Ravi Shankar in Portrait: Between Two Worlds & Live In Concert

Disc 1 is great, with Ravi explaining the structure of classical Indian music, his relationship with his students (including his daughter, who performs with him on disc 2) and his school; you'll also meet Mrs. Shankar and see their obviously loving relationship. Disc 2 is the reason you want this. It features two long ragas performed in concert, and they're quite astonishing. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is a personal hang up I have about film directors cutting to extreme close ups of musicians every time they smile or nod. Fortunately, that doesn't happen too often, but there it is. The concert was filmed in a beautiful place and the sound is also wonderful.

The first disc tells the viewer quite abit about Shankar's early life which was very interesting. It also tells us about the Senia Maihair Gharana, the school of playing that Shankar was educated in. It has some great shots of India. The sound and videography is excellent.

The second disc is concert footage. It is recent and Shankar is quite old. He does not display the same level of virtuosity as he did in the past, but he displays playing of great beauty and taste. I really enjoyed it, but it is not enthralling as a younger musician with reserves of strength and passion would display. If memory serves me correctly, one is a jugalbandi with his daughter.

One of the things that you see with Hindustani music is that the Gharana and the performing musician as the "family business" is really business is jealously protected. The younger musicians are very much promoted by the famous and more established musician. I cannot help but think that the featuring of Anoushka Shankar fits this mold. She is okay and very pleasant to look at, but she does not strike me as a formidable sitar player at this time. It is also fun to have two tabla players playing off each other.

I highly recommend this set.

Very wonderful, informative, and enjoyable DVD.

Some history of Ravi and how he came to play the sitar.

Told who he influenced. Showed his wife and daughter/