At 89 years young, Ravi Shankar played on Thursday as if he owned Hill Auditorium.

And he might as well, having performed at the venerable hall enough times to have a legitimate stake in it. He even took on the role of host at the outset of his delightful University Musical Society-sponsored performance.

“Welcome to Ann Arbor,” he said to the amusement of his adoring audience.

And then he got down to business. If time had dulled the maestro’s skills, it wasn’t evident on Wednesday, as he breezed through a set of ragas, displaying a dexterity and effortless command of his sitar that was at once beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Accompanied by his daughter Anoushka Shankar, who also played sitar; as well as Tanmoy Bose on tabla drum; Pirashanna Thevarajah on the mridangam drum and two tanpura players providing drones, Shankar appeared to enjoy every moment of the performance, displaying more than a few flashes of the brilliance that make him India’s premier musical export.

If what you know of classical Indian music comes from Beatles records, then Shankar’s performance would have opened your eyes to a whole new musical realm. At once highly rhythmic and impossibly lyrical, the music has the ability to sweep the listener away to another world.

Yet, while serious and scholarly, the music retains a playful edge. Thursday’s show featured more than a handful of good-natured “cutting contests,” as the two generations of Shankars traded licks back and forth, the elder’s eyes flashing pure delight each time his daughter matched — and, let’s be honest, occasionally surpassed — his own runs.

Ravi and Anoushka Shankar performing live in California:

In fact, Anoushka Shankar, a composer and recording artist in her own right, learned from the best, having trained with her father since age 9. And it was she who took most of the flashiest solos on Thursday, while her father chimed in with well-placed accents.

But there was no doubt who was running the show. With just the slightest nod, smile or offhanded glance, Ravi Shankar steered his band in new directions, taking the music to the next level, even when you thought it couldn’t go any further.

Will Stewart is a free-lance writer for AnnArbor.com.