Saskia Rao-de Haas, a world-renowned cellist, composer, cultural entrepreneur, and educationalist from the Netherlands, has made a significant impact on the world of music. Although initially trained as a Western cellist, her life took a different direction when she discovered Indian music in 1993. Since then, she is recognized as a master performer of Indian classical music and is credited with inventing a unique instrument called the Indian cello.
Her Guru, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the revered flute maestro, stated that her music is a gift from God that everyone should experience. Critics and audiences alike have praised her exceptional artistry and technical skills, recognizing her performances for their depth and virtuosity. Her new instrument, the Indian cello, in her hands are described as ‘unmatched by any other string instrument’, ‘Range of an entire orchestra’, ‘closest instrument to the human voice’, ‘Movingly meditative’ and ‘bringing Indian music into a brave new era’ by leading newspapers across the world.
Saskia has graced the most prestigious festivals for Indian classical music worldwide, including the Doverlane Conference in Kolkata, ‘Legends of India’ in New Delhi, ‘Saptak’ festival in Ahmedabad, ‘Vasanta Habbha’ in Bangalore, the ‘Maihar’ festival, and ‘Haridas sangeet samelan’ in Lucknow. Notably, she is the first non-Indian female artist to have performed at the esteemed Doverlane Music Conference in Kolkata.
Saskia has extensively toured North America, Europe, and Asia, captivating audiences at renowned concert halls and festivals such as the Kennedy Center, the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam, the New Directions Cello Festival in the US, Europelia in Brussels, Musee Guimet in Paris, Singapore, and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London to name a few.
As a collaborator, she works extensively with her partner on stage and in life, the world-renowned sitar maestro Pt Shubhendra Rao. Both their Indian jugalbandi ( duet) as well as many compositions for themselves and various ensembles have captivated the world since the early 2000’s. Since 2014, they are often joined on the piano by their pianist son the prodigiously talented Ishaan Leonard Rao.
She also collaborated with and accompanied some of India’s most prolific musicians including her Guru Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Jasraj, Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ustad Rashid Khan, among others.