Ramakrishnan Murthy @ Sankritilaya, San Jose Nov 15

[mahavishnu]

Ramakrishnan Murthy - vocal
RK Sriram Kumar - violin
K Arun Prakash - mridangam

3 hrs 11 mins

1. dakshinAmUrtE – sankarAbharaNam – MD – misra jhampa
2. entani nE varNintunu shabarI bhAgyam – mukhAri – T; (neraval, swaram @ kanulAra sEvinci)
3. Azhi mazhai kaNNA – varALi – A, neraval @ vaazha ulaginil peydhidAy
4. sri nIlOtpala nAyikE – narireethigowla – MD (A, S)
5. trilOkamAtA – paras – SS (S)
6. sri raghuvara-apramEya – kAmbhoji (A, N, S, T; neraval @ sArasa hita kulabja)
7. RTP – kOkilapriyA – khanda triputa (priyE kanjaja-mAnasa priyE kavavE kavikOkila priyE)
rAgamAlika swarams in vijayasri, ghanTA, sindhubhairavi, behAg)
8. sharaNu sharaNu – behAg – PD
9. ullAsanilA (short viruttam) followed by mAlasai kObam – jOnpuri - tiruppugazh – Arunagirinathar
10. tiruvEngadam adai nenjamE - tirumangai Alvar pAsuram – rAgamAlikA (hamir kalyANi, nAdanAmakriyA, kApi, sindhubhairavi)
11. ramachandrAya janaka – navrOj – bhadrachalam Ramadas
12. mangalam kOsalEndrAya – maNirangu

Superb concert. Just posting the song list for now. Will write in more detail later (time permitting).

[arasi]

Ramesh,
Thanks for the list. Was hoping for your illuminating review too

[MV]

Yes thanks for the list. But waiting...

[rshankar]

Superb list...#s 4 and 5 would have made my day...wonder if this pallavi was also a creation of Sri RKSK - assume it is a rare one on sarasvati - (kanjaja is brahma, right?)

[Sindhuja]

What a solid list! Looking forward to details!

[mahavishnu]

RKM gave a mesmerizing performance yesterday in San Jose. While it is obvious that RKM has imbibed the styles of many great traditions in Carnatic music (KVN, SSI, Alathur), the most dominant influence seen in his music yesterday was that of the inimitable RK Sriram Kumar.

From the kriti selection to the scholarliness of the presentation, the deep sincerity and honesty of the exposition, it was evident that RKM has been deeply influenced by RKSK. I even mentioned to some good folks I was chatting with after the concert that RKM sounds like an early-career TM Krishna (with better voice modulation and greater control of kalapramanam). I felt this especially when I was listening to his version of narireethigowla.

The rendition of the kritis was textbook quality. There was a great sense of discipline to his blend of manodharnam, even in the expression of sangatis. This was quite apparent in his display of perfect control of the lyric, internal metric and the occasional tricky yet unorthodox handling of the raga swaroopam. But where I thought RKM excels is at the systematic development of neravals. In both "kanulAra sEvinCi" and in the charanam lines of Sri RaghuvarApramEya, one could see how he resists the temptation to rush along but goes the extra mile to tread the path of patience and restraint. I think this will serve him well as his career takes off. However, he decided to go with mel kala swarams in mukhari, after the 2-speed neraval, which was the only "hurried" part of the concert. Everything else was full of vistAram. There was a deep sense of satisfaction, sowkhyam and deliberate comfort that he was able to achieve.

RKM's handling of Sri Raghuvaraprameya was superb. It reminded me of DK Jayaraman, whose version of this kriti is what I consider to be a personal gold standard. He went through each charanam, varying the tempo (2 kalam) and returned to baseline. And it was on this line that he chose to do an elaborate neraval: sarasa hita kulabja brnga. I also see the hand of RKSK in this!

The kOkilapriya RTP was spectacular. It took me while to grock this ragam; my perception of it did not reach stability till almost the second half of his raga exploration (need to brush up on my melakartas). Interestingly, a famous violin duo that performed here recently did a long exposition of swarnangi, which served as a useful prime. I was going to ask the smart people on this forum the meaning of the pallavi lyrics and it looks like Ravi has already taken a stab at it. And yes, this was composed by RKSK as well (the plot thickens).

RKSK was spectacular. He was a pillar of support to the vocalist as his violin just melted into the music. His use of the bass strings was superb and his bow was able to articulate like the opening of the vibrating human vocal cords. The high level of scholarship was evident in his every gesture.

KAP impressed me in the most unusual way yesterday. He actually played the mridangam! This is probably the best I have heard him do in several years. His modulation and use of thoppi was terrific. Although, there were several subtleties that were totally lost due to the general acoustics. There were several times when I could see his gestures and I found them quite pertinent, but I couldn't quite hear what he was doing. That said, he was absolutely superb with his sarvalaghu. He has a very good "kai" and some of the Pazhani school nadais were quite visible in his playing. The modulation of volume was a bit uneven, my sense is that some of that had to do with differential amplification. His tani was very competent but not spectacular.

The tail-end pieces were certainly interesting. I really enjoyed the tirumangai azhvar pasuram (also tuned by RKSK).

Overall, it was a fantastic concert. The auditorium was freezing cold, but all I could feel was the warm glow from the pristine music. RKM has blossomed as an artiste. My very best wishes for his continued successes.

Congrats to Sankritilaya for another memorable year/season in the Bay area.

[kvchellappa]

A riveting review as usual. Thanks. innum ezhuthakkUdAthAnnu irukku.

[MV]

And it was worth the wait Mahavishnu. I so agree with your line - a sense of deep satisfaction, sowkhyam etc. Thanks for that poetic review

[rshankar]

Ramesh - beautiful review indeed. Now I really rue missing his concert in NJ.

My take on the pallavi ( in nominal telugu) is as follows: brahmA's (kanjaja) sweetheart (mAnasa priyE), please protect me (kAvavE), Oh beloved of cuckoo-like (kOkila) poets (kavi).

As an aside, isn't 'kavi kOkilam' the mudra of Sri Raghavan, noted sanskRt scholar and father of the dancer, Smt. Nandini Ramani?

[tanapp]

mahavishnu - the review compliments and complements the concert so beautifully. I am so glad I attended. Great to see you at the concert.

[tanapp]

My conversation with RKMurthy after the concert.

https://youtu.be/_9-TTuES6Iw

[manisubramaniyan]

Thanks Mahavishnu for a review as enjoyable as the concert!

Vidwan RKSK also said that the title Kavi Kokila was given by Maha Periyava (Sankarachariyar) to the scholar Dr. V. Ragavan.

[mahavishnu]

My conversation with RKMurthy after the concert.

https://youtu.be/_9-TTuES6Iw

Very interesting conversation.
He seems so poised and balanced. And I can't believe he is only 25!

[Rsachi]

Kavikokila is a figure of speech to describe a "singing" poet or one whose creative output has a musicality to it. Sanskrit rules also allow for the meaning "poets and singers." Sarasvati is the goddess of inspiration for both.

[arasi]

Ramesh (Mahavishnu),
Thanks! You did bring us a review after all! Yes, we just love them

RAmakrishan Murthy is really going to be a leading performer in the coming years, it seems. As you say, he seems so poised and balanced for a twenty five year old.

[rajeshnat]

I can't believe he is only 25!

The earliest reference in web is RKM started learning from 1997 at the age of 8 years. Possibly he is nov/dec born about to be 26. Thank you Tanapp (RN arunagiri) for your interview, you did a great job with RKM . tanglish always rocks.

[gardabha_gana]

Thanks mahavishnu! Every few weeks, I listen to DKJ's Sree Raghuvara and I know what you mean I just hope RKM pays attention to his voice condition and follows the trodden path of giants like KVN - and does not get into experimentation like the person whom he reminded you of He takes a lot of effort in planning his concerts and are a wholesome affair. And he comes to Bangalore often!

[tanapp]

Thank you Tanapp (RN arunagiri) for your interview, you did a great job with RKM . tanglish always rocks.

Thanks rajeshnat. Its TN Arunagiri, not RN. =)

[rshankar]

Great interview, Tanapp! Thank you for sharing.
I was finally able to listen to it completely. Sri Ramakrishnan Murthy is so natural and unpretentious- it was a delight. I think he's significantly underplayed the effort he puts into his music.

Also, is it me, or did any one else think of Sri TMK when Sri RKM was describing his take on how music that's entirely art would be like?

[tanapp]

Great interview, Tanapp! Thank you for sharing.
I was finally able to listen to it completely. Sri Ramakrishnan Murthy is so natural and unpretentious- it was a delight. I think he's significantly underplayed the effort he puts into his music.

Also, is it me, or did any one else think of Sri TMK when Sri RKM was describing his take on how music that's entirely art would be like?

Thanks rshankar. I told Ram to please consider the interview as a concert that he is going to sing - where there may be an idea what is going to be sung, but not necessarily the path that is going to taken, to accomplish the idea. I apply the same for me as well. When the interview/conversation evolves organically, without any boundary conditions in the course of 30 min., it becomes a delightfully adventurous experience for me and them; and it's been great fun and really enlightening thus far.

[Rsachi]

Ravi,
I love RKM's music as well as TMK's - but for entirely different reasons.
I heard the RKM interview a couple of times. I felt he was making the point that a concert is actually a performance, with a certain sense of responsibility and planning and effort to deliver a wholesome result. When pressed to describe what's totally unfettered pure music, I found him conjecturing and extrapolating. TMK has moved to a zone where he feels concert has no real deliverable except for his own spontaneous musicality unrelated to audience or their expectations. So I see no connection between RKM and TMK there!

I feel the biggest success factor in an interview is to ask open-ended questions and let the artiste respond uninterruptedly, without offering our own hypotheses and value judgements. There is an old radio interview of MMI. That was done well!

[Sindhuja]

tanapp: thanks for the very nice interview. Such "vivekam" at such a young age.
And thanks for the lovely review as always, Ramesh.

[sureshvv]

Also, is it me, or did any one else think of Sri TMK when Sri RKM was describing his take on how music that's entirely art would be like?

Of Course! He is hanging out with the same clique, so something is bound to rub off. Let us hope it stops here

[cacm]

quote="Rsachi"]Ravi,
"I love RKM's music as well as TMK's - but for entirely different reasons.
I heard the RKM interview a couple of times. I felt he was making the point that a concert is actually a performance, with a certain sense of responsibility and planning and effort to deliver a wholesome result. When pressed to describe what's totally unfettered pure music, I found him conjecturing and extrapolating. TMK has moved to a zone where he feels concert has no real deliverable except for his own spontaneous musicality unrelated to audience or their expectations. So I see no connection between RKM and TMK there!
I feel the biggest success factor in an interview is to ask open-ended questions and let the artiste respond uninterruptedly, without offering our own hypotheses and value judgements. There is an old radio interview of MMI. That was done well!"

I AGREE with you that interview with MMI is SUPERB UNLIKE TMK'S PRONOUNCEMENTS which are INCONSISTENT (contradicting himself over the years & mostly ALL BLUSTER egoistically uttered without any proof or justification) as well as mostly appearing to claim he is the first one to figure things out where as so far his pronouncements mostly rendered with promoting himself are as old as Adam& Eve; can be considered as Plagurism at a sophisticated level....VKV