Renowned vocalist Abhishek Raghuram put it perfectly when he called the Chennai Music Season (referred to as just ‘the season’ by aficionados) a huge cultural extravaganza. Indeed, heritage walks, lectures, lecture demonstrations, interesting combo events (such as sarees and music) etc. abound, besides music, dance and, well, food (but that…
Facile singing, tremendous creativity, immense appeal and a completely pliant voice are hallmarks of this precociously talented, award winning, seasoned Carnatic vocalist who just happens to be young. Ramakrishnan Murthy’s countenance, manner and speech are as traditional as his music, belying the fact that he spent the bulk of his…
Torchbearer of the DKJ/DKP bani, Vijay Siva is not one to compromise on classicism. Total conviction, clarity of thought, unstinted devotion to patantharam, wholehearted commitment to the cause of music and the courage to follow through — these make Vijay Siva stand out in the realm of Carnatic music .…
Sangeetha Ramprasad believes in the calming power of sahaja yoga Stress seems to dog everyone these days — from young children to the elderly. Sangeetha Ramprasad comes to their rescue, bridging the world of Carnatic music with meditation, the art of stilling/calming the mind. Sangeetha had her initial training from…
It is his pleasant countenance that first draws attention but once you settle down, his playing of the mridangam keeps you absorbed. Vijay grew up in Mumbai, the son of Geetha, a vainika, and N. Balasubramanian, a Chartered Accountant and bhajan singer. Vijay’s father, an ardent admirer of T.V. Gopalakrishnan…
DISCLAIMER: I am no critic and, most definitely, not an expert. Having dabbled in Carnatic music years ago, learning from good teachers, and having listened to copious concert recordings of stalwarts right from childhood- and a number of live concerts to date, has provided enough fodder to ruminate on the complexities…
The number has increased but do all sabhas offer quality experience? It is human nature to evaluate things, often experiences too. Chennai is gearing for yet another Season of Music and Dance. There is no dearth of variety with programmes happening at venues across the city. Now the quality of…
This article appeared in The Hindu. Spearheaded by musician and scholar Lakshmi Sreeram, The Music Club of IIT Madras flagged off the centenary year celebrations of MS Subbulakshmi (MS) in the city, with the concert of noted violinist Nadayogi VV Subrahmanyam (VVS). As the chief guest Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former diplomat…
This is the fourth and concluding part of an article on Sanjay Subrahmanyan that appeared in The Hindu. Parts 1, 2 and 3 are here. Sanjay Subrahmanyan talks about teaching, his foray into the virtual world and more. Sanjay Subrahmanyan has been singing on stage now for almost 30 years…
This is the third part (of four) of an article on Sanjay Subrahmanyan that appeared in The Hindu. Here are Parts 1 and 2. Sanjay Subrahmanyan gets technical in this session with Lakshmi Anand. Sanjay Subrahmanyan offers suggestions to make listening more productive for aspiring performers. “Listen a lot, and…