It was a bold move for the Wigmore Hall, in conjunction with the Aga Khan Music Initiative, to throw open its doors this year to the music of the Muslim world, and its three-concert series has been a triumphant success. It has vividly demonstrated that the music of the West has no monopoly on sophistication, and definitively knocked on the head the pernicious colonialist fallacy that while the West has classical music, the rest of the world has to make do with ‘folk’ music.

The first concert showcased the musics of Afghanistan and Hindustan, and the second those of Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, with the third dwelling in China, Syria, and - through some inspired improvisations - a newly-created musical realm spanning everywhere in between.