Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar died in San Diego on Tuesday, India’s The Hindu newspaper reported. He was 92. He was admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla last Thursday after he complained of breathing difficulties, the paper said.

For more than 50 years, Ravi Shankar has reigned as India’s most famous interpreter and innovator of Indian classical music in general and sitar music in particular. Ravi Shankar first came to the West’s attention through George Harrison, who in 1966 briefly studied sitar under Shankar in India. As a temporary pop figure, Shankar played the landmark festivals Monterey Pop (1967), Woodstock (1969) and Concert for Bangladesh, organized by Harrison (1971).

He was active as a professional musician until the end and, The Hindu says, he was a contender for the next Grammys.

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