“50 Maestros, 50 Recordings†(HarperCollins Publishers, Dec 2009) is a tribute to select masters of Indian Classical Music who influenced its authors Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan (sons of sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan) the most. It starts with a very brief introduction to Indian Music – Carnatic and Hindustani, with a short explanation of some of the most often used terms in both the systems. There is a short chapter on each of the great artists consisting of
- * a short ‘bio’-like introduction
* memories of the authors’ interaction with the artist or of having heard their father or of other elderly musicians talk about the artist
* a list of select recordings of the artist
* photographs of the artists, many a times taken with the authors
The target audience seems to be people looking for an introduction to Indian music and its maestros. It could include people who are new to one or both systems of Indian Classical music (Carnatic and Hindustani) and need help in identifying whom to and what to listen to. The book is certainly not a collection of biographies or a detailed account of what constitutes Carnatic or Hindustani music and anybody reading the book with such expectations is bound to get disappointed.
The artists covered in the book are:
- Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Ahmed Jaan Thirakhwa
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
Ustad Amir Khan
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Begum Akhtar
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi
Ustad Bismillah Khan
D.K. Pattammal
Pandit D.V. Paluskar
Ustad Enayat Khan
Ustad Faiyaz Khan
Dr. Gangubai Hangal
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan
Girija Devi
Ustad Haafiz Ali Khan
Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Ustad Imdad Khan
Pandit Jasraj
Surashri Kesarbhai Kerkar
Pandit Kishan Maharaj
Kishori Amonkar
Pandit Kumar Gandharva
Dr. L. Subramaniam
Maharajapuram V. Santhanam
M.L. Vasanthakumari
Mogubai Kurdikar
M.S. Subbulakshmi
Pandit Nikhil Banerjee
Pandit Omkarnath Thakur
Begum Parveen Sultana
Ustad Rais Khan
Pandit Ravi Shankar
S. Balachander
Pandit Samta Prasad
Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer
Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma
Shobha Gurtu
T.R. Mahalingam
Pandit V.G. Jog
Ustad Vilayat Khan
- Ustad Alla Rakha and Ustad Zakhir Hussain
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna
Ustad Bismillah Khan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar
Ustad Rais Khan and Ustad Sultan Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan and Ustad Bismillah Khan