PERSONAL OPINION: L. Subramaniam's concert at Ann Arbor, MI (5/30)
Kumar Neelakantan
Heard a violin concert by L. Subramaniam at Michingan Ann Arbor.
on Sunday May 30th. He was accompanied by Ashok Kalidas on the
Mridangam.
LS was introduced as "the foremost player of the violin in the
Carnatic Tradition." (More later on this...).
There were 300-400 people in the auditorium (my estimate). The
acoustics was decent.
The concert featured the follwoing pieces.
1. vAthapi ganapathim - Hamsadvani - Adi - Muthuswamy Dikshitar
2. telisi rAma chintanatho - Poornachandrika - Adi - Thyagaraja
3. Ragam Thaanam Pallavi - Chandrapriya - Misra Chapu with a
raagamalika in the end. ( I could identify Kaanada but not the
rest)
Here is a my layman opinion of the concert.
LS's rendition of vAthapi is by far the most lifeless rendition I have heard
on the violin. In his introduction to the piece he talked about how the rAga is
just not scales but a wholesome entity whose true form is shown through
Alapanai, Kalpana Swarams etc. His rendition of the lyrics itself was
emotionally flat. For me it did not project the feeling of Hamsadvani when I
listen to Lalgudi Jayaraman or T.N. Krishnan render the same Kriti.
LS lost me when he started rendering kalpana swarams in Kaalas beyond
duritha. Combinded with higher octaves and speed hamsadvani was just a bunch
of notes and shrill acoutics to me at that point. The only portion I liked
was the Anupallavi "boothAdisam..."
A fast telisi rAma was delivered before a hasty intermission.
The post intermission had the RTP in Chandrapriya, a sister Raaga of Hindolam
taking an additional Gandharam. All I could say was Chandrapriya sounded
VERY MUCH like hindolam. My ear does not have the subtelty to figure out
the difference between Hindolam and this raaga. Maybe someone else in the net
will have some pointers. The ragam and thAnam was followed by Pallavi, Thani by
Ashok Kalidas and finally Raagamalika. I could identify Kaanada but none of the
other ragas in the maalika. RTP had nothing to write home about.
I found it very distasteful of the organizers using superlatives to introduce
artists, to say someone as "the best" etc is very subjective. Use of
"one of the foremost....." is more appropriate for such introductions.
I do not question the popularity of LS. People must be finding something in
his music for him to command such large audiences. But to project LS as being
representative of contemporary main stream Carnatic music is a highly
questionable move IMHO. Popularity or public approval ratings do not portray
true classicism of one's music.
Many of the techniques that LS uses including what I call "straddling."
That which produces the high pitched metallic screeching sound have to be
introduced into Carnatic Music only if it serves in projecting a Raaga better.
It is a sad testament that LS's music has descended to such a low valley.
I have listened to a really wonderful concert by him at Buffalo in the late
80's when he played Vaachaspati. That part of him seems to have vanished from
mother earth!
cheers
kumar
--
Kumar Neelakantan e-mail: ku...@ee.rochester.edu
Dept. of Electrical Engineering voice-mail:(716)275-1252
Univ. of Rochester, Rochester NY 14623
Srinivasan Gopalaswamy
personal opinions anyway ;-) ;-)
I dont know what your crib is!
You and I may think Semmangudi, GNB, KVN, Lalgudi etc set the standards for
classicism, but that does not mean that they are the absolutes in
classicism, nor does it mean that their music is superior.
For all you know, the karnatic music dadas of the 16th and 17th century may
have dismissed Semmangudi as a gimmick.
Millions adore M.Jackson as the best singer ever, that doesn't mean those
who disagree should start holding protest marches ;-) ;-)
I mean ... just take it easy ;-)
If we really care, let us just try to preserve what we think is good.
On a related note, there was a lot of complain about Maharajapuram Santhanam
a while ago. I have heard him perform real sublime classical music on quite
a few occassions in Madras, and I have also heard him perform with a lot of
what I thought were gimmicks elsewhere just to keep his audience happy.
So what is wrong if he chooses to sing for a different audience differently?
After all, he has to make money too! Singing Thyagaraja krithis does not
mean that the artistes have to live like Thyagaraja ;-)
The upholders of classicism are not too keen to support the real classical
artistes monetarily either. In Madras, most people go for only "all are
welcome" concerts (including yours truely ;-) - but then I had an excuse
that I was only a undergrad student).
>
>It is a sad testament that LS's music has descended to such a low valley.
>I have listened to a really wonderful concert by him at Buffalo in the late
>80's when he played Vaachaspati. That part of him seems to have vanished from
>mother earth!
See, I am sure LS has played, does play, can play and will play real sublime
classical music.
Srini
Sam Sivakumar
>
>LS was introduced as "the foremost player of the violin in the
>Carnatic Tradition." (More later on this...).
>
This is so much baloney. Maybe if you decide to ignore Lalgudi
Jayaraman, M.S. Gopalakrishnan, T.N. Krishnan, M. Chandrasekharan, etc. etc.
Coming to think of it, there are quite a few people who are better at
*mainstream* Carnatic violin.
Admittedly, LS is doing some innovative stuff in the jazz fusion genre.
--
Sam Sivakumar | Intel's very own lithography dude,
ssiv...@ptdcs5.intel.com | Speakin' for himself, that's for sure!
PTD, Aloha, OR |
Raja Krishnasamy
>You and I may think Semmangudi, GNB, KVN, Lalgudi etc set the standards for
Definitely each one of the obove is a master of their own styles, that
have been recognized by the general public as good music. Semmangudi's
voice may be very nasal, but I am yet to listen to somebody who sings
"kshInamai" in Mukahri or "mAru balga" in srIranjini like him, GNB's
Ananda Bhairavi is truly melodious, KVN's Kambodhi and Todi,
and of course Lalgudi with all his melody
is one of the greatest violinists that ever happened to Carnatic Music.
When we compare Carnatic Music performances, definitely, these are some
standards, and music is yet to come across their equals today.
>
>For all you know, the karnatic music dadas of the 16th and 17th century may
>have dismissed Semmangudi as a gimmick.
The Carnatic Music of today evolved only in the mid 19th centuries,
although Purandara Dasar may have laid rough foundations much earlier.
And Semmangudi, the disciple of the great Maharajapuram Viswantha Iyer
(whose father was a direct disciple of Sri Thyaga Brahmam), traces his
guru parampara to Sri Tyagaraja. And he was awarded the Sangita
Kalanidhi at the age of 41, and by such contemporaries such as
Ariyakkudi, Papanasam Sivan, Oothukkadu Venkata Subbaiyer, etc.
Any music lover, would still compare svara renditions of good musicians
to the greats such as Semmangudi, Ariyakkudi, Musiri, GNB, KVN, Lalgudi, etc.
Even today, as I listen to Semmangudi's Music Academy concert of 1967,
it is one of the greatest concerts that a music lover can lay hands on.
>
>Millions adore M.Jackson as the best singer ever, that doesn't mean those
>who disagree should start holding protest marches ;-) ;-)
And no one's going on a protest march here. The point that is being
made is LS is definitely one of the better violinits of today. But he
has deteriorated over the years. In fact L Subramaniam is one of the
few who have had the honour of accompanying Semmangudi, but he
definitely does not (and looking at his performances today, he
definitely will not IMHO), belong to the class of Chowdiah, Lalgudi or
T.N. Krishnan.
>On a related note, there was a lot of complain about Maharajapuram Santhanam
>a while ago. I have heard him perform real sublime classical music on quite
>a few occassions in Madras, and I have also heard him perform with a lot of
>what I thought were gimmicks elsewhere just to keep his audience happy.
>So what is wrong if he chooses to sing for a different audience differently?
Agreed, artistes perform to audiences. But at times, where we can not
get to listen to Carnatic Music shows too often, leave alone good shows,
and moreso when we bring artistes at a significant expense, we tend to
be disappointed when our expectations are not met. I have listened to
many a performance of Santhanam, but the live concert that I attended at
Jacksonville some 2 years back, was definitely a major fiasco, and left
a very bad after taste. But a lot of these depend upon the audience.
Sometimes, the audience here is extremely nasty. I remember a concert,
where someone went up to the artiste and requested him to play a movie
song! Although this is a limit, this turns off the artistes.
>After all, he has to make money too! Singing Thyagaraja krithis does not
>mean that the artistes have to live like Thyagaraja ;-)
Making maoney is not a question here. Irrespective of what they perform
they get their price.
>
>The upholders of classicism are not too keen to support the real classical
>artistes monetarily either. In Madras, most people go for only "all are
>welcome" concerts (including yours truely ;-) - but then I had an excuse
>that I was only a undergrad student).
You are wrong! Even today, every one of the prime time performances at
the Madras Music Academy is sold out, be it by Hyderabad Brothers,
Shashank, KVN or T N Krishnan. And it is not too expensive if you want
to attend one of those concerts. For Rs.10 you can get a seat in the
auditorium, although you may be sitting somewhere in the back rows. A
season pass for a good seat is about Rs.1000, which is not too
expensive, given the $ rate.
Raja Krishnasamy
kr...@elm.circa.ufl.edu
Srinivasan Gopalaswamy
>In article <C7yHJ...@fs7.ece.cmu.edu> sr...@caravan.ece.cmu.edu (Srinivasan Gopalaswamy) writes:
>
>>You and I may think Semmangudi, GNB, KVN, Lalgudi etc set the standards for
>
>Definitely each one of the obove is a master of their own styles, that
>have been recognized by the general public as good music. Semmangudi's
>voice may be very nasal, but I am yet to listen to somebody who sings
>"kshInamai" in Mukahri or "mAru balga" in srIranjini like him, GNB's
>Ananda Bhairavi is truly melodious, KVN's Kambodhi and Todi,
>and of course Lalgudi with all his melody
>is one of the greatest violinists that ever happened to Carnatic Music.
>When we compare Carnatic Music performances, definitely, these are some
>standards, and music is yet to come across their equals today.
>
Just to clarify, I agree with all the sentiments expressed above. Based on
above, my tastes are pretty similar to yours, but I still would not compare
between artistes or consider some as standards. And if someone does compare
and pronounces that so and so is the best, I would just ignore.
>>For all you know, the karnatic music dadas of the 16th and 17th century may
>>have dismissed Semmangudi as a gimmick.
>
>The Carnatic Music of today evolved only in the mid 19th centuries,
>although Purandara Dasar may have laid rough foundations much earlier.
Oops, to my defence ;-) ;-) :- I AM a big, big fan and admirer of
Semmangudi, please - I just mentioned above for argument's sake. To just
point out that KM is an evolving entity and we must be ready for changes.
>Agreed, artistes perform to audiences. But at times, where we can not
>get to listen to Carnatic Music shows too often, leave alone good shows,
>and moreso when we bring artistes at a significant expense, we tend to
>be disappointed when our expectations are not met. I have listened to
This is a good point. I agree totally.
>>After all, he has to make money too! Singing Thyagaraja krithis does not
>>mean that the artistes have to live like Thyagaraja ;-)
>
>Making maoney is not a question here. Irrespective of what they perform
>they get their price.
>
This is not really true. I know what an artiste gets paid finally depends on
the crowds he pulls.
>You are wrong! Even today, every one of the prime time performances at
>the Madras Music Academy is sold out, be it by Hyderabad Brothers,
>Shashank, KVN or T N Krishnan. And it is not too expensive if you want
I am not too sure about this. ;-)
I know some artistes who enjoyed more than 100% house-fulls when they
performed in the afternoon session, but had only 50% house-fulls when they
were promoted to the evening concerts.
Cheers,
Srini
Srinivasan Gopalaswamy
I did bring up the issues of money-making and style of playing together,
which I think caused a little bit of confusion.
Even regarding the style of playing, I was trying to point out that things
like these evolve over times, and there is no point in considering one
superior to another, however close one style may be to one's heart.
For example, it was a big surprise to me when I heard that many dadas in
GNB's days considered GNB's music to be neo-classical. I have always thought
that his ragams were among the best in depth and elaboration and raga
bhavam.
Srini