K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

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keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by keerthi »

Flute - K.S.Gopalakrishnan
Violin - Akkarai shubhalakshmi
MRdangam - H.S.SudhIndra
GhaTam - Narayanamurthy


This concert was held at the Satish Dhawan Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science. It was roughly 2 hours long.

I relish the music of KSG for its sensitive, cerebral content and the fine grained aesthetic value, that is so rare in instrumentalists, who lapse into banal dnS-pdnS-mpdnS-ndpm cycles.


1. Chalam Ela - Natakuranji varNam - Adi talam (Outline)
2.vAtApi gaNapatiM - hamsadhwani - Adi - RS
3. nAdalOluDai - kalyANavasanta - rUpakam -RS
4. taniAvartanam
5. bArO krishnayyA - rAgamAlika - Adi
6. ChaliyE kunjan mO - brindAvani sArang - Adi
7. vEnkatAchalanilayaM - sindhubhairavi - Adi
8. bhAgyada lakshmi - madhyamavati - Adi

The rAga outline of nATakuranji was full of graceful raga-essence phrases, and was absolutely delightful. He played the muktayi swarams, with laya variations(oNNU viTTu), and with differential emphasis on certain swara-s. The muktAyi swaras were played slightly staccato on the flute, and then repeated by the violinist, alone, in a more fluid way; invoking the pada-varNa character very well.

There were some mike troubles, and the artiste asked for several adjustments, of volume, of sharpness, of position of the mike and so on, till it was (nearly) satisfactory.

Hamsadhwani alApa was free of cliches, and employed well knit kampitas and jAru-s.
meanwhile the percussionists were disgruntled regarding mike arrangements, the mike-asura couldn't understand the abhinaya of the artiste, or the vocal instructions of his student; and then HSS had to intervene and said into the mike -

' I do not want the mridangam volume this high! please lower the volume. '

VAtApiganapatim had good classic sangati-s and very creative swarakalpana, with some laya patterns, but not of the excessive, unaesthetic kind.

KSG applauded Shubhalakshmi's Alapa response; and she was quite good at repeating/ responding to his phrases.

While the song list is overall, quite run of the mill; it was fully redeemed by KSG's delicate vAdana. Give me such a concert any day, over a concert full of poorly sung 'rare' songs.

kalyanavasanta was good with some lovely sangati-s like mnD, for brahmA in the pallavi line, which brings all the poignancy and dignity into kalyAnavasanta; without making it sound like a trivial tinsel-and-ribbons rAga. KSG applauded As's violin repartee with chabash!

Sudhindra's delicate and anticipatory strokes were most welcome and contributed greatly to the repose of the concert. The pace and charm of the concert never flagged, never sagged, nor did it make eardrums bleed.

KSG played a long complicated korvai-muktayam that As replicated very competently.

The taniavartanam was good, and employed good modulation with meetu-s and arai chApu-s in a harmonious blend.

KSG was profuse in his appreciation of the tani.

There was an appropriately short vote-of-thanks-garlanding-the-artistes during which local flautist Vijayagopal? said 'We all admire KSG sir's technique and music and try to learn to play like him. however, even if we don't emulate his music, if we can emulate his personality and humilty, I would consider myself blessed'.

KSG made a response vote of thanks -

'Even though it may be for a short while - 2 hrs and such, it is good that you people are able to come and attend/ organise such programmes. i hear you are all research scholars. You must all be brilliant, and must be taxing your minds a lot. I hope this could give you some relaxation and enjoyment.'

He said it in such an unaffected way, in all earnest, that the audience were all smiles.

He played a very nice mAND Alap, dovetailing into bArO kRSNayyA. Shubhalakshmi's alap. here and for previous songs, was technically good, and in parts reflected the main artiste, but lacked the depth of KSG's vAdana. she occasionally lapsed into some pedestrian phrases that have been played to a surfeit. Nonetheless, she was very good.

chaliye kunjan mO was sedate, but had a few avoidable nn-rr-mm-NN-RR phrases. He pulled out a longer bAnsuri for vEnkaTAcalanilayam, preceded by a delectable short alap.

Sudhindra requested for bhAgyada lakshmi, KSG said 'vAsikka pOrEn' in malayALaM and played it on his regular flute.

Very very good concert.
Last edited by keerthi on 25 Sep 2010, 07:39, edited 1 time in total.

Sreeni Rajarao
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:19

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

Keerthi,
Thanks for the excellent review!
It is good to see that Bangalore is hosting KSG regularly in recent times.

It must have been a rare moment when a mrdangist says
' I do not want the mridangam volume this high! please lower the volume. '

Was it Narayana Murthy on Ghata by any chance?

bilahari
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by bilahari »

That was a really lovely review, keerthi. Thank you. There is something absolutely peaceful about the way KSG handles the flute - the concert posted on the Parvathi blog is a fine example. I liken his flute to Emani's vINa. Time just comes to a halt when you're listening to such music.

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by rshankar »

Keerthi very reposeful review....
bilahari wrote:to Emani's vINa. Time just comes to a halt when you're listening to such music.
Could not agree more about Sri Sankara Sastri's vINA vAdana, and I am sure Sri KSG is right up there. Keerthi 'vAsika pOrEn' could be tamizh as well..wonder why you called the phrase maLayALam...:)

cienu
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by cienu »

A Kalyanavasantam main is a dream come true :) Lovely review Keerthi.

abhiramkeshav
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Joined: 03 Oct 2009, 08:14

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by abhiramkeshav »

Thanks naresh keerthi for a very good review.
Ghata artist is S N Narayanamurthy and the flutist who shared his experiences about the concert is Vid. Venugopal.
He is an ardent KSG listener for last 30 years.
And we had an elite audience, Vid. Shreekantham Nagendra Shatriji, Vid. G Ravikiran(flutist) and Vid. Venugopal are some musicians
whom I could notice among the crowd.
It was a blessing that we had KSG in IISc. His next performance in Bangalore is in Gayana Samaj on 25th October 2010 the team is :-
Sri K.S. Gopalkrishnan …. Flute
Sri M.A. Krishna Swamy …. Violin
Sri Mannargudi Eswaran …. Mrudanga
Sri M.A. Krishna Murthy …. Ghata

abhiramkeshav
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Joined: 03 Oct 2009, 08:14

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by abhiramkeshav »

keerthi wrote:......
Sudhindra requested for bhAgyada lakshmi, KSG said 'vAsikka pOrEn' in malayALaM and played it on his regular flute.
....
I have always seen that KSG ends the concert with Bhagyada lakshmi baaramma.

And one correction - the concert date is 21-09-2010.

rajeshnat
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by rajeshnat »

Keerthi
This is a lovely review if I could say it had the muse of a typical KSG flute , very gentle most of the time and whereever depth is there it was present without any loss of sowkyam and unwanted aggression. Keep it going :clap:

:geek: has told a lot about you. I wish and I hope this wish comes true that I will one day listen to KSG live concert and need not travel to bangalore or kerala to hear him.

arunk
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Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 21:41

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by arunk »

I love KSG's music!!! Very relaxing - very smoothly flowing.

He must like kalyanavasantham and mAND a lot because i have a concert with the same too, and in yet another concert, he includes kalyanavasantham in an RTP (that RTP is special because in the "ragamalika" portion, the violinist T.Rukmini's responds not with same raga, but a different raga with some structural similarities - quite beautiful)

Arum

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by rajeshnat »

keerthi wrote:The muktAyi swaras were played slightly staccato on the flute, and then repeated by the violinist,
I see this reference to staccato in this review and I have also noticed bilahari using in few reviews especially for few violinist. I googled staccato I still did not understand it . Can some one tell me what does staccato mean ,if possible with a small clipping (only carnatic no italian opera) , as there is still a possibility with just words that I may be still get "stucked At O" than the staccato. ;)
Last edited by rajeshnat on 24 Sep 2010, 19:20, edited 1 time in total.

mankuthimma
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010, 13:38

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by mankuthimma »

Ah ! the pleasures of having uday as a friend .
just yesterday evening he was playing these staccato phrases for me .

keerthi
Posts: 1309
Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 20-9-10

Post by keerthi »

rshankar wrote: 'vAsika pOrEn' could be tamizh as well..wonder why you called the phrase maLayALam...:)

I know! What I intended to convey is that KSG said the tamizh equivalent of 'vAsikka pOrEn'.

I stand corrected re. Narayanamurthy, the ghaTaM artiste and Venugopal, the flautist.


Rajeshnat,

1.staccato refers to abrupt, disjointed(usually gamaka free) notes, as opposed to flowing, jAru-connected notes.

2. I suspect KSG has stopped accepting performance offers form chennai. So.... You may have to come to Bangalore or Kerala to listen to him. :)

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

arasi
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by arasi »

Keerthi,
They all said it, and I say it too. Your review matches the concert in its delivery!

mahesh3
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by mahesh3 »

Great review, keerthi. Has anyone sung Nadaloludai in vocal, and not as a quick filler? Guess, the ragam is not preferred by vocalists?

KSG seems to favor this krithi...and his interpretations are of a soulful quality. Fantastic.

sramaswamy
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by sramaswamy »

"Nadalodudai" was in a Maharajapuram Santhanam's commercial tape of 80's (?). The tape also had Dinamani Vamsa. He has sung it with great bhavam in that tape. The fact that I still remember it despite the fact that I did not have much interest in carnatic music in those times, should say something about the quality of the music.

reethigowla48
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Joined: 12 May 2010, 09:25

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by reethigowla48 »

mahesh3 wrote:Great review, keerthi. Has anyone sung Nadaloludai in vocal, and not as a quick filler? Guess, the ragam is not preferred by vocalists?

KSG seems to favor this krithi...and his interpretations are of a soulful quality. Fantastic.

Nedunuri has sung it as submain in a concert. It is fantastic with lot of fast sanchaarams. I think it is available online (uploaded in sangeethapriya)

ragam-talam
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by ragam-talam »

KSG's music has a lot of soukhyam in it. It is so relaxed and unhurried. Kind of like MDR's style.
So much so, I feel his middle initial S stands for soukhyam!

mahesh3
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 21:32

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by mahesh3 »

Thanks for the suggestions. There was a TNS and an Ayyalore Krishnan's version. Ayyalore's was a delighful intro...and TNS, need one say more. 13 minute renedition.

srikant1987
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Joined: 10 Jun 2007, 12:23

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by srikant1987 »

I relish the music of KSG for its sensitive, cerebral content and the fine grained aesthetic value, that is so rare in instrumentalists, who lapse into banal dnS-pdnS-mpdnS-ndpm cycles.
Missed this concert! Totally!

I've never gotten to hear KSG in my life, and was envying Bangalore rasikas so far -- but now, I'm myself a Bangalore rasika and ... ARGH!

But then again, I suppose you can exclude vainikas among these "instrumentalists". Among vainikas, pleasant music sans gimmickry is a rule rather than an exception, afaik.

keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by keerthi »

[quote="srikant1987Missed this concert! Totally!

I've never gotten to hear KSG in my life, and was envying Bangalore rasikas so far -- but now, I'm myself a Bangalore rasika and ... ARGH!

But then again, I suppose you can exclude vainikas among these "instrumentalists". Among vainikas, pleasant music sans gimmickry is a rule rather than an exception, afaik.[/quote]

catch the 24/25th?? Oct concert at gAyana samaja, or at sanjaynagar on the next saturday

abhiramkeshav
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by abhiramkeshav »

keerthi wrote: ......
catch the 24/25th?? Oct concert at gAyana samaja, or at sanjaynagar on the next saturday
It was announced at Sanjaynagar Ganapathy temple that they will have KSG on 30th Oct.
But when I inquired about it, I got to know that it is just tentative and the event is not confirmed.
We have to wait and see. I hope in another week or two, I will get to know abt it. Will post it here when i get to know.

srikant1987
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by srikant1987 »

keerthi wrote:catch the 24/25th?? Oct concert at gAyana samaja, or at sanjaynagar on the next saturday
Is the concert in Sanjay Nagar on 2nd or on 9th? Or the Saturday following 24th (30th)?

mankuthimma
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by mankuthimma »

If someone can organise a Rasayana concert ( or whatever you may want to call it) We can foot part of the bill ( or Full depending on the sum )
Atleast I will promise to attend .I leave to the Bengalooruvasis.

kssr
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Re: K.S.Gopalakrishnan - IISC, Bangalore - 21-9-10

Post by kssr »

What is this Rasayana? Some kind of Ayurvedic concoction :)

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