Robert's colleague at the Society of Authors, Ken Hunt, writes: I first met Robert during the late 1990s at a South Asian music do. Quite possibly there was a ShivaNova connection. His partner, the ShivaNova composer/musician Priti Paintal was also there. He had met Priti after reviewing her 'mini-opera' Survival Song for the Royal Opera’s Garden Venture contemporary opera programme in 1989. It might be said that reviewing led to, amongst other collaborations, two children. 

 

Born on 21 February 1948, Robert was three years older than me, though it never occurred to me to even think about that. Our paths continued to cross because he and I shared a mutual passion for South Asian music in its traditional, classical and fusion forms, and western classical music.

 

Even though we were sometimes writing for titles that were actively competing with each other, he and I were aloof from such silliness and freely shared information in private or as members of the NUJ’s NBT forum of freelance writers and photojournalists specialising in music. 

Keith Potter’s obituary in The Independent lists an array of clients. The ones that spring to mind first are BBC Music Magazine, the Independent, the London Symphony Orchestra and Songlines. And his book Glass: A Portrait (Sanctuary, 2002) about the US composer Philip Glass – because Glass connects with Ravi Shankar.

He is survived by his partner Priti Paintal and their children Alisha and Rohan.

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