TM Krishna MMA Jan 1, 2011

[mahavishnu]

Much awaited concert of TMK's after no performances in December. I thought someone might post a review; since none was forthcoming, I decided to post a song list and a brief report.

TM Krishna - vocal
RK Sriram Kumar - violin
K Arun Prakash - mridangam
BS Purushothaman - khanjira

2 Hrs and 40 mins (approx).

1) enta vedukO - saraswati manohari - (N @ chinta dircuta kenta modira).
2) ambaramE tannIrE - kalyani - thiruppavai
3) Sri nIlOtpalanayikE - nari rItigowlai
4) vinaradhAnA manavi - DevagAndhari
5) Devi Sri Tulasamma - Mayamalavagowla (N @ mahadevi ni sarievvare Tyagaraja Nuta) - Tyagaraja
6) RTP - Begada (Anbinal ivvulaginai naam aalalaam, unmayanai nermayana; khanta jati triputa; raga malika swarams in sahAnA, kApi)
7) Eppo varuvarO - jOnpuri - GKB
8. itu sagasamulu yala napai - Saindhavi - Swati Tirunal
9) vandE mAtaram - dES - bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

Every piece was unique in its presentation. It was nice to hear an extended treatment of the wonderful composition in Saraswati Manohari. Ambarame was brisk (unlike KVN's or Sanjay's extended version with niraval etc). Nari Ritigowlai was presented in detail. RKSK's return was superb. They seemed to have a very good rapport while performaing this piece; must be all their SSP collaborative efforts. After a quick Vinaradhana, TMK sang an excellent gamaka-oriented Mayamalava gowla. I thought this was the highlight of the concert. The begada RTP was quite competently handled.

Arun Prakash's playing was sparse, as is his style. He also has a way of playing very loudly for the thirmanam's to end a kriti, in stark contrast to hsi accompaniment of the song. BSP was very supportive, his khanjira has a very nice nadam.

My expectations were very high for this concert. I was not disappointed to say the least, but I was not blown away either (as I have been by his performances on other occasions). Just my 2 paise.

Great musical beginning to the New Year!

P.S: Interesting useless trivia: I noticed that none of the musicians in this concert carry explicit town names (as in Tanjore X or Palghat Y). Although R in Sriramkumar's name stands for Rudrapatnam and perhaps the B in BSP's name stands for Bangalore. Is Thodur a town?

[vasanthakokilam]

There is a Thodur, in the Wallajabad area near Kancheepuram.

[vs_manjunath]

Madabusi is it family name ??

[mahavishnu]

thanks, VK.

Yes, I believe Madabusi is a Vaishnavite family name. It usually follows a town name (real or otherwise). For e.g. Omanur Madabusi, Tirumalai Madabusi, Thodur Madabusi etc...

[ksrimech]

VK and mahavishnu are both correct.

[venmany]

I was expecting a bigger treat when a professional carnatic vocalist like TMK sings after a gap of, say, a month. |(
In return I got an just above average concert, that even in MA. Begada Thanam was good. MayamalaGowla Neraval was disappointing considering what TMK is best at. No Swara for this main piece too.

[hema]

6) RTP - Begada (Anbinal ivvulaginai naam aalalaam, unmayanai nermayana; khanta jati triputa; raga malika swarams in sahAnA, kApi)

This was composed by Arun Prakash (as told my TMK).

My expectations were very high for this concert. I was not disappointed to say the least, but I was not blown away either (as I have been by his performances on other occasions). Just my 2 paise.

Yes, I completely agree. Yes, I too felt that his MMGaula was the best. But was indeed disappointed by no
swarams.

His "saraswati manohari" was presented quite differently (from chembai) -- it was really slow paced and nice.

[laks1972]

A nice review.

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article1032293.ece

[srikant1987]

Very enjoyable review -- I've felt many of the things said about TMK myself. Given The Hindu's reputation for reviews with me and some other members of rasikas.org , I was wary, but this review is really enjoyable.

[rajeshnat]

Out of all reviewers of the hindu , swaminathan really writes well

[csuresh]

Manodharma seemed to be at its peak for Krishna that evening

This is part of Hindu Review of Sri.T.M.K MA concert.But he sang on 1 Jan morning in MA isin't it?

[satyabalu]

* I thought Devi Sri Tulasmma should be Alatoor padantharam. Found a bit different.The selection of spot for neraval " Nee sarevvare thyagaraja" was nice.
*Good tempo throughout, Good anticipation from accompanists.
* I could observe he had moderated his aggressive way of singing.

[sais72]

A nice review.

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article1032293.ece

I was the first in the queue for daily tickets and opted for a dais ticket. Was a great experience sitting so close to the artists. Hindu's review is quite good but did not reflect reality (atleast my opinion) in parts. The accompanists were anything but mere props and it definitely was not a one man show. R K Sriram kumar (RKS) was brilliant and his response to every TMK move enhanced the concert significantly. TMK did seem to rely on RKS (was the wise man in the group for me) and their musical dialogue was very evident (during and before the concert). Arun Prakash's playing was soft (his usual style) and very soothing. The pallavi line was composed by Arun Prakash. The tani of Arun Prakash and Purushottam was good. I thought the accompanists elevated the concert.

Any other thoughts?

[arasi]

You make some good points. I don't think TMK had any intention of using accomplished pakka vadyam players as mere props.

[mahavishnu]

I don't think the pakkavadyams were props at all, as I have mentioned in my earlier post at the top of this thread. The only sense of disappointment was against the expectations that Krishna raised himself by not performing earlier in the season. The problem with being at TMK's level of visibility is that he is graded (by the plebian and pundit alike) against his own previous standards.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

The Niraval @ chinta dircuta kenta modira for Entavedu was nothing but a tribute to Musiri's celebrated rendering of the kriti with the niraval at the very Anupallavi with a subdued accompaniment. Arun Prakash's Mridanga also exactly matched that in the vintage recording .

Musiri's is frequently relayed by AIR Chennai.

But we must appreciate TMK 's penchant for picking the good.

By the by, I got only a dais ticket for this New Year morning concert; but that helped me observe the singer's movements (not mannerisms) from close quarters. Those were interesting and demonstrative of his perfect understanding with RKS (Violin)!

[vasanthakokilam]

Those who have sat on the stage for concerts in Chennai: can you characterize the sound you hear when you are on stage? Do you hear basically what the artist hears from the monitor? Is that full fidelity or some lean form just meant as a reference for the artists? Would you rather be on the stage or in the main auditorium, in terms of the quality and strength of the sound? Just curious.

[sais72]

Those who have sat on the stage for concerts in Chennai: can you characterize the sound you hear when you are on stage? Do you hear basically what the artist hears from the monitor? Is that full fidelity or some lean form just meant as a reference for the artists? Would you rather be on the stage or in the main auditorium, in terms of the quality and strength of the sound? Just curious.

The sound on the dais at Music academy was full fidelity and did not feel inferior. I would prefer to sit as close to the artists as possible, you get to hear the original sound as well.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

The 'on the dais listening experience' was nice.

The output from the feedback monitors (kept on the dais) was perfect. (Do you think our tech savvy Vidwans would settle for anything less?)

Bose (acoustics) deserves special appreciation.