Sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar’s latest work, Chapters – a deeply personal trilogy written and released between January 2023 and March 2025 – was born from an intense post-pandemic creative block.

“I had this notion that after the pandemic I needed to make the most significant work of my life,” Shankar says. “So, of course, as a result, I had nothing.”

The paralysis broke on a New Year’s morning in India. Staring at the ocean with her journal, she decided to strip away the pressure of a traditional album by breaking the music into three distinct chapters and collaborating with a different producer for each instalment to keep herself tethered to the present moment.

“Start with the first one, and let the first one lead you to the next,” was her motto.

On June 3, the 14-time Grammy-nominated sitar player and daughter of renowned Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar will perform her three Chapters albums – Forever, For Now; How Dark it is Before Dawn; and We Return to Light – in Hong Kong, with new orchestral arrangements alongside the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and guest conductor Robert Ames.

A joint commission from the BBC Proms, her performance is set to combine the Indian traditions of the sitar with Western strings.