‘On January 24, 2003, the Doverlane Music conference, one of the most prestigious annual festivals in North Indian Music, presented a female Western musician playing a western instrument for the first time in its 51-year old history….Saskia Rao-de Haas’ alap exposition was revelatory, with the faster tempo the icing on the cake.’ Excerpts from the book, “The Dawn of Indian Music in the West” by Peter Lavezolli.
Saskia Rao - de Haas is a brilliant cellist from the Netherlands. She is a pioneer in the world of music for introducing her Indian cello to North Indian classical music. Critics and audiences alike have praised her for her artistic depth and technical virtuosity. Speaking about Saskia, Flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia recently said in a TV interview: “She has been taught by God and everyone should listen to her music”.
Saskia modified her cello to suit the requirements of Indian music, based on a comparative study of Indian string instruments and western baroque instruments. Her Indian cello is smaller in size than its western counterpart and has 1 additional playing string and 10 sympathetic strings to give the cello a new dimension. Her unique playing style enables her to bring out the subtleties and the embellishments characteristic of north Indian classical music. She has invented new techniques for the cello that allow her to nurture its inherent closeness to the human voice and explore unrestrained all its possibilities.