Sahil Vasudeva, a piano enthusiast says: “Classical piano, or even the piano as an instrument itself is kind of dying. It’s a form of music that we don’t see in India much. It’s definitely not performed by locals much, and the rare performances that do take place are courtesy of people from abroad.”
“I started to think of ways to reinvent classical piano, and make it more relevant. I wanted to give it more contemporary context, because when I think of a young 20-year- old growing up in India, why would he or she care about something that was composed in the 18th or 19th century with a European influence?”
In his mission to represent the beauty of the piano, he partnered with photographer Sohrab Hura. In 2005, he photographed the India’s Varanasi river and its boat men, which resulted in a beautifully serene photo-narrative called the River of Lost Time. In 1875, the Russian Composer Tchaikovsky created 12 short piano pieces, one for each month of the year entitled The Seasons.
His composition for June, Barcarolle, drew inspiration from a common folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers or boatmen. This melancholic composition resonated with the rhythm of these waters, and linked perfectly with Sohrab’s photo-narrative reminiscent of rivers in India. Interpreting Tchaikovsky’s piece in a unique way, Sohrab and Sahil combined their artistic prowess to create a beautiful visual and aural synergy, marking the birth of something neither the music or photography world, let alone the art world had seen before.
This amazing collaborative venture is on YouTube:
(Quotes from Homegrown)
