West Meets East

West Meets East
Studio album by Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar
Released	January 1967
Recorded	1966
Genre	Hindustani classical
Length	48:47
Label	His Master's Voice (UK), Angel Records (US)
Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar chronology
West Meets East (1967) West Meets East, Volume 2 (1968)

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Review scores
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AllMusic	[1]

West Meets East is an album by American violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, first released in the United Kingdom by His Master's Voice in January 1967. ^[2] It was recorded following their successful duet in June 1966 at the Bath Musical Festival, where they had played some of the same material. ^[3]

The album was issued in the United States on EMI's Angel Records imprint in June 1967. ^[4] West Meets East was number 1 on Billboard 's Best Selling Classical LP's list for eighteen weeks in 1967 and continued to top that chart through January the following year. ^[5] It also placed on the mainstream national chart (later the Billboard 200), where it peaked at number 161. ^[6] In February 1968, the album won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance, ^{[7] [8]} the first time that an Asian musician had won a Grammy. ^[9] This recognition coincided with a period of heightened interest in Indian classical music, ^[10] and particularly Shankar, ^[11] as Western pop and rock bands such as the Beatles, the Byrds, the Rolling Stones and Traffic all adopted sitar or other aspects of the genre into their sound. ^{[12] [13]}

In July 1968, Angel Records announced that West Meets East was the fastest selling LP in the history of the label. ^[14] The album was the first in a trilogy of "West Meets East" collaborations by Menuhin and Shankar, ^[15] volumes two and three appearing in 1968 and 1976, respectively. ^[16] The friendship between the two musicians had begun in India in the early 1950s, ^[17] after which Menuhin had done much to introduce Western audiences to Indian music. ^{[1] [18]}

Musical content

On the recording, the main performers are accompanied at various points by tabla player Alla Rakha; Menuhin's sister, pianist Hephzibah Menuhin; and Prodyot Sen, on tambura. In addition to Shankar's and Menuhin's liner notes on the album sleeve, ^[19] musician John Barham supplied a glossary, explaining musical terms such as alap, gat and tala. ^[20] At the Bath Festival, Barham had translated Shankar's interpretation of Raga Tilang into Western annotation for Menuhin's benefit. ^[21] When making West Meets East, Shankar rewrote this Tilang-based piece, ^[22] recording it with Menuhin as "Swara Kakali". ^[16] The album's opening selection is "Prabhati", a Shankar composition based on Raga Gunakali, ^[23] and played by Menuhin and Rakha. ^[16]

The fourth selection, filling side two in the LP format, is "Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25", featuring Hephzibah Menuhin. ^[20] This piece was written by Romanian composer George Enescu, who had been Yehudi Menuhin's teacher. ^[24]

Track listing

All selections by Ravi Shankar except where noted.

Side one

1. "Prabhati" – 4:08
2. "Raga Puriya Kalyan" – 11:45
3. "Swara Kakali (based on Raga Tilang)" – 8:46

Side two

1. Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25" (George Enescu) – 24:08

Personnel

• Yehudi Menuhin – violin
• Ravi Shankar – sitar, musical arrangements
• Alla Rakha – tabla
• Hephzibah Menuhin – piano
• Prodyot Sen – tambura

See also

• India portal
• Music portal

• Hindustani music

References

1. "Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar West Meets East", AllMusic (retrieved 1 December 2013).
2. Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 323.
3. Lavezzoli, pp. 7, 62–63.
4. "New Album Releases". Billboard . 3 June 1967. p. 45. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
5. Kirby, Fred (13 January 1968). "Mahler Takes Listings Crown From Beethoven". Billboard . p. 34. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
6. "Ravi Shankar: Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 24 August 2015.
7. "Past Winners Search", grammy.com (retrieved 1 December 2013).
8. Lavezzoli, pp. 8, 63.
9. World Music: The Rough Guide, p. 109.
10. Robert Shelton, "Indian Raga Music Gains in Popularity Across U.S." Archived 7 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine , New York Times , 20 December 1966 (retrieved 3 December 2013).
11. Ken Hunt, "Ravi Shankar", AllMusic (retrieved 1 December 2013).
12. Lavezzoli, pp. 7, 162, 174–75, 180.
13. World Music: The Rough Guide, pp. 109–10.
14. Staff writer (13 July 1968). "Angel's Follow LP on 'West'". Billboard . p. 30. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
15. Reginald Massey, "Ravi Shankar obituary", The Guardian , 12 December 2012 (retrieved 1 December 2013).
16. Lavezzoli, p. 63.
17. Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 94.
18. Lavezzoli, pp. 57–58, 60–61, 63.
19. "Credits: Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar West Meets East", AllMusic (retrieved 1 December 2013).
20. Sleeve credits, West Meets East LP (His Master's Voice, 1966).
21. Lavezzoli, p. 62.
22. Sue C. Clark, "Ravi Shankar: The Rolling Stone Interview", Rolling Stone , 9 March 1968 (retrieved 1 December 2013).
23. Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 95.
24. Lionel Rolfe, "West Meets East", Pasadena Weekly , 10 January 2013 (retrieved 1 December 2013).

Sources

• Peter Lavezzoli, The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ISBN   0-8264-2819-3).
• Ravi Shankar, My Music, My Life, Mandala Publishing (San Rafael, CA, 2007; ISBN   978-1-60109-005-8).
• Ravi Shankar, Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar, Welcome Rain (New York, NY, 1999; ISBN   1-56649-104-5).
• World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific), Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2000; ISBN   1-85828-636-0).