The fourth edition of the Bengal Classical Music Festival, organised by Bengal Foundation, begins today at the capital's Army Stadium. Presented by Square, supported by BRAC BANK and powered by Robi, the five day (November 27- December 1) fiesta will run from 7pm to 5am every day, and will feature the most prominent names in Classical Music. This year's festival is dedicated to the memory of eminent artist Qayyum Chowdhury. 

For the first time in the festival, legendary Ustad Zakir Hussain will perform solo, while Carnatic vocalist Padmavibhushan Dr. Balamuralikrishna will present a jugalbandi with Grammy nominated flautist Pt. Rano Majumder. Among other first-time performers, noted flautist Dr. Jayaprada Ramamoorthy, popular khayaliya Shubha Mudgal and Shruti Sadolikar ; Dhrupadiya Wasifuddin Dagar will perform solos, led by legendary 'singing violin of India' N. Rajam, three generation Carnatac violinists will diffuse melody; noted couple Raja and Radha Reddy will showcase Kuchipudi dance; Irshad Khan [son of  Ustad Imrat Khan] and Shujaat Khan [son of Ustad Vilayat Khan] with roots in Bangladesh will play Surbahar and sitar respectively; Saraswati Veena will be presented by Jayanthi Kumaresh while Shubhayu Sen Majumdar will debut the esraj.

Many big names of the classical music world will return to the festival. Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty, Ustad Rashid Khan, Rahul Sharma, Kaushiki Chakrabarty, Bombay Jayashri, Alarmel Valli and Guru Karaikudi Mani will be returning to the big stage. 

Bangladeshi performances at the festival will include group dance performances led by Minu Haque and Warda Rihab, sarod solo by Yousuf Khan, group vocal and instrumental presentations by artistes of Parampara Sangeetalay and Rajshahi University's Music Department, a group dhamar performance and solo vocals by promising artistes. 

Registration for the festival is closed now, while organisers have disseminated special instructions to all attendees to ensure safety and hassle-free observance of the festival. 

Performing tonight at the festival

Bharatnatyam by Pallavi Dance Center 
Tabla Kirtan by Parampara Sangeetalay  
Carnatic Flute by Jayaprada Ramamoorthy 
Dhrupad by Music Department, University of Rajshahi 
Santoor by Rahul Sharma  
Vocal by Kaushiki Chakrabarty 
Sitar by Pandit Kushal Das 
Vocal by Vidushi Bombay Jayashri