West Meets East

West Meets East is a collaborative studio album by violinist Yehudi Menuhin and sitarist Ravi Shankar. The album merges Western classical music with Hindustani classical traditions. Angel Records, a subsidiary of His Master’s Voice, released the recording in 1966 on a 12\" vinyl format.

The album contains four tracks that blend compositions from both traditions. Ravi Shankar contributed three original works rooted in Indian raga structures: Prabhāti (Based On The Raga Gunkali), Rāga: Puriyā Kalyan, and Swara-Kākali (Based On The Raga Tilang). Yehudi Menuhin performed Sonata No. 3 In A Minor, Op.25 (In the Popular Roumanian Style), a piece by George Enescu that incorporates folk elements from Romanian music. The collaboration marked an early example of deliberate cross-cultural fusion in classical recording.

The sessions took place in 1966, though the exact recording location remains undocumented in widely available sources. His Master’s Voice distributed the album under its Angel Records imprint, targeting audiences interested in both classical and world music. The liner notes, where present, emphasized the improvisational dialogue between Shankar’s sitar and Menuhin’s violin, particularly in the raga-based tracks.

Critical reception of the era noted the album’s role in introducing Hindustani classical forms to Western listeners. Later reissues appeared on compact disc, but the original release remained a vinyl pressing. No commercial singles derived from the album. The track sequence on the 1966 pressing listed the Enescu sonata as the closing piece, following the three raga adaptations.

The context of the collaboration stemmed from Menuhin’s long-standing interest in Indian music, which he explored further in subsequent projects. Shankar’s involvement aligned with his broader efforts to globalize Hindustani classical music during the 1960s. The album’s title reflects its thematic contrast between Eastern and Western musical systems, though specific details about the recording process or alternate takes remain unconfirmed in public records.