Annavarapu Ramaswamy...
Gopal Santhanam
Hello,
I know that artist evaluations are subjective, but I am curious on
what knowledgable listeners think of Annavarapu Ramaswamy violin/viola
playing and musicianship. I have listened to one conert of him
accompanying Voleti and another of him solo, and I am not at all
impressed. On the other hand, a friend of mine dogmatically holds
that Annavarapu is of the same caliber as the big three (Lalgudi, TNK,
MSG)... So what do others think?
Any opinions would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Gopal
Krishna Kunchithapadam
:
: I know that artist evaluations are subjective, but I am curious on
: what knowledgable listeners think of Annavarapu Ramaswamy violin/viola
: playing and musicianship. I have listened to one conert of him
: accompanying Voleti and another of him solo, and I am not at all
: impressed. On the other hand, a friend of mine dogmatically holds
: that Annavarapu is of the same caliber as the big three (Lalgudi, TNK,
: MSG)... So what do others think?
I am willing to wager that your friend did not specify the
criteria used to determine the caliber of any of the violinists
mentioned above. Given the lack of objective standards of
evaluating musicians, what we are left with are subjective
opinions.
I personally believe that Annavarapu Ramaswamy is a very mediocre
violinist. His accompaniment is rarely synchronized in time with
that of the main performer; neither does he display any tonal
stability (the timbre of the notes he produces vary in the most
distracting manner and come close to ruining the rest of the
concert). For those who might be interested, this opinion of
mine was arrived at in the course of listening to about 70+
concerts featuring Ramaswamy (which in itself means little).
There is one, just one, merit to Annavarapu's accompaniment---he
never attempts to upstage the main performer. Whether this is
due to incompetence or good nature is difficult to unequivocally
determine (although I think it is the lack of skill).
Of course, I also question the reality of the phenomenon of "the
big three". TNK is another mediocre violinist (although better
than Annavarapu). It is very difficult to compare a violinist's
bowing skills and musical knowledge against that of MSG.
Violinists like Kanyakumari and the Mysore duo (Nagaraj and
Manjunath) are excellent accompanists (although they would not
qualify for a title because "they are senior enough" or some
similarly silly reason).
The one thing common to all of the "big three" (apart from their
being considered "big", with reason or otherwise) is that all
have a tendency to attempt to upstage the main performer. A
concert where they failed to one-up the main artiste is a bad day
for them. Examples abound.
--Krishna
Sanjeev Ramabhadran
In article <4loamb$h...@agate.berkeley.edu> gsan...@cory.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Gopal Santhanam) writes:
>
>Hello,
>
>I know that artist evaluations are subjective, but I am curious on
>what knowledgable listeners think of Annavarapu Ramaswamy violin/viola
>playing and musicianship. I have listened to one conert of him
>accompanying Voleti and another of him solo, and I am not at all
>impressed. On the other hand, a friend of mine dogmatically holds
>that Annavarapu is of the same caliber as the big three (Lalgudi, TNK,
>MSG)... So what do others think?
>
>
I only have heard him twice, both with Balamurali (which doesn't really
make his job too easy). I would tend to agree with YOU.
Gopal Santhanam
In article <4lp3c8$b...@spool.cs.wisc.edu>,
Krishna Kunchithapadam <kri...@sol40.cs.wisc.edu> wrote:
>
>Of course, I also question the reality of the phenomenon of "the
>big three". TNK is another mediocre violinist (although better
>than Annavarapu). It is very difficult to compare a violinist's
>bowing skills and musical knowledge against that of MSG.
>Violinists like Kanyakumari and the Mysore duo (Nagaraj and
>Manjunath) are excellent accompanists (although they would not
>qualify for a title because "they are senior enough" or some
>similarly silly reason).
I disagree vehemently. Perhaps you have not listened to TNK enough,
but his bowing skills are excellent. MSG has a _different_ bowing
style. Therefore it may sound like MSG's bowing is far more skilled
than TNK's. I enjoy MSG, but get irritated often with the Parur
bowing (esp in his solos). Some of the other followers of the Parur
style are less industrious and thus sound unpleasant in their bowing
technique. Kanyakumari, Nagaraj, and Manjunath seem to have the
technical aspects settled, but I am not left awe-struck by their
playing.
>
>The one thing common to all of the "big three" (apart from their
>being considered "big", with reason or otherwise) is that all
>have a tendency to attempt to upstage the main performer. A
>concert where they failed to one-up the main artiste is a bad day
>for them. Examples abound.
Interesting you say this... I would think that the vocalists of the
past were of a caliber where they could not be "upstaged". Such is
the case with the Semm/Lalgudi performances. Same with GNB/Lalgudi,
MMI/TNK, etc... Oh also I find this the same with KVN/MSG...
Along the same note of upstaging....I am very impressed by VVS'
accompaniment. His playing is top notch and he provides the perfect
amount of playing behind the main performer.
Gopal
Chidambaram N.
hi,
I have not had the oppurtunity to listen a lot of Annavarapu....
but having had the chance to accompany Shri. TNK on Ghatam on one occassion
I must say, I have never heard a violin producing such pure sound with
great continuity (some what like Smt. N. Rajam , although not as good) .
Like Krishna says that comparison is subjective (infact, what is not subjective
in this world ??), but if you want to listen to TNK, you have to listen to TNK.
chidu
Shankar Krish
In <4lteud$9...@agate.berkeley.edu> gsan...@resonance.EECS.Berkeley.EDU
(Gopal Santhanam) writes:
>
>In article <4lp3c8$b...@spool.cs.wisc.edu>,
>Krishna Kunchithapadam <kri...@sol40.cs.wisc.edu> wrote:
>>
>>Of course, I also question the reality of the phenomenon of "the
>>big three". TNK is another mediocre violinist (although better
>>than Annavarapu). It is very difficult to compare a violinist's
>>bowing skills and musical knowledge against that of MSG.
>>Violinists like Kanyakumari and the Mysore duo (Nagaraj and
>>Manjunath) are excellent accompanists (although they would not
>>qualify for a title because "they are senior enough" or some
>>similarly silly reason).
>
>I disagree vehemently. Perhaps you have not listened to TNK enough,
>but his bowing skills are excellent.
Surely you are joking. Of all the recogonized senior violinists TNK
suffers from lack of good bowing. Most times I am reminded of
scratching perhaps due to a very tight bow. His sister N Rajam on the
other hand has excellent bowing skills.
>>The one thing common to all of the "big three" (apart from their
>>being considered "big", with reason or otherwise) is that all
>>have a tendency to attempt to upstage the main performer. A
>>concert where they failed to one-up the main artiste is a bad day
>>for them. Examples abound.
>
>Interesting you say this... I would think that the vocalists of the
>past were of a caliber where they could not be "upstaged". Such is
>the case with the Semm/Lalgudi performances. Same with GNB/Lalgudi,
>MMI/TNK, etc... Oh also I find this the same with KVN/MSG...
It is only in their early part of their career (50's and early 60's)
that they did not try upstage the main artist. In the seventies there
is no proof required that these three were always in the business of
upstaging. And more contemprory the main artist was merrier it was for
them. All you need to do is listen to the concerts of 70's.
>
>Along the same note of upstaging....I am very impressed by VVS'
>accompaniment. His playing is top notch and he provides the perfect
>amount of playing behind the main performer.
True to some extent, but he suffers from making one feel like it is his
solo performance. Most often he plays for much longer duration than the
main are artist.
Shankar
V. S. Sridharan
The upstaging by the big three in the 70s was the natural outcome of the gradual disappearance of the senior vocalists from the scene. These violinists had more experience and fandom at this time than the budding vocalists like Santhanam, Seshagopalan, and Sankaranarayanan.
I really would not call it upstaging. I don't see anything wrong with some friendly competition on the stage to get the creative juices flowing. In concerts by Madurai Mani Iyer, accompanied by any of the big three, I have often sensed the artists reaching new hights building on each other. Along the same lines, I also hate it when senior artists bring, for whatever reason, accompanists who are not at the same level.
On the subject of TNK, I think he is an excellent accompanist. I have not enjoyed his solos or duets so far. They are very pleasant, but that is where it stops.
Sridhar
Hari
> I enjoy MSG, but get irritated often with the Parur
> bowing (esp in his solos). Some of the other followers of the Parur
> style are less industrious and thus sound unpleasant in their bowing
> technique. Kanyakumari, Nagaraj, and Manjunath seem to have the
> technical aspects settled, but I am not left awe-struck by their
> playing.
>
Very subjective; I, for one, like the Parur style of bowing!!!
> Interesting you say this... I would think that the vocalists of the
> past were of a caliber where they could not be "upstaged". Such is
> the case with the Semm/Lalgudi performances. Same with GNB/Lalgudi,
> MMI/TNK, etc... Oh also I find this the same with KVN/MSG...
>
Do you mean that vocalists of the present are not of the calibre where
they can be upstaged??!! I personally feel that Lalgudi was technically
well equipped than Semmangudi!!
> Along the same note of upstaging....I am very impressed by VVS'
> accompaniment. His playing is top notch and he provides the perfect
> amount of playing behind the main performer.
>
> Gopal
I would agree with this 100%
Hari
Krishnamurthy Surysekar
gsan...@resonance.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Gopal Santhanam) wrote:
>
> In article <4lp3c8$b...@spool.cs.wisc.edu>,
> Krishna Kunchithapadam <kri...@sol40.cs.wisc.edu> wrote:
> >
> >Of course, I also question the reality of the phenomenon of "the
> >big three". TNK is another mediocre violinist (although better
> >than Annavarapu). It is very difficult to compare a violinist's
> >bowing skills and musical knowledge against that of MSG.
> >Violinists like Kanyakumari and the Mysore duo (Nagaraj and
> >Manjunath) are excellent accompanists (although they would not
> >qualify for a title because "they are senior enough" or some
> >similarly silly reason).
>
> I disagree vehemently. Perhaps you have not listened to TNK enough,
> style. Therefore it may sound like MSG's bowing is far more skilled
> than TNK's.
I have listened a lot to T.N. Krishnan, and I fully agree with Gopal.
Krishnan has learnt a lot from Semmangudi. In fact, Krishnan stands
out as the senior violinist whose guru is a vocalist par excellence
in my view. I heard that Mali, after listening to Shashank, suggested
that he learn from a vocalist. Someone more knowledgeable than myself
may be able to explain how it helps an instrumentalist to learn from
a vocalist. Ariyakkudi had a preference for Krishnan as an
accompanying artiste, and this can be easily verified by the
number of times Krishnan accompanied him. As Gopal says, someone like
Ariyakkudi would not want an "upstaging"artiste as a side-person, and
vocalists like him had their way most of the time.
I have heard a number of recordings when Krishnan would
follow Alathur Subbudu's Thodi and Khamboji alapanas and would get
applauded. Those days, audiences would not applaud easily, especially
an accompanying violinist, and it is not easy to follow a classic
rendition of Thodi by Alathur Subbudu or a Sahana by Ariyakkudi,
or a Naada Naamakriyaa by Semmangudi. I have heard Krishnan do
these superbly.
In fact, I felt Krishnan would draw inspiration from the vocalist, and
would be off-color if the vocalist was. In my opinion, that was the
reason Krishnan as a soloist was somewhat late in "arriving", and
therefore had to struggle for attention when talented musicians like
Lalgudi and MSG were already successful as soloists.
Finally, I have not heard Lalgudi or MSG surpass Krishnan for
overall musical experience, and I have certainly heard a lot of at
least Lalgudi and Krishnan. Of course, this is strictly a personal and
subjective view, and I would be the first to admit that someone else may
legitimately have an entirely different view. But, to call Krishnan
a mediocre artiste - I don't know about that.
Sekar
nikhilp...@gmail.com
> Hello,
>
> I know that artist evaluations are subjective, but I am curious on
> what knowledgable listeners think of Annavarapu Ramaswamy violin/viola
> playing and musicianship. I have listened to one conert of him
> accompanying Voleti and another of him solo, and I am not at all
> impressed. On the other hand, a friend of mine dogmatically holds
> that Annavarapu is of the same caliber as the big three (Lalgudi, TNK,
> MSG)... So what do others think?
>
> Any opinions would be appreciated!
>
> Gopal
Dear Gopal,
I am a violinist. I would agree with your friend who holds the view that Annavarapu Ramaswamy Garu is of the same caliber as the big 3. Every violist has his/her own style, and I found that ramaswamy garu is an expert when it comes to showing the variations in bowing, depending on the raga, feel and mood of the song (Which also requires an expertise in sahityam).
About the quality of not upstaging other artists: In my opinion, this is a very good quality. I think the main focus of a performance should be to deliver a beautiful experience to the audience rather than using the stage as a platform to perform gimmicks! In fact, I must appreciate Hindustani musicians for this, they focus more on delivering a good experience to the audience rather than displaying their musical abilities.
About TNK: I respectfully disagree with all those who think he has a poor bowing style. I do not find any mistake with his bowing style. He is an excellent violinist as well.
