Culture Clash

We have extensively praised his last CD in the first edition of our magazine on these pages. Already half a year later, Daniel Hope is back again with a possibly even more fascinating album. Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin were two typical examples of the open-mindedness that rained in the sixties and seventies, with Shankar taking up George Harrison for Sitar lessons as an obvious pinacle. Their concerts and records were first steps into a territory that would later be called "Cross-Over". Daniel basically grew up with these pieces, with his mother being the manager of Menuhin and it therefore seems anything but a simply marketing ploy that he should now return to them and present them in his very own fashion on "East Meets West". The two Shankar pieces "Raga Piloo" and "Raga Tilana" (played by Hope and master sitar virtuoso Gaurav Mazumdar) start and end a journey that furthermore visits Ravel, Schnittke, de Fall and Bartok. De Fallas composition features the use of a Lutheal, by the way, a most exotic piano-variation. WIth this formidable effort, Hope should be sure to stand another chance of receiving a grammy - He only just bowed down to Andre Previn this year.

Daniel Hope's Homepage: www.danielhope.com
Warner Classics Homepage: www.warnerclassics.com
The Grammy's: Classical Winners this year
What's a Lutheal?!: Interesting article (in Dutch however, but try Bablefish or Google Translation)