Ravi Shankar

In a career that spanned decades and continents, Maestro Ravi Shankar had an indelible imprint on global music history and culture. A virtuosic Indian musician and composer known for his mastery of the sitar, Shankar was a leading cultural figure of the 20th century and a major figure in the Hindustani music tradition, reshaping the centuries-old form into what is now as recognized as today and introducing Western audiences to the classical tradition of Indian Ragas. He popularized Indian classical music globally through his teaching, performances, and collaborations with Western musicians like Yehudi Menuhin, Philip Glass, and George Harrison. His compositions for sitar and orchestra bridged the gap between Eastern and Western music. Shankar received the Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian honor), France’s Legion d’Honneur, a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, Sweden’s Polar Music Prize, Japan’s Praemium Imperiale, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, eighteen honorary doctorates, and five GRAMMY® Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award.