Shashank at SICA Ottawa, Canada

[cmlover]

South India Cultural Association (SICA) Ottawa hosted the Flute concert of Master Shashank accompanied on Violin by Akkarai Subhalakshmi and on Mridangam by Parupalli Palgun. It was a raga feast with Shashank dominating all along with flashes of genius from time to time.

He started off with a crisp Kanada varnam very well executed with ample support from the accompanists. No fire works. That was followed by an elaborate aalap of Nalinakanti with sparkling sancharas traversing all three octaves (he uses different sets for the high as well as low octaves). In the instrumental concerts the sahityam is a minor player and of course the kriti was Thyagaraja's Manavyala and that was immaterial. The kalpana swarams were chiselled and sparkling and Akkarai matched him note for note. Shashank tried to show off but Akkarai was tenacious and Parupalli had no problem maintaining the laya. This was followed by an elaborate aalaap of Hindolam and I guess he was also playing malkauns. The song was P Sivans Maa Ramanan which again was immaterial. He handled the raga innovatively alternating between the two flutes but was a bit overpowering on Akkarai who just smiled and accommodated. He demonstrated his speed on the kalpana swaras which were simply chiselled out even traversing the supersonics where Akkarai did not venture. The lower octave reminded me of Palladam though he is definitely not that style. His speed was electrifying and would have pleased Shatkala Govinda Marar in contest. After a short interlude he offered a choice between Kalyani and Purvikalyani for the RTP. Audience chose Purvi. The raga aalaap was elegant and he again demonstrated his prowess on speed. He announced that he would play on two octaves simultaneously which he himself mentioned as very difficult. I could not see his fingers fly as the speed was terrific but it was a novel experience. Akkarai tried to follow but could not due to the limitation of the violin I guess. I am not sure about the purity of the notes however but must acknowledge that being a student of KVN he will not err. There was a fast outpouring of a number of ragas but I remember only kapi which was just divine. Parupalli was clipped to offer a short Tani which was not fair. The post RTP was brief with Sindhubhairavi and Ahir bhairavi (my request) which were not remarkable. He concluded with the Khamas Thillana. Akkarai was remarkably patient and accommodative but had to play 'second fiddle' though her talents are wasted. Shashank is indeed a genius and will take CM to new heights with his innovations if only he learns to get the best out of his team. Parupalli is a fine mridangist with a great potential. Total time was two and a half hours but the time passed so quickly since there was anticipation at every level and he did not waste a single moment.

[mahavishnu]

CML, thanks for your report.
Was it at the Orleans theatre? The acoustics must have been very nice. Does Andrew still handle the amplifications? He is one of the best I have seen in the business; across continents. I really used to enjoy working with him.

[cmlover]

Ramesh
It was at the Centrepoint Chamber Theatre. No complaints about Audio.
Somebody suggested (late) KV would have been the right accompanist for Shashank for his 'experimental' excursions. He knows to overpower Shashank
Akkarai is too classical!

[appu]

cml,

Nice review. Who is the (late) KV. Was he or she a violinist. Just a little confused. I am sure there are artists (alive) who can match the acrobatics of Shashank.

[mahavishnu]

Appu, I think he means Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan. and it is, sort of, tongue in cheek.

[arasi]

CML,
Nice to read your review.
Yes, when such gifted artistes get into the speed mode, we feel cheated. Such a waste of immense talent, it seems!

Appu,
Two (again, very gifted) violinists I've known for along time and appreciate a lot come to mind: The Mysore Brothers!

[Nick H]

I'm a great fan of Shashank. I don't deny that his music can be full of showmanship, but ... it works for me!

Nice to see CML use the word "genius".

[cmlover]

No doubt genius are eccentric!
They have a right to be!

[rajeshnat]

CML
Atlast a concert in KottAi vidara OttawA(yawning residents of Ottawa). Few years before when I attended the concert of Shashank at RaniSeethai hall, he also asked the audience two ragas to choose , if I was in ottawa ,and if the choice was kalyAni or poorvikalyAni, I would have perhaps shouted Choose varAli or shanmughapriyA

[cacm]

In my opinion the word GENIUS is being thrown around LOOSELY. S is a very good student of MALI esp. his ANTICS& QUIXOTIC ways & tho' there has been only one Mali so far when it comes to playing the flute there have been & continue to be several ones who can reproduce the not so flattering parts of his musical behaviour. The description of the concert reminds me of a concert in Bangalore in which Mali was annoyed by the violinist (& as he was a good violinist himself he knew what was possible to play on the flute but not the violin) he played things that the violinist could not reproduce. Finally the Violinist walked out & Dindukkal Natarajan ( Mali's Disciple who was playing Thambura)played the flute & Mali played the violin & the concert went on!
Unfortunately many were willing to put up with Mali's erratic behaviour because ONE MINUTE of his music on the flute was WORTH any amount of annoyance!.......VKV

7 QIXOTIC

[cmlover]

Rajesh
Though small Ottawa has a very discriminating audience. They would appreciate a treat from Shashank if he had set his heart to it. He appeared to be in a hurry to finish though the audience insisted on his continuing. Though he did a technically correct Purvikalyani it was clear his heart was not in it. It looked quite rehearsed coming straight after the same at San Diego. But then his innovative genius was evident when he moved on to kapi which he didn't sustain since he wanted to finish and get out. One more reason he did not encourage Akkarai to explore Purvikalyani on her own which she would have done masterfully. He needs a violinist who would stand up to him and challenge him. Akkarai did not. Parupalli passively played on. His speed and brigas were mechanically perfect. But melody was a victim. I never could close my eyes and get lost since he was always throwing a volley of stccato swaras at high pitch at me. I think the strength of CM is in its soothing melodies. Fast sculpted swaras are more in tune with Western Music and as such a Pianist with nimble fingers would be a better accompanist for Shashank for the gymnastics! But I am not denying that it was a novel exerience to watch the amazing 'gyymnastics'!

[IMB]

I have read the above reviews with great interest and have attended concerts of Shashank and many such wonderful musicians. All that I can say is that no two musicians could be compared. I am a musicologist who also plays the violin and flute as hooby. I can tell you that what Shashank does on his instrument is nothing short of magic that bases itself on a strong foundation of talent, training and musical knowledge.

It is so intriguing that a few individuals could reduce an entire concert which takes such tremendous efforts to the level of gimmickry. I was a witness to the Toronto concert of Shashank and could tell you that a life time is not enough to achieve such mastery in all aspects of music and currently he has no peers that could match him in the flute field. It is really a sad situation to compare Mali with Shashank or for that matter Palladam. In the field of music Mali, Ramani, Shashank have their own great contributions and have carved an identity of their own and are styles that cant be replicated or compared.

Reviews like the one above is a total disservice to artists and one could end up curtailing the imaginations of artists. Take for instance the legends like Mali, Balamurali Krishna, S. Balachandar, Palghat Mani Iyer - all of them have very individualistic contributions that have no parallels. Yes, there were many who equaled it then to gimmickry - perhaps if they had paid attention to mediocre thought processes of reviewers, yes, all of them could have sounded stereotypical who produced tailor made music to please the so called "knowledgeable individuals".

Performances are not just meant for one individual or a few self proclaimed "knowledgeable individuals", it is meant for everyone present in the venue and I am sure it is quite a task to satisfy all. For heavens sake, their should be a more balanced approach to writing reviews taking into the times we live in and giving artists space to explore their own spaces making them pitch their tents in confusing spaces with varied opinions that are more or less baseless.

[cacm]

May be Akkarai Subbalakshmi with her Mastery over the INSTRUMENT as well as the MUSIC combined with how intelligent she is was smart enough to not fall into the trap of being upstaged by the subtle shinanigms that some musicians are capable of. To me it boils down to whether a musician is the equivalent of a Mcenroe in Tennis who at one stage felt it was all about winning & entertainment and not about the profound nature of the music & the compositions......One person's opinion......VKV

[vasanthakokilam]

>He announced that he would play on two octaves simultaneously which he himself mentioned as very difficult.

CML, can you elaborate this point?

[doyoucare]

I have read the above reviews with great interest and have attended concerts of Shashank and many such wonderful musicians. All that I can say is that no two musicians could be compared. I am a musicologist who also plays the violin and flute as hooby. I can tell you that what Shashank does on his instrument is nothing short of magic that bases itself on a strong foundation of talent, training and musical knowledge.

Amen to that! People might not personally like his interpretation of krithis, or choice of krithis etc. but what he can do on the instrument (with the instrument?) is absolutely incredible! To contend that he is NOT a genius is bordering on the ridiculous. Of course, we can sit here and debate what "genius" means till the cows come home

[doyoucare]

Bangalore in which Mali was annoyed by the violinist (& as he was a good violinist himself he knew what was possible to play on the flute but not the violin) he played things that the violinist could not reproduce. Finally the Violinist walked out

I don't call this "eccentric" or "genius" but CHILDISH and insulting!!!!! There is no need to hero worship or celebrate this.

[cmlover]

It is verydifficult to explain this. Shashank is the inventor of the "dual octave production technique" for which he has been recognized internationally. Sound production-wise his fingers move very fast and it appears he is playing in two octaves simultaneously. It requires tremendous finger control and the sounds are intriguing with a slight vibrato. I would have recorded it but my battery conked out. You would have loved it VK. I had a suspicion the shruti was a bit off but not really; it was just the lag timing. Uday perhaps can explain the principles better! I litterally marvel at the speed at which he plays but each note chrystal clear...