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Polar Music Prize for Ravi Shankar

Pandit Ravi Shankar, who made the sitar a household word in the West, and US entertainer Ray Charles have been awarded the 1998 Polar Music Prize.

The winners will receive one million kronor ($ 125,000) each, presented by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf at a ceremony on May 12.

The 77-year-old Indian instrumentalist was described as ''a brilliant practitioner and explorer of his country's music''.

He launched an international career long before he became known to a large Western audience by teaching George Harrison of the Beatles to play the sitar.

Charles, 67, who scored a hit in 1954 with I Have Got a Woman, was cited for having influenced generations of singers and musicians.

The prize was endowed by Stikkan Anderson, whose Polar Record Company released the Swedish pop group ABBA's hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He died last September.

The prize, first awarded in 1992, is usually split between two artists representing classical and popular music. Previous winners include Bruce Springsteen, Mstislav Rostropovich, Witold Lutoslawski, Dizzie Gillespie and Paul McCartney.

UNI

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