Good potential for this thread Frogman. I've enjoyed expanding my musical horizons via the music of other cultures for many years now. In particular, Indian classical music has become a favorite. Several years ago, I got a chance to see phenomenal musician live, Budhaditya Mukherjee (sitar). He and his tabla player, Subhen Chatterjee, were on fire that night-absolutely incendiary. Probably the the best concert I've ever attended. The sarod (indian lute) is a wonderful instrument and Ali Akbar Khan is an excellent ambassador for it. He's got a large discography and I've never bought a bad one. A good introduction is "Garden of Dreams" on the Worldly Music label. It's not true classical, but rather, Akbar's own shorter compositions. My favorite musician from India is Buddhadev Das Gupta, an elderly sarodist that absolutely is beyond belief. His playing traverses the gamut from extreme delicacy to frenetic and muscular. His rapid fire improvisatory talents leave me awestruck at his licks. Another great uknown talent is the Japanese composer Minoru Miki (Camerata label.) His music was the delicate background music NBC used during some of the Nagano Olmypics broadcasts. "Selected works, volume 1 & 2," are great intros to this excellent music that combines Japanese and western classical musical traditions. Lastly, Javanese gamelan orchestral music is an interesting genre if you like percussion music. The Seven Seas label (Japan) has many excellent performances in this and many other Asian genres. An excellent catalog for the intrepid musical traveller.
The universal language?
Discovering the music of a foreign country can be one of the most fascinating and rewarding experiences that a music lover can have. Ethnic music, it is generally acknowledged, is an open window to any culture's idiosyncrasies and it's people's lives, and is the purest expression of that country's soul. In addition, there is a very interesting link between the sound and rhythm of a language and the music of that country. Would any of you fellow Audiogoners like to share any experience(s) you have had, positive or negative, with the music of a foreign country; or of your own native country? These can be through recordings (please recommend) or live performances you attended in or outside of that country. I look forward to your responses.