Ravi Shankar has been called a 'musician to the world', and 'visitor from another time'. He has inspired artists from every corner of the music-making spectrum. And for more than 70 years he has shown the world, with an enduring eloquence, how music is the most universal of languages. Now he brings his genius to Sydney for one last time.

The Ravi Shankar story began 90 years ago, in the holy town of Varanasi on the shores of the Ganges. As a young man in the 1930s he toured Europe with his brother, Uday Shankar and his Indian dance troupe. It was the start of not only a lifelong study of Indian classical music but also a lifelong engagement with Western classical music, jazz and popular culture.

His leap to international stardom came when he was introduced to Yehudi Menuhin. The American violin virtuoso was instantly fascinated by his haunting ragas, and invited Shankar to bring his music to the world. Within ten years Shankar was 'the most famous Indian musician on the planet', inspiring musicians from George Harrison of the Beatles to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane to composer Philip Glass. Through his work the mesmerizing sounds of the sitar and tabla have found their way into Hollywood film scores, onto the symphony orchestra stage, into jazz venues and pop charts, but always Shankar has sung the glories of the deep classical Indian music traditions.

Now, at the age of 89, Ravi Shankar is making the long journey to Australia for his final performance. He brings with him his daughter, Anoushka Shankar, a Sitar virtuoso composer in her own right who thrilled audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in 2008 with her smooth and kaleidoscopic mix of sounds from India and beyond. Between them they span a vast artistic tradition and a pantheon of world music. Together they will create something truly special.

This time it really is goodbye. Don't miss the final Australian tour of a musician who changed the world of music forever.

"Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift and through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music. To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart's." 
- Yehudi Menuhin

"Ravi Shankar is the Godfather of World Music"
- George Harrison

“To have heard him perform live on stage must surely be one of the most remarkable and memorable passages of one’s musical life” – Composer Philip Glass