Utsav Lal, often known as the Raga Pianist is a musician extraordinaire who has set a precedent with his innovative handling of Indian Classical music. Choosing to perform on an instrument that has traditionally been considered unsuitable for Hindustani Classical Music, the 26 year old Indian pianist successfully blends his diverse influences and has won international acclaim for performances at top venues & festivals including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Centre, The National Concert Hall (Dublin), Konset Huset (Sweden), The Chambers (Singapore), and others. Lal’s music is known for its sincerity, simplicity and depth and his style has been described by Novara Jazz festival Director Corrado Beldi as having “illuminating grace”.
An impressive musical career behind him, Utsav Lal’s unfailing clarity of technique and his musical creativity draws from his advanced training in western classical, jazz and North Indian classical music. He holds an Honors Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow and a Master of Music degree in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory of Music, Boston. Lal’s guru for Indian classical Music is the Dhrupad maestro Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar.
With five solo music albums available on a worldwide distribution and several laurels including national & international recognition as Young Steinway Artist (2010), TiE-Aspire Young Indian Achiever Award (2012), Yamaha Jazz Scholar UK (2014), Associated Board of Royal School of Music London (ABRSM) scholar (2010) & Ireland's MAMA Award (2008) for promotion of multiculturalism, Lal has performed extensively with solo concerts in India, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands. Utsav Lal has the honor of being the first musician to introduce the piano as an Indian Classical instrument at the 137th edition of Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, India's oldest classical music festival. He has been lauded for his workshops titled Breaking Boundaries and for his commendable collaborative work with Irish & Scottish musicians blending Indian, Jazz & Celtic music. The young pianist is also well known in particular for his exploratory project work on the world’s first ever Fluid Piano, invented by UK composer and inventor Geoff Smith on which he recorded a solo premiere album of ragas, released by the Fluid Piano Tuning label, July 2017.
Full artist details on utsavlal.com.
"He breathes life into ebony & ivory, with a melody that leaves the listener mesmerized & transported into a different world." (Hindustan Times, New Delhi)
"Lal is a fleet fingered performer whose best moments can be both highly evocative and dazzling." (The Irish Times, Dublin)