Hidayat Inayat Khan

Hidayat Inayat Khan (Urdu: هدايت عنایت خان‎; 6 August 1917 – 12 September 2016) was a British-French classical composer, conductor and Representative-General of the International Sufi Movement.

Hidayat was born in London to Sufi Master Inayat Khan and Pirani Ameena Begum; brother of Noor Inayat Khan, Vilayat Inayat Khan and Khair-un-Nisa (Claire) Inayat Khan ; and father of Fazal Inayat-Khan, who led the International Sufi Movement from 1968-82. His western musical education began in Paris in 1932 at the L'Ecole Normale de Musique, in the violin class of Bernard Sinsheimer; the composition class of Nadia Boulanger; and the orchestra class of Diran Alexanian. Later, he attended chamber music courses given by the Lener Quartet in Budapest.

In 1942, Hidayat Inayat-Khan became Professor of music at the Lycée Musical de Dieulefit, France, and later, in the Netherlands, joined the orchestra of Haarlem as violinist. He followed the courses of orchestra conducting by Toon Verhey. In 1952, Hidayat Inayat-Khan conducted the orchestra of 's-Hertogenbosch for the worldwide broadcasting of his Po'me en Fa for orchestra and piano and in the same year, founded his first chamber music orchestra ensemble. Performance highlights in Hidayat Inayat-Khan's professional life include the playing, on 4 May 1957, of his Zikar Symphony at Salle Pleyel, Paris, conducted by George Pretre, in a Pasdeloup concert. On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's centenary, on 21 November 1969, the Gandhi Symphony was played in a special concert organised by UNESCO in the Netherlands. This was repeated in 1971 during a broadcasting of "The Voice of America", as well as on the United Nations Radio in the USA and was later recorded by the US Armed Forces Radio Stations in a worldwide Carmen Dragon show. On 15 October 1971, the Virginia Symphonic Poem was played in honour of the Bicentennial of America. On Bavarian Radio La Monotonia was played in a Composer's Portrait in 1972 and The Message Symphony was played in 1977.

On 15–16 February 2002, the Suite Symphonic and La Monotonia, Op. 7 for Orchestra were performed by the Symphonisches Orchester München-Andechs with Andreas Pascal Heinzmann conducting in Munich, Germany. On 5 May 2007, the Royal Legend Symphonic Poem (op. 46) will receive its world premiere in Munich. It will be performed by the Zorneding-Baldham Orchestra with Andreas Pascal Heinzmann conducting. He has composed numerous works, among them Concerto for strings Op 38, Quartet for Strings Op. 45, Poem in F, and a number of choral pieces including Chanson Exotique, Awake for Morning, and a collection of Sufi hymns. He is a founding member of the European Composers' Union, and his music has frequently been broadcast internationally. Besides his symphonic works Hidayat Inayat-Khan has written choral compositions, Sufi songs and hymns as well as chamber music. Many of his compositions are now available on CD. His research in music could be described as a cross-point between eastern monophony and western polyphony; respecting western harmonic structures while also expressing the inspiring flavour of eastern ragas. In 1988, he assumed the role of Representative-General of the International Sufi Movement and Pir-o-Murshid of its Inner School.

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