Shashank Subramanyam

Carnatic Musicians
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rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Shashank Subramanyam

Post by rajeshnat »

Shashank is an extremely accomplished flute vidwan. He really started young and was definitely a prodigy. He is also known to collaborate with lot of other musicians in other genres of music. His recent interview in The Hindu.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday ... 485084.ece

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10956
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by vasanthakokilam »

I did not realize there was no thread for Shashank prior to this. Thanks Rajesh for rectifying it.

He is just one incredible talent who does not get much 'ink' in our forum. The average level of his music is always quite high and quite often the peaks and spikes of creativity are incredible in terms of the technical virtuosity, the quality of the sound produced and above all the music.

mahavishnu
Posts: 3341
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by mahavishnu »

Rajesh, thanks for starting this thread.

I agree, VK. I wish we would get more coverage of his performances on this forum. I remember writing a few words about his concert in Toronto a few years ago. I had the pleasure of going to his delightful new year concert at the Academy (I believe Nick H was there as well) with Mysore Srikant and Patri. I think the forum is perhaps a mirror on the strange lack of appreciation of instrumental music in general.

I would place Shashank in the category of the truly prodigious talents that 20th Century Carnatic music has turned up. He also has a diverse appeal that well above and beyond the prescribed tropics of mainstream CM. I am also impressed by his coverage of a large frequency and timbral range using a collection of carefully designed flutes (as he mentions in that interview).

It is interesting how much advancement we have seen in the technique of the bamboo flute since the days when Mali took the CM world by storm. I would love to hear a discussion on the evolution of the Carnatic flute over the years including an analysis of Shashank's own style. I must confess that I know precious little about the technical aspects of this instrument and would love to be educated further on it by our resident experts. ymwhisle

Nick H
Posts: 9379
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by Nick H »

I was there, yes :)

I always mention Shashank when Jugalbandis come up for discussion too. He is one of those few who can really do it

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by arasi »

Yes, 'ink' or, our 'fingers don't do the walking' as much to speak more about Shashank.

I was so happy listening to his playing along with BMK at Cleveland (via streaming). That 'azhutham', if that word can be used for a wind instrument( besides the sweetness of his sound) appeals to me a lot.

Nick,
I'm sure someone will come up with a better translation, but azhutham is depth and emphatic quality combined??

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by rajeshnat »

Writeup of shashank in may 27th,2016 - The Hindu- I wish there was more content - some thing is always better than nothing.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday ... e#comments

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10956
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by vasanthakokilam »

I just noticed that Mahavishnu brought up the interesting and important topic of Flute techniques and their evolution. I think Uday covered some of that in his Chitravenu thread that is quite useful. The aspect we talked about is what are the techniques used to bring out the Sahitya bhava in flute music and how different instruments do it given the prominence of lyrical compositions in CM.We should consolidate all that in a separate thread in the technical discussion. That 'tonguing technique ( thutha karam ) is only one aspect of various Flute techniques. There used to be a rough divide 'thuthakaram players' ( like the Sikkil school ) vs 'blow oriented players' ( usually associated with the mAli bANi) and Uday clarified that such binary divisions are just not correct. There are a few others about methods of producing gamakas that are life giving for many ragas ( like Sahana with the M to G oscillation and how to do accomplish it to the exacting standards demanded by Sahana given major break between the two swaras that are inherent in the flute etc ). Definitely Shashank's use of multiple flutes to increase the range and the challenges involved in playing with that kind of an arrangement is part of that conversation.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by rajeshnat »

In Jan 13,2017 paper the below review appeared . The text talked about AK Palanivel and Patri satish kumar accompaniments. The photo was shashank with Akkarai and Anantha Krishnan. In Soft Copy they have corrected the photo. Any ways The Hindu review reaches 2 million rasikas, those that get pushed in are PUSHED in.

http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 028142.ece

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Shashank Subramanyam

Post by rajeshnat »

Nice interview by Shashank dated March 25,2017. I liked his answer on state governments participation. Looks like Pattabhi Pandit , he has also visited from bangalore to chennai to learn from mahavidwan KVN.

http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 614061.ece

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