 1998. Do you have every issue of your favourite magazine?
 to order back issues
Would you like to have your favourite music magazine delivered directly to
your doorstep?
|
|
