Asad Qizilbash
Asad Qizilbash

Asad Qizilbash

KhayalSarod

Who is Asad Qizilbash?

Asad Qizilbash is a South Asian classical music artist known for Khayal, Sarod. Stream 2 recordings on Saarey Music.

Born in Pakistan in 1963, Asad Qizilbash is living in Brussels - the capital of Belgium. He is the second of three sons, all gifted in music. However, only Asad pursued a classical music career.

His father, the well-known and much appreciated K. H. Qizilbash was himself a very educated and talented self-made violinist. He appreciated very much western classic music (Beethoven, Mozart, Paganini, etc.).

 

 He was composing and playing creations of his own, where the influence of western music was appearing in famous ragas. When he became the first music composer of Pakistan Television (PTV) in Rawalpindi, he was a recognized composer-conductor-cum-violinist. In 1973, in front of 59 other countries, he brought to his country the award of the 9th "Hollywood Festival for Ballet Dance". His career was much oriented toward the promotion of Pakistanis musicians also. Among others, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Qawal) and the present much appreciated Hadiqa Kayani (Pop singer) were given technical support by him, since the mid-seventies.

It is no wonder that Asad Qizilbash received the best kind of musical instructions, starting with the violin. And today, Asad Qizilbash still remembers each detail of his father's lessons. This did not bring Asad to consider a classical music career in the beginning. Like many youngsters, Asad Qizilbash also learned guitar, a much more fashionable instrument. And he was performing successfully in Folk & Pop songs.

However, a complete U-turn occurred in his life when he attended the Ustad Amjad Ali Khan concert in Liaquat Hall / Rawalpindi in 1981. A paradigm shift occurred then.

 As he likes to remember it: "we never liked classical music at that time. But when I heard him, I thought to throw my guitar. I wished I was playing myself that sarod...", and he would add, "before Amjad Ali Khan, there was no Asad Qizilbash...". His father encouraged him warmly and gave him two things: a sarod, and some cassettes from Sarod. From there onwards, Asad Qizilbash listened and learned to play the sarod, with the fragrance of his Guru.

For four years, Asad Qizilbash worked for a drilling company in the Middle East. After the heavy working hours, he would listen to his Guru's ragas. That was his life on the oil rig in those days.

 After that, Asad Qizilbash went for a musical retreat. He left for Germany in 1989. He was learning sarod every day and night. He put all his mind and soul into it. He attended the Tagore Institute in Bonn and gave even two concerts (1990 and 1991). He learned, through the cassettes and videos of Guru. And just as his father had been a self-made violinist, Asad Qizilbash was learning the sarod the same way.

And since he came back from Germany to Pakistan in 1992, he is the ONLY recognized sarod player in the country. But more than anything else he is a Spiritual son (Ganda band Shagird) of Ustad Amjad Al Khan, to whom he owes much of his musical style.

Discography

Frequently Asked Questions

Asad Qizilbash is a South Asian classical music sarod artist performing Khayal. Saarey Music features 2 rare renditions by Asad Qizilbash, including archival and exclusive recordings.
Asad Qizilbash is known for performing on the sarod. Their repertoire spans Khayal traditions.
You can listen to 2 renditions by Asad Qizilbash on Saarey Music, the world's largest collection of South Asian classical music. Stream rare and exclusive recordings on the web at saareymusic.com or on the Saarey Music iOS app.