Debanjan Bhattacharjee + Spoorthi Rao

Name: Debanjan Bhattacharjee + Spoorthi Rao
Start: 2026-10-29T18:15:00+00:00
End: 2026-10-29T22:00:00+00:00
Location: The Barbican Centre

29 October 2026

The Barbican Centre

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Silk Street
London, EC2Y 8DS United Kingdom

29 October 2026

6:15 pm

Next-gen maestros take the stage: Hindustani sarod meets Carnatic voice in one extraordinary evening

Two artists from different ends of the Indian classical spectrum share a single stage, and the contrast is the point.

The first half belongs to Debanjan Bhattacharjee and his sarod — a fretless, deep-toned instrument he pushes into rare territory with his pioneering ‘Dhrupad Sarod’ concept, applying the ancient dhrupad style of playing (India’s oldest classical form) to an instrument more commonly heard in lighter, khayal-based settings. It’s a sound few audiences have encountered.

After the interval, the evening pivots south. Spoorthi Rao, trained under the celebrated Ranjani-Gayatri duo in Chennai, brings Carnatic vocal music — a system built on different ragas, different rhythmic structures, and a different emotional language altogether. Backed by violin, mridangam, and ghatam, her performance offers an authentic kacheri (South Indian concert). One ticket, two complete musical worlds.

FIRST HALF

Debanjan Bhattacharjee – sarod

Rupak Bhattacharjee – tabla

Interval: 20 minutes

SECOND HALF

Spoorthi Rao – Carnatic vocals

B Ananthakrishnan – Carnatic violin

Sai Giridhar – mridangam

Vazhappally R. Krishnakumar – ghatam

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Silk Street
London, EC2Y 8DS United Kingdom

29 October 2026

6:15 pm

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Instruments

Sarod Carnatic Vocals

Location
Within walking distance of a number of London Underground and Elizabeth Line stations, the closest being Barbican, St Paul’s, Farringdon and Moorgate

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

Public Transport
Barbican: 4 min walk; Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Circle lines
Moorgate: 7 min walk; Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Circle, Northern lines, Elizabeth Line (use the Moorgate exit for Liverpool St stop)
Farringdon: 8 min walk; Elizabeth line
St Paul’s: 11 min walk; Central line
The nearest tube station served by the Night Tube (Friday and Saturday) is St Paul’s on the Central line.

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Martini Bar

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The information below details the access provisions in each of the venues within the Barbican Centre, and their neighbouring Silk Street Theatre and Milton Court.

If you have any questions about the accessibility of any of their venues or have any access requirements, please contact their Box Office for support by emailing info@barbican.org.uk or call 020 7101 1188 (Mon – Sun 10am-4pm). Please register or log-in to the online ticket booking journey with your access requirements to view the access seats.

They are currently trialling Live Transcription for Hard of Hearing customers at our Ticket and Information Desk on Level G. If you would like this service, a member of the team on site would be happy to assist you accessing this desk. We welcome your feedback about this service.

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Explore all our live and on-demand music courses guided by world-class maestros. From beginners taking their first steps to advanced students refining their craft, our globally accessible platform empowers you to learn, grow, and connect deeply with the tradition of Indian classical music

Recorded at Darbar Festival 2015, at the Southbank Centre, London. Musician: - Abhisek Lahiri (sarod) Raag Bhimpalasi; Thaat: Kafi; Samay: Afternoon Strumming up a melodious alap on Raag Bhimpalasi, sarod player Abhisek Lahiri talks to Darbar about his childhood, his musical values and why he does cross-over work. He is a gharana-blending musician who fuses the three major traditions of sarod -the Rampur Shahjahanpur, the Maihar, and the Senia Bangash gharanas. Lahiri was born in a household surrounded by music. Early training began under his father Pandit Alok Lahiri, also an eminent musician based in Kolkata, India. Lahiri was handed a baby sarod at the age of five after which, he started playing the instrument. Lahiri belongs to a family rooted in traditions and yet maintains a liberal outlook towards music. He believes ‘gharana’ is an identity and emulating other styles, a step towards quality musicianship.This interview is a revelation of all the other talents that this young musician possesses and yet remains rooted to traditions as a manner of fulfilling his responsibilities towards the art form.Interspersed with a stunning alap, jor and jhalla, this short and sweet tete-a-tete offers an insight into what shapes Lahiri’s mind and choices as a musician.

Debanjan Bhattacharjee + Spoorthi Rao