Agam set the field ablaze when they arrived over ten years ago as the pioneer of what Rolling Stones magazine called Carnatic Progressive Rock. Leading classical musicians like Aruna Sairam, Ranjani and Gayatri and Kaushiki Chakraborty have since collaborated with them. Agam has a cult following ranging from children to…
Classical music the world over has always been a niche field. Indian Classical Music, thanks to the geographical stamp, has an even smaller following. Many construe it as rather exclusive and inaccessible to the layperson with its staid and prim and proper image and a perception of rigid rules for…
Besides being a celebrated violinist, Lalgudi Jayaraman was a reputed composer. After Veena Seshanna, he was probably the only prolific instrumental performer who also actively composed. Notably, Jayaraman’s pieces were widely performed in his own lifetime not just by stalwart musicians like Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, D.K. Jayaraman, Voleti Venkateswarlu and M.L.…
Despite the world of the arts being severely impacted, Jayalakshmi Balakrishnan and Arkay Ramakrishnan each organised hundreds of concerts throughout the pandemic, all free to rasikas, for their respective non-profit organisations Naada Inbam and Madhuradhwani. A mechanical engineer with a degree in Indian music as well, Jayalakshmi Balakrishnan took…
R. Lakshminarayanan, R. Vaidhyanathan, Latha Venkataraman and Kalyani Viswanathan have been on the most prominent of Carnatic concert stages for 15-50 years. Yet, most readers would not know who they are. They are tambura players – unknown, unnoticed and mostly uncredited. Vocalist Nisha Rajagopalan cannot imagine performing on stage without…
For the second year in a row, the Chennai chapter of the IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) has organised an online Navaratri celebration with a program each of the nine evenings of the festival. The first day will showcase the star of the series in the headliner event – a…
Indian classical music received a unique shot in the arm when leading Carnatic musician and teacher, senior violinist A. Kanyakumari, was mentioned in the United States’ Congressional Record, the official written annals of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of the United States’ House of…
The ARTery is dedicating its just inaugurated Svatantra 2021 festival to the late violinist Sangita Kalanidhi Prof. T.N. Krishnan. Professionally recorded, hour-long concerts by several recognised artistes will be individually released every fortnight for about 15 Sundays, culminating around Krishnan’s first death anniversary in November. Ramanathan Iyer, the brains behind…
Senior musician N. Vijay Siva recently inaugurated Vande Sangeetam, a video series with a difference, on his YouTube channel. The first episode titled Kaveri Saveri sees Vijay ensconced at the Kapila River, pristine water streaming behind him. He talks of the importance of rivers to civilization and the fact that…
From the 1st century CE Sangam period to the present day, there have been numerous female composers from the southern-most states. While some were revered as saints, most were ordinary women who straddled all household domestic responsibilities – some being closet-composers out of necessity. Under the auspices of Kala Prashala…