The world premiere of “The Cosmos Project,” jointly organized by Alliance Française de Dhaka and Goethe-Institut Dhaka, featuring Shani Diluka on piano, Sahana Banerjee on sitar, and Prabhu Edouard on tabla, was held on Monday at Goethe-Institut Dhaka. The event was jointly organized by Alliance Française de Dhaka and Goethe-Institut Dhaka.
“The Cosmos Project” was initiated as there is a genuine historical link between Ludwig van Beethoven and the Indian culture. The legendary German composer was fascinated by the translation of the mystical Indian texts called “The Upanishads.” Those texts were published in Germany in1816, and Beethoven immersed himself in them, to the extent of writing a Brahmanic poem to put to music.
To explore this relationship and also to pay tribute to Beethoven, “The Cosmos Project” was initiated by Shani Diluka, who first discovered the relationship between the deaf maestro and India.
“The Cosmos Project” aims to create a dialogue between East and West through the execution of this project, which will also play from the largest number of Beethovenian music pages.
The Director of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch said in her opening remarks, “The project will happen for two years, and today we are having the premiere. For the first time the three of them are performing together on stage for this project.”
The Director of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch gave the opening remarks | Courtesy
The Director of Alliance Francaise de Dhaka M Olivier Dintinger in his speech said, “This concert is in line with one of the most core missions of Alliance Francaise, which is to showcase cultural diversity. This concert will pay tribute to Beethoven, and explore the spiritual relationship and historical link between him and India.”
On Monday’s concert the trio played Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” Appassionata Sonata” and a selection of Indian ragas. The 1st part of raga performance had “Darbari” and “Shyam Kalyan” while the second had “Marubihag,” “TilakKamod” “Kirwani,” and “Madhuvanti.”
Shani Diluka, Sahana Banerjee, and Prabhu Edouard are considered to be three of the most accomplished musicians in their respective fields. The trio will tour many countries after this to enchant classical music lovers with a unique fusion of piano, tabla and sitar.
French pianist Shani Diluka has worked with great conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Vladimir Fedosseïev, and GáborTakács-Nagy, to name a few. Shani was also invited by some of the most prestigious orchestras as a soloist.
Sahana Banerjee is one of India’s most accomplished sitar players according to The Hindu. She hails from Pune, which is considered to be the bastion of Hindustani classical music. Sahana is also descendent from a long line of eminent classical musicians who belongs to the illustrious Rampur Senia Gharana of “Miyan” Tansen, who was considered to be the greatest musician in India.
Franco-Indian percussionist Prabhu Edouard has accompanied, from Hariprasad Chaurasia toVincent Ségalto NguyênLê, and some of the most skilled musicians in the world. Télérama described him as an “amazing percussionist,” and rated his album “Kôlam” very highly.
The Director of Alliance Francaise de Dhaka M Olivier Dintinger highlighted the culturally diverse nature of 'The Cosmos Project' | Courtesy