Amjad Ali Khan urges for classy concert halls in India

The sarod maestro said it is high time India, especially the national capital has a world class concert hall with excellent acoustics.

Renowned sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan has said it is high time India, especially its capital New Delhi, has a world class concert hall with excellent acoustics to enable music lovers and musicians to enjoy music.

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"Most countries which give importance to music have world class auditoriums, with excellent acoustic systems, where the rich tones of music reverbrates, which makes music a pleasure for both the musicians and the music lovers who throng these halls,". The maestro said after playing at Malaysia's prestigious Dewan Philharmonic Petronas Concert hall over the last two days.

The concert auditorium, strategically located between the towering Petronas twin towers (till recently the tallest building in the world), has very good acoustics and it was a pleasure to play here, Khan told PTI, before leaving for home.

He noted that the halls in New Delhi were really not of the same calibre as the Petronas hall or other concert halls as "so much depended on its acoustic system, maintenance etc."

"It is high time we had a world class concert hall," he said, adding India needed an auditorium like New York's famous Cargenie Hall.

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, as it is called, is Malaysia's first dedicated classical music concert hall.

The other artistes hosted over the last few years include legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, world renowned orchestras such as Vienna Symphony and New York Philharmonic.

Indian sitar whiz Anoushka Shankar has also played at this hall.