Fusion Vision

Acknowledged as one of the most interesting and original artistes in Western Classical music in contemporary times, David Murphy recently conducted the orchestra Sinfonia Verdi at the ‘Roots of Fire’ concert at Kala Academy with sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Timeline Goa catches up with the musical genius.

- Patricia Ann Alvares

How have you achieved the dialogue between Western and Indian classical music despite the many differences? How have you managed to influence traditionalists to accept this genre of music?

I aim to achieve this dialogue by going to the roots of both traditions. If the ‘out of Africa’ theory in paleoanthropology is correct – the idea that modern humans spread throughout the world from East Africa – our ancestors took music with them on this epic journey. The discovery of a bone flute over 40,000 years old proves that music was an important part of their lives. Their music, like their physical appearance, adapted to and was moulded by their surroundings. But just as we share the same physical DNA, I believe we also share the same fundamental musical DNA. Music is communication through sound, and the nature of sound is common to all musical traditions; it is just that different musical traditions emphasise and have developed different aspects of sound. I have found that when you discuss musical dialogue between East and West in these terms, traditionalists are generally very open to this approach.

The recent performance of ‘Roots of Fire’ (as well as your other concerts around  the world) is a measure of this success...