Artistes: Shashikiran - Vocal, Ganesh - Vocal+Chitraveena, Inderjeet Banerjee - Sitar
Accompanists: Nagai Sriram - Violin, Tanjore Murugaboopathi - Mridangam, Gourishankar - Tabla.
Song list - a mish-mash not worth listing.
Talk about disappointing… this was one concert where each piece got progressively worse. I waited a whole week to write this review, because I was searching the community for somebody that had one positive thing to say about this concert…. I am still looking! I have put together the collective opinions of the rasika community here, regarding this concert.
The whole concert was very poorly thought out and implemented. Spontaneous improvisation is fine, but everyone knows that jugalbandi, even when performed by the best professionals, needs some planning. There was NONE. A jugalbandhi is supposed to blend the different styles and presented into one coherent and flowing stream. This concert was a bunch of song-pairs – beginning with a carnatic krithi, followed by a short Hindustani piece that appeared like an afterthought - just thrown together and slammed at the audience in random order. Swarakalpana would have offered the perfect opportunity for exchanges between North and South – but no such luck! Swara koraippu was cheerfully rotated among the one Brother, the other Brother, and the violinist – while the sitar player sat there and listened with the rest of us! Dynamics on stage were less than glorious. The Hindustani artistes seemed blatantly left out. The Carnatica brothers were unprofessional, talking to each other whenever the Hindustani artistes were performing, lacking even basic stage etiquette and courtesy. There was absolutely no clarity in the rendering of the lyrics. Shashikiran made a very poor attempt at explaining some of the ragas. He spoke too fast, was unclear and didn’t make any sense. It seemed that Ganesh had the chitraveena placed in front of him as a security blanket, because he played it for a total of 3 minutes in the whole concert! There was a man in the audience that seemed particularly restless throughout the concert, pacing in and out of the auditorium. Later I found out that it was Shashikiran’s father and guru - he was obviously embarrassed!
The only silver lining was the violin and mridangam - both excellent! Their caliber was not properly utilized by the brothers. What little the sitar and tabla artistes played, seemed OK. Although Gourishankar never quite caught on to the 1/2 idam eduppu in the RTP and in the final korvai of the thani (which could have easily been fixed with some upfront rehearsal), Murugabhoopathy covered up nicely.
The Brothers should just stick to singing Carnatic music - which in itself needs a lot of improvement…. All in all, a waste of 3.5 hours of our precious Friday evening…. The organizers of this concert must feel ripped off!
Jugalbandhi by Carnatica Brothers @ Rochester, NY
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mahakavi
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knshashikiran
- Posts: 12
- Joined: 17 May 2006, 00:22
I normally like to refrain from posting my comments on reviews here since, a rasika has the full freedom to like or dislike a concert and as an artistes, we are subjected to these, so I would like to first state that I am not here to defend the quality of music presented by us on the given day as it is very subjective and I appreciate the frankness of our friend for his honest feedback. I also assure him and other rasikas that we will work harder to improve our quality of performance, which is a life time effort. As an artiste, I would also say that we always want to give our 100% despite different odds and wouldn't like to compromise since Carnatic music is a divine art and we are all just trying to feel and learn more about this great art.
I would however, like to clarify a few points mentioned here, only from an artistes perspective since these forums are read worldwide.
Firstly, when the organisers approached me to confirm this performance, I did give them both options, which is having a standard Carnatic Concert or trying out a Jugalbandhi. They opted for the latter. In this tour , We have performed conventional concerts in most places and even in the very same city, we performed a Carnatic Concert the very next day at the Rochester Temple.
With regards to this concert, we thought, we should try to present it slightly differently from the regular Jugalbandhis and this was even told to the organisers when the programme was confirmed. We did discuss the format with our Hindustani co-artistes, who are my good friends too and who have performed with us in this very same trip in a couple of other towns.
With regards to the choice of ragas and songs , we gave the option to the organisers and rasikas since they would know best as to what was sung more often in the city before and so on. And they came up with their requests. We did have the rehearsal with our co-artistes from North. Asked them their comfort zone be it choice or ragas or other technical aspects of the concerts. We also did not stipulate any time restrictions for the pieces they would render.
With regards to the format of the concert, we thought we can try to make it multi-dimentional, so we decided, that we should not pick the usual malkauns or yemen or hindolam, kalyani. since Carnatic and hindustani offer diverse scope, we thought the rasikas who are hard core Carnatic should get to listen to some master pieces of our great composers and similarly the hindustani listeners should also listen to an uncompromised version of their khyals. So, the first half of the concert the choice was Kritis vs khyals. Coming to the ragas and compositions presented, We started with a Sahana varnam, which was the choice of one of the commitee members. then we asked Indrajeet to play Durga which he did. we chose Tyagaraja's Sadhincene in Arabhi because, I felt in most of their Durga includes an antara Gandhara as an anuswara and Tyagaraja's pancaratna piece uses more of SDP in the avarohana hence, ni is eschewed atleast in the common versions i have heard. So I said, thought Arabhi might be a better choice than Suddha Saveri. I am open to other views on this aspect. Next, was Muthuswami Dikshitar's Masterpiece in Nayaki, Ranganayakam, which was rendered without any manodharma aspects. This was again the choice of the organisers. I thought the Hindustani artistes could play a raga with a similar sounding name but contrasting in style. So they played raga Nayaki Kanada. They did like that choice and played with a alap preceding the piece. The next item was raga hamsanandi, needumahima, since composer Muthaih bhagavatar was inspired after he heard Sohini and he is credited to having introduced it in the Carnatic front. This was rendered with alapana where Ganesh attempted a graha bhedham to sing mohanam. and some kalpana swarams. They were supposed to play a piece in sohini too, but Indrajeet asked me, if he could play Desh instead since he felt like playing that, which he did.
This was followed by Paramatmudu in Vagadheeswari, again organisers choice, and when I asked during the rehearsals whether they would like to play their Jog which was more or less close or whether they would like to try Vagadhesswari, he said he would and played Vagadhesswari and tried a bandish in vagadheswari after an alap, which I appreciated on the mike. Then there was a request for Nagumomu, which we obliged. The main piece was a RTP in Subhapantuvarali, their Todi based on the song Sri Satyanarayana, a popular diety in southern and northern India. This was rehearsed too and we decided they can try to play it in Drupad fashion and we will do the pallavi without compromise and cover the trikalam, chaturasra tisram and also did the partiloma and tried ragamalika swaras using all janya ragas which have the suffix varali. so, i tried kokilavarali, Ganesh - pratapavarali and Nagai Sriram - kuntalavarali. It was decided that the climax round before the tani would be done in subhapantuvarali their Todi by Indrajeet. Now with regards to the roles for Sriram, we decided that the alapanas would be shared by all of us in at different stages and Sriram too was given his equal share in every thing we did. In many places, he was allowed to do a Jugalbandhi with Indrajeet while myself and Ganesh kept quite. An example being Desh. Murugaboopathi and Gowrishankar, made their own plans to takes turns or join in a particular place. The concert ended with Maithreem bhajatha jointly presently by all of us.
With regards to Ganesh not playing the Chitravina more in this concert, the fact was he was not satisfied with the quality of tone when he tried playing, though we did have a sound check done. but since tanam has been believed to sound better on Vina and Chitravina, he played along with indrajeet, who played the Northern version of Drupad Taans.
My Guru and father seemingly being restless, I have nothing to say except that he had been to Niagara and said he was tired. Anyways, to satisfy him is like getting Brahmarishi from Vasishtar.
Finally, I am willing to make this statement publicly, that if the organisers felt this was a ripp off, I am more than willing to rufund them their entire money for the show. Not as an offensive gesture, but only as a genuine act, where as responsible artistes, we wouldn't like to be compensated for something where an organiser feels they were ripped off due to lack of effort on our part.
I hope my response is not misinterpreted by the more learned music rasikas in this respected forum. I once again thank our friends for their honest feedback.
I would however, like to clarify a few points mentioned here, only from an artistes perspective since these forums are read worldwide.
Firstly, when the organisers approached me to confirm this performance, I did give them both options, which is having a standard Carnatic Concert or trying out a Jugalbandhi. They opted for the latter. In this tour , We have performed conventional concerts in most places and even in the very same city, we performed a Carnatic Concert the very next day at the Rochester Temple.
With regards to this concert, we thought, we should try to present it slightly differently from the regular Jugalbandhis and this was even told to the organisers when the programme was confirmed. We did discuss the format with our Hindustani co-artistes, who are my good friends too and who have performed with us in this very same trip in a couple of other towns.
With regards to the choice of ragas and songs , we gave the option to the organisers and rasikas since they would know best as to what was sung more often in the city before and so on. And they came up with their requests. We did have the rehearsal with our co-artistes from North. Asked them their comfort zone be it choice or ragas or other technical aspects of the concerts. We also did not stipulate any time restrictions for the pieces they would render.
With regards to the format of the concert, we thought we can try to make it multi-dimentional, so we decided, that we should not pick the usual malkauns or yemen or hindolam, kalyani. since Carnatic and hindustani offer diverse scope, we thought the rasikas who are hard core Carnatic should get to listen to some master pieces of our great composers and similarly the hindustani listeners should also listen to an uncompromised version of their khyals. So, the first half of the concert the choice was Kritis vs khyals. Coming to the ragas and compositions presented, We started with a Sahana varnam, which was the choice of one of the commitee members. then we asked Indrajeet to play Durga which he did. we chose Tyagaraja's Sadhincene in Arabhi because, I felt in most of their Durga includes an antara Gandhara as an anuswara and Tyagaraja's pancaratna piece uses more of SDP in the avarohana hence, ni is eschewed atleast in the common versions i have heard. So I said, thought Arabhi might be a better choice than Suddha Saveri. I am open to other views on this aspect. Next, was Muthuswami Dikshitar's Masterpiece in Nayaki, Ranganayakam, which was rendered without any manodharma aspects. This was again the choice of the organisers. I thought the Hindustani artistes could play a raga with a similar sounding name but contrasting in style. So they played raga Nayaki Kanada. They did like that choice and played with a alap preceding the piece. The next item was raga hamsanandi, needumahima, since composer Muthaih bhagavatar was inspired after he heard Sohini and he is credited to having introduced it in the Carnatic front. This was rendered with alapana where Ganesh attempted a graha bhedham to sing mohanam. and some kalpana swarams. They were supposed to play a piece in sohini too, but Indrajeet asked me, if he could play Desh instead since he felt like playing that, which he did.
This was followed by Paramatmudu in Vagadheeswari, again organisers choice, and when I asked during the rehearsals whether they would like to play their Jog which was more or less close or whether they would like to try Vagadhesswari, he said he would and played Vagadhesswari and tried a bandish in vagadheswari after an alap, which I appreciated on the mike. Then there was a request for Nagumomu, which we obliged. The main piece was a RTP in Subhapantuvarali, their Todi based on the song Sri Satyanarayana, a popular diety in southern and northern India. This was rehearsed too and we decided they can try to play it in Drupad fashion and we will do the pallavi without compromise and cover the trikalam, chaturasra tisram and also did the partiloma and tried ragamalika swaras using all janya ragas which have the suffix varali. so, i tried kokilavarali, Ganesh - pratapavarali and Nagai Sriram - kuntalavarali. It was decided that the climax round before the tani would be done in subhapantuvarali their Todi by Indrajeet. Now with regards to the roles for Sriram, we decided that the alapanas would be shared by all of us in at different stages and Sriram too was given his equal share in every thing we did. In many places, he was allowed to do a Jugalbandhi with Indrajeet while myself and Ganesh kept quite. An example being Desh. Murugaboopathi and Gowrishankar, made their own plans to takes turns or join in a particular place. The concert ended with Maithreem bhajatha jointly presently by all of us.
With regards to Ganesh not playing the Chitravina more in this concert, the fact was he was not satisfied with the quality of tone when he tried playing, though we did have a sound check done. but since tanam has been believed to sound better on Vina and Chitravina, he played along with indrajeet, who played the Northern version of Drupad Taans.
My Guru and father seemingly being restless, I have nothing to say except that he had been to Niagara and said he was tired. Anyways, to satisfy him is like getting Brahmarishi from Vasishtar.
Finally, I am willing to make this statement publicly, that if the organisers felt this was a ripp off, I am more than willing to rufund them their entire money for the show. Not as an offensive gesture, but only as a genuine act, where as responsible artistes, we wouldn't like to be compensated for something where an organiser feels they were ripped off due to lack of effort on our part.
I hope my response is not misinterpreted by the more learned music rasikas in this respected forum. I once again thank our friends for their honest feedback.
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rasaali
- Posts: 172
- Joined: 05 Feb 2007, 10:08
Dear Sri KNS,
Thanks for posting your thoughts and views. I am a relatively new member (and an infrequent poster) but I do believe the moderators encourage everyone to post. So your views and thoughts are welcome and I indeed think it takes some courage to write a balanced response in the face of severe criticism.
Friends,
I read SR's review and mahakavis's response and wanted to say a few words. While candid, constructive reviews are important, I felt the use of phrases like "ripoff" "errant musicians" who "need to be kept on track" was too strong. These are musicians trying to give a performance, not people trying to create trouble or uncouth CEOs trying to rip off shareholders that need policing.
Everybody has an off day and musicians are no exception. On top of that Jugalbandi or fusion concerts are inherently experimental . And experiments either click or fail. Even successful jugalbandi experiments may not have universal appeal.
As a passionate listener, I understand that it is disappointing to go to an concert that does not meet one's but it is helpful to remember that we have off days in our jobs too and musicians are human beings too. And if the show was really off colour, the musicians usually share our angst. Like all of us they take their work seriously and hate failure.
Let's keep in mind their humanity even as we listen to them and look upon them as practitioners of a divine art.
Thanks for posting your thoughts and views. I am a relatively new member (and an infrequent poster) but I do believe the moderators encourage everyone to post. So your views and thoughts are welcome and I indeed think it takes some courage to write a balanced response in the face of severe criticism.
Friends,
I read SR's review and mahakavis's response and wanted to say a few words. While candid, constructive reviews are important, I felt the use of phrases like "ripoff" "errant musicians" who "need to be kept on track" was too strong. These are musicians trying to give a performance, not people trying to create trouble or uncouth CEOs trying to rip off shareholders that need policing.
Everybody has an off day and musicians are no exception. On top of that Jugalbandi or fusion concerts are inherently experimental . And experiments either click or fail. Even successful jugalbandi experiments may not have universal appeal.
As a passionate listener, I understand that it is disappointing to go to an concert that does not meet one's but it is helpful to remember that we have off days in our jobs too and musicians are human beings too. And if the show was really off colour, the musicians usually share our angst. Like all of us they take their work seriously and hate failure.
Let's keep in mind their humanity even as we listen to them and look upon them as practitioners of a divine art.
Last edited by rasaali on 20 May 2007, 00:09, edited 1 time in total.
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sangitaRasika
- Posts: 14
- Joined: 19 May 2007, 00:22
Mr Shashikiran,
Thanks for your response. I am not an organizer, nor a committee member, nor anybody that gave the performers any requests. I am not aware of what deal the committee had with you or any such, but a jugalbandhi is a jugalbandhi. The organizers were the customers and when they were offered the choice of carnatic vs. jugalbandhi, they probably thought that it would be a nice-to-have in their season. It is the presenter's responsibility from there on. People will give requests. "How" the artists weave it into the concert is the whole beauty of it. As an outsider, when I come to a concert, based on the theme, there are some formats / expectations / purpose in any given performance.
I have been to many concerts. I know it is hard to perfect an art and perform and I am not just throwing irresponsible, haphazard comments at a group of artists. As an audience, did I connect to the performers? The answer is NO. It may be an off-day for whatever reason and I understand that. Also, it is not the particular choice of ragas or krithis that is being critiqued - it maybe that you were responsive to audience requests. It is "HOW" these ragas were delivered in the given setting, the coordination and balance between the two styles that was the main purpose (that was lost in here somewhere), which is the point of concern.
Good luck for the future!
Thanks for your response. I am not an organizer, nor a committee member, nor anybody that gave the performers any requests. I am not aware of what deal the committee had with you or any such, but a jugalbandhi is a jugalbandhi. The organizers were the customers and when they were offered the choice of carnatic vs. jugalbandhi, they probably thought that it would be a nice-to-have in their season. It is the presenter's responsibility from there on. People will give requests. "How" the artists weave it into the concert is the whole beauty of it. As an outsider, when I come to a concert, based on the theme, there are some formats / expectations / purpose in any given performance.
I have been to many concerts. I know it is hard to perfect an art and perform and I am not just throwing irresponsible, haphazard comments at a group of artists. As an audience, did I connect to the performers? The answer is NO. It may be an off-day for whatever reason and I understand that. Also, it is not the particular choice of ragas or krithis that is being critiqued - it maybe that you were responsive to audience requests. It is "HOW" these ragas were delivered in the given setting, the coordination and balance between the two styles that was the main purpose (that was lost in here somewhere), which is the point of concern.
Good luck for the future!
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mahakavi
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bhaktha
- Posts: 323
- Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 23:02
Why should organisers be allowed to choose what is to be sung?? 
If the organisers wish to hear certain songs, let them arrange for a private concert at their homes. Hope some organisers overseas are reading this....PLEASE allow artistes to plan their concerts themselves...it's a sincere request...Finally, the artistes (for no fault of their's) get blamed for poor concert planning in terms of items chosen...
-bhaktha
If the organisers wish to hear certain songs, let them arrange for a private concert at their homes. Hope some organisers overseas are reading this....PLEASE allow artistes to plan their concerts themselves...it's a sincere request...Finally, the artistes (for no fault of their's) get blamed for poor concert planning in terms of items chosen...-bhaktha
Last edited by bhaktha on 19 May 2007, 23:15, edited 1 time in total.
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thudikudhubhujam
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 20 May 2007, 04:43
I am in agreement with Bhaktha. Just want to vent about a recent trend.bhaktha wrote:Why should organisers be allowed to choose what is to be sung??
-bhaktha
These days, there is a live poll (during the concert) conducted by some artistes, for such matters like what ragam they want an R.T.P in? In my opinion (most humble), it takes away the element of surprise. There are 10 different ragams that are thrown around. The artists picks one. The rest of the folks are unhappy and have a clouded opinion of the remainder of the concert, subconciously. Some of the remaining ragams are included as part of the ragamalika. But that still isn't good for those, whose ragam did not get picked. Some artists even ask the audience, what ragam they want the main song in and sometimes even give a multiple choice of krithi names. I understand the artistes intention to not repeat themselves, considering the many concerts that are being hosted by these venues in succession. But please.
Neyar viruppam (audience requests) has always been a tradition. In my opinion the organizers/audience could request a few songs, preferably at the beginning of the concert, or even passing around a sticky. But it should be left to the performers to choose a few. The rest of the concert should be "planned" by the artists.
TB
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mahesh33
- Posts: 106
- Joined: 21 Oct 2006, 06:20
In today's N. Ramani flute concert, after the Shanmughapriya (Andavane) and Kharaharapriya (Rama Niyeda) main pieces followed by a Mohanam RTP, one of the people in the audience shouted out a request...Rasikapriya. N. Ramani acknowledged the request by nodding at the person, followed by announcing that "I've always said that NJ audience is like the old madras audience, they r so knowledgeable. He then promptly proceeded to play "Baro Krishnayya" to the "Old Madras" audience.
Shouting out requests from the audience is not the done thing, in my opinion.
Shouting out requests from the audience is not the done thing, in my opinion.
Last edited by mahesh33 on 20 May 2007, 08:21, edited 1 time in total.
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snigdha
- Posts: 35
- Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 22:25
This is a forum where people are free to express their views - agreed. I have no comments on the review as I did not attend the concert. However, instead of giving constructive criticisms on the music part(which is what veteran critics do while writing reviews), there seem to be absolutely nonsensical statements made on artistes of great repute. I am shocked to see that the moderators have not intervened in this matter.
For example,
So you are a face reader, Great !!!!!!!! Please tell me one thing, what has this got to do with the concert? Besides, how dare you make such nonsensical comments on such a big vidwan - Chitraveena Sh. Narasimhan? He is a Guru of great repute.
I think you owe the Carnatica brothers an apology for writing like this.
People should stick to writing reviews about the concert, rather than doing a "participant observation of people's behaviour at a concert venue".
For example,
Well sangitaRasika,sangitaRasika wrote:There was a man in the audience that seemed particularly restless throughout the concert, pacing in and out of the auditorium. Later I found out that it was Shashikiran’s father and guru - he was obviously embarrassed!
So you are a face reader, Great !!!!!!!! Please tell me one thing, what has this got to do with the concert? Besides, how dare you make such nonsensical comments on such a big vidwan - Chitraveena Sh. Narasimhan? He is a Guru of great repute.
I think you owe the Carnatica brothers an apology for writing like this.
People should stick to writing reviews about the concert, rather than doing a "participant observation of people's behaviour at a concert venue".
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tylerconscious
- Posts: 25
- Joined: 17 Oct 2006, 10:40
I find this review of sangitarasika frank and real in nature. He/she is entitled to their opinion and the thing about it was that it was from a pure concert listeners point of view. As SR mentions, he was not an organizer, committee member etc...just a concert goer, who was let down by the performance.
snigdha: to say things like he owes the brothers an apology and stuff like that is not required. Mr. KN Sasikiran seems to have taken it quite well and has posted his response. When all seems to be clear between the 2 parties, then why pull the issue along further?
snigdha: to say things like he owes the brothers an apology and stuff like that is not required. Mr. KN Sasikiran seems to have taken it quite well and has posted his response. When all seems to be clear between the 2 parties, then why pull the issue along further?
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snigdha
- Posts: 35
- Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 22:25
let me clarify that my remarks were not about sangitaRasika s review of the concert, but about one particular comment that he/she made which shows disrespect towards a senior artiste, a veteran vidwan. I have also quoted that particular comment.
I dont want this issue to be taken further, but i just request the rasikas to refrain from making such disrespectful remarks, that s it.
I dont want this issue to be taken further, but i just request the rasikas to refrain from making such disrespectful remarks, that s it.
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mahakavi
I don't think sangitaRasika's remark about shashikiran's father was disrespectful. He just mentioned that there was a man walking back and forth restlessly and later on he learnt it was shashikiran's father. He interpreted the "restlessness" in his own way. That was all. He never said anything bad about shashikiran's father. Period.
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saptaswara
- Posts: 4
- Joined: 08 May 2007, 02:16
Jugalbandi concert:Carnatic vocal with Carnatic & Hindustani Instrumental music.
To the contrary of a few reviews I felt that the jugalbandi concert was a distinctly good one. I mainly attended the concert as I had heard from a few friends that the same troupe had performed to a jam packed audience recently & that it was very well received experienced the same thing here. It was quite evident that it was a good one as the artists got a standing ovation after their concert.Carnatica Brothers have got a standing ovation for their concerts that I have attended this tour. I even attended their Carnatic recital at Rajarajeshwari temple the next day which was awesome .
Unlike Sangeetarasika I did not wait for one whole week just to get good/bad reviews about this concert. I did not get time to post this review earlier as I was travelling.Considering that Sangeetarasika’s review is an honest one, it seems like he has something against just the Carnatica Bros.The fact that he/she has praised the performance of all other artists except the vocalists inspite of not enjoying the jugalbandi concert. I was so involved in the music I could not focus on what other audience members were doing. All I remember is that I was enjoying all the melodious music emerging from the stage.
SAdhinchine,RanganAyakam,RTP & Maithreem Bhajatha were rendered beautifully by the vocalists. The AlAp rendition by the Hindustani counterpart Sri Indrajith was commendable.I loved the tAnam played by Sri Chitravina P Ganesh.His performance on both chitravina & vocal was great.The accompanying artists Tanjore Murugabhupati(mridangam),Gowrishankar(tabla) & Nagai Sriram(violin) gave a good support throughout.
It seemed like the Carnatic & the Hindustani musicians were very accommodative to each other. If someone felt that the Hindustani artists looked left out while Carnatic musicians performed I felt the vice-versa. It just means that every artist got ample time to render their music.It was a well balanced concert with a few peppy tunes & a few slow tunes.
It is very easy to criticize either positively or negatively. But I bet it is a Herculean task to coordinate between two different styles of Indian classical music,keeping in mind the various other factors like organizers’/listeners’ choice & also time factor.
I wonder how the artists manage to please everyone & also themselves.
I hope to hear this troupe again in the near future.Best wishes to all of them.
Thanks to Sri Shashikiran for enlightening us with more details especially from an artists’ point of view.
To the contrary of a few reviews I felt that the jugalbandi concert was a distinctly good one. I mainly attended the concert as I had heard from a few friends that the same troupe had performed to a jam packed audience recently & that it was very well received experienced the same thing here. It was quite evident that it was a good one as the artists got a standing ovation after their concert.Carnatica Brothers have got a standing ovation for their concerts that I have attended this tour. I even attended their Carnatic recital at Rajarajeshwari temple the next day which was awesome .
Unlike Sangeetarasika I did not wait for one whole week just to get good/bad reviews about this concert. I did not get time to post this review earlier as I was travelling.Considering that Sangeetarasika’s review is an honest one, it seems like he has something against just the Carnatica Bros.The fact that he/she has praised the performance of all other artists except the vocalists inspite of not enjoying the jugalbandi concert. I was so involved in the music I could not focus on what other audience members were doing. All I remember is that I was enjoying all the melodious music emerging from the stage.
SAdhinchine,RanganAyakam,RTP & Maithreem Bhajatha were rendered beautifully by the vocalists. The AlAp rendition by the Hindustani counterpart Sri Indrajith was commendable.I loved the tAnam played by Sri Chitravina P Ganesh.His performance on both chitravina & vocal was great.The accompanying artists Tanjore Murugabhupati(mridangam),Gowrishankar(tabla) & Nagai Sriram(violin) gave a good support throughout.
It seemed like the Carnatic & the Hindustani musicians were very accommodative to each other. If someone felt that the Hindustani artists looked left out while Carnatic musicians performed I felt the vice-versa. It just means that every artist got ample time to render their music.It was a well balanced concert with a few peppy tunes & a few slow tunes.
It is very easy to criticize either positively or negatively. But I bet it is a Herculean task to coordinate between two different styles of Indian classical music,keeping in mind the various other factors like organizers’/listeners’ choice & also time factor.
I wonder how the artists manage to please everyone & also themselves.
I hope to hear this troupe again in the near future.Best wishes to all of them.
Thanks to Sri Shashikiran for enlightening us with more details especially from an artists’ point of view.
Last edited by saptaswara on 20 May 2007, 21:19, edited 1 time in total.
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blowhard747
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 27 Apr 2007, 11:38
It is not difficult to understand why a review such as SangitaRasika's gets written.
The Natives of India, much like the Bourbons of France, learn nothing and forget nothing.
If a jugalbandhi concert is held, they hark back to the very first jugalbandhi that they might have heard or heard of and that is what they expect to hear.
They would have rated the concert highly if the Yaman-Kalyani, Malkauns-Hindolam, Bhoop-Mohanam, Sohoni-Hamsanandi pairs were sung so that they could understand the formulaic approach and express great appreciation of a glorious (and, in their opinion, a thousand-year-old!) tradition that was upheld by the artists. If it deviates from that pattern, no matter how carefully the concert had been crafted, they bring their preconceived notions to their reviews and trash the concert.
Add to this the fact that their wives usually tell them to make their own coffee, their daughters not only refuse to come to the concert to "absorb" Indian culture but are mall-hopping in scandalous clothes with friends that they don't approve of, and various other pressures of living in a highly decadent society such as not being able to openly peruse Penthouse and Hustler magazines. And that even their dogs don't come when they call.
We need to make allowances for all this and discount their remarks.
After all, people of similar mentality are known to have called Indira Nooyi "the Pepsi lady" as if she was hawking soft drinks at a football stadium... except that Indira Nooyi was listed among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine whereas these people are not sure whether they will still have their jobs come Monday morning.
In my opinion, Shashikiran should not have responded and taken the attitude that the Sun is not bothered by dogs barking at it.
The Natives of India, much like the Bourbons of France, learn nothing and forget nothing.
If a jugalbandhi concert is held, they hark back to the very first jugalbandhi that they might have heard or heard of and that is what they expect to hear.
They would have rated the concert highly if the Yaman-Kalyani, Malkauns-Hindolam, Bhoop-Mohanam, Sohoni-Hamsanandi pairs were sung so that they could understand the formulaic approach and express great appreciation of a glorious (and, in their opinion, a thousand-year-old!) tradition that was upheld by the artists. If it deviates from that pattern, no matter how carefully the concert had been crafted, they bring their preconceived notions to their reviews and trash the concert.
Add to this the fact that their wives usually tell them to make their own coffee, their daughters not only refuse to come to the concert to "absorb" Indian culture but are mall-hopping in scandalous clothes with friends that they don't approve of, and various other pressures of living in a highly decadent society such as not being able to openly peruse Penthouse and Hustler magazines. And that even their dogs don't come when they call.
We need to make allowances for all this and discount their remarks.
After all, people of similar mentality are known to have called Indira Nooyi "the Pepsi lady" as if she was hawking soft drinks at a football stadium... except that Indira Nooyi was listed among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine whereas these people are not sure whether they will still have their jobs come Monday morning.
In my opinion, Shashikiran should not have responded and taken the attitude that the Sun is not bothered by dogs barking at it.
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bhaktha
- Posts: 323
- Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 23:02
In cheap taste and most inappropriateblowhard747 wrote:Add to this the fact that their wives usually tell them to make their own coffee, their daughters not only refuse to come to the concert to "absorb" Indian culture but are mall-hopping in scandalous clothes with friends that they don't approve of, and various other pressures of living in a highly decadent society such as not being able to openly peruse Penthouse and Hustler magazines. And that even their dogs don't come when they call.
. I request the mods to take appropriate action.-bhaktha
Last edited by bhaktha on 21 May 2007, 14:18, edited 1 time in total.
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coolkapali
- Posts: 179
- Joined: 03 May 2007, 14:32
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Ragjay
- Posts: 208
- Joined: 12 Oct 2006, 17:10
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coolkapali
- Posts: 179
- Joined: 03 May 2007, 14:32
U can be critical........but u cannot be offensive......there is a clear demarcation there.
Last edited by coolkapali on 21 May 2007, 16:02, edited 1 time in total.
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rrao13
- Posts: 88
- Joined: 02 Aug 2006, 21:01
Dear Shashikiran: You have written very well and very appropriately. Thank you. We need people like to further the interests of Karntik Music in USA/elsewhere. I attended a concert yesterday (5/20/07) in Flint, Michigan which featured you and Ganesh. At the beginning it was kind of average to OK but from Shankari Neeve (Begada) onwards it was superlative. Your RTP was out of the ballpark. Absolutely superb. I could really feel the music charging up the audience. Sorry that it was not a big turnout but you did a splendid job and I thank you and your team from the bottom of my heart. Sincerely, Raghu.
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naaree
- Posts: 95
- Joined: 03 Feb 2006, 08:15
They always do, regardless of the turn out....110% effort...always...rrao13 wrote:Dear Shashikiran: You have written very well and very appropriately. Thank you. We need people like to further the interests of Karntik Music in USA/elsewhere. I attended a concert yesterday (5/20/07) in Flint, Michigan which featured you and Ganesh. At the beginning it was kind of average to OK but from Shankari Neeve (Begada) onwards it was superlative. Your RTP was out of the ballpark. Absolutely superb. I could really feel the music charging up the audience. Sorry that it was not a big turnout but you did a splendid job and I thank you and your team from the bottom of my heart. Sincerely, Raghu.
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mahakavi
Some of the reviews of the reviewer use abusive words while being supportive of the artiste. The artiste himself (very magnanimously, I might say) did not take any serious exception to the review. "mall-hopping", "coffeee making" "dogs not responding" and "dog barking at the Sun" are quite uncalled-for remarks --designed to denigrate the reviewer at a personal level. The review can be criticized in decent language but not through verbal attacks a la the episode of attacks on Subbudu at the MA way back when Subbudu criticized SSI concert. Pathetic, to say the least!
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pallavi.pr
- Posts: 83
- Joined: 05 Mar 2007, 17:32
sangithaRAsika
Are you a performer or do you teach music?
Are you a performer or do you teach music?
Last edited by pallavi.pr on 22 May 2007, 11:37, edited 1 time in total.
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mohan
- Posts: 2808
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52
pallavi.pr - it shoudn't matter if sangitharasika is a performer or a teacher, he/she is someone who attended the concert and who wasn't pleased with what he heard. Everyone can have their opinion.
Last year I went to a jugalbandhi concert featuring N. Ramani and N. Rajam. They seemed to have largely adopted the same approach as the concert in review. One Carnatic piece was played then a Hindustani piece was played in the equivalent raga. There was little interaction between the two and hence the jugalbandhi concept didn't work well. It was evident that there had been little planning or practice.
I can sympathise with the artistes when they are given many requests but as professionals they should not only listen to the organisers. They must gauge the audience, and the over all balance of the concert - even more so when the concert is a jugalbandhi.
Such concerts need a lot of co-ordination and practice. The Hindustani artistes need to learn Carnatic pieces that are played otherwise it is easier to just play a detailed RTP with some kalpana swaram. The main artistes from both systems need to be involved in the concert throughout.
One of the best jugalbandhis combinations I have heard was between Kalpana Venkat (violin) and B. Sivaramakrishna Rao sitar.
Last year I went to a jugalbandhi concert featuring N. Ramani and N. Rajam. They seemed to have largely adopted the same approach as the concert in review. One Carnatic piece was played then a Hindustani piece was played in the equivalent raga. There was little interaction between the two and hence the jugalbandhi concept didn't work well. It was evident that there had been little planning or practice.
I can sympathise with the artistes when they are given many requests but as professionals they should not only listen to the organisers. They must gauge the audience, and the over all balance of the concert - even more so when the concert is a jugalbandhi.
Such concerts need a lot of co-ordination and practice. The Hindustani artistes need to learn Carnatic pieces that are played otherwise it is easier to just play a detailed RTP with some kalpana swaram. The main artistes from both systems need to be involved in the concert throughout.
One of the best jugalbandhis combinations I have heard was between Kalpana Venkat (violin) and B. Sivaramakrishna Rao sitar.
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raja
- Posts: 24
- Joined: 20 Dec 2006, 22:51
I am one of the committee members who organized this concert, and just caught up with this thread. Don’t mean to dig up old news…but would like to respond to some of the earlier remarks.
First, I believe the Brothers did really attempt to present something new and different from the usual jugalbandhi formats. I think one problem was that the audience had something different in mind going into the concert. For one thing there was an expectation that the two styles would be tightly integrated and woven into each and every piece, as is done in traditional jugalbandhi presentations. The Brothers were trying to do something different, presenting both karnatic and Hindustani pieces in their respective wholesome, uncompromised forms. But this format ended up coming across to many as if each artiste just sat down and did their thing in isolation and did not coordinate much with each other. A more elaborate introduction to the format and its rationale may have helped (re)set expectations.
There was a comment by sangitarasika about balance. If you go by the clock, more time was spent on the karnatic than Hindustani side. Also most of the dual-pieces were started by a karnatic krithi followed by a Hindustani piece, and very little vice versa. So one could easily walk away with an impression of more weightage given to the karnatic style. However I do not believe this came out of any deliberate intent to have one style dominate over another...(if so why even bother with a jugalbandhi?)...I might give the benefit of doubt to the artistes, whose mood that day may have dictated their respective roles and degree of involvement. A performance on another day might have played out a different balance.
There was a comment by sangitarasika about diction. It is true that the lyrics were hard to follow that day. Interestingly, the day before the Brothers performed a small karnatic concert at a private house party in a small chamber-like setting. The lyrics came out quite clearly that day - so acoustics/ambiance have evidently played some role.
Another issue that was raised is handling requests by organizers/rasikas. I totally agree organizers should not wield their position to impose their own requests on artistes. However, artistes frequently try to get a pulse for the local audience from the organizers - which I think is perfectly reasonable. For this concert, Sri Shashikiran did ask me and other rasikas for raga choices (he was asking us as music enthusiasts, not as organizers), and was kind enough to entertain several of them. I would not have been the least bit disappointed if he chose to handle a different set of ragas. It is ultimately up to the artiste as to how receptive he/she wishes to be towards requests and how to incorporate them into an appropriate presentation.
On the percussion side, I have great respect for Sri Murugabhupathy, and hearing Sri Gourishankar for the first time, I felt he was also an accomplished tabla player in his own right. However coordination between the two could have been better. The RTP fell squarely within the realms of karnatic music (by design), thus it was incumbent on the karnatic musicians to acquaint their Hindustani colleagues to a format they are not intimately familiar with. The tabalchi had some difficulty with the ½ idam eduppu, and did not seem familiar – or oriented – with mohra and korvai during the thani, which resulted in an unsynchronized finale. I am not an expert on Hindustani percussion…but I don’t believe they have exact equivalents of these constructs, so I perfectly understand their predicament, and would not expect the synchrony to happen without adequate rehearsal.
I agree with S'rasika's remark about the Brothers' frequent conversations on stage while the Hindustani artistes were performing - this was a bit awkward and distracting, and I'm not sure what prompted it. In the reverse situation, the Hindustani artistes were fully absorbed while their peers were performing.
Sri Sashikiran mentioned the tone of the chitraveena did not sound right. However to me, the few minutes that Ganesh played were very pleasant - I really did wish he had played more, as the chitraveena would have lent more variety than a second voice.
One point that might add context to some of the strong emotions expressed earlier...there is a sentiment amongst a few of the Rochester rasikas that being a small town, there is a tendency for musicians to discount the audience and not treat this venue as seriously as the big cities. I really do not believe this was the case with Carnatica Brothers... In fact, au contraire, I think most artistes quickly find out that our audience, while small in number, is very discerning and engaged, thus making the performance a gratifying experience for all.
In sum, this was a new kind of experiment, and anyone involved in experimental science knows that it is a higher risk proposition when compared to following the known, beaten path. If the Carnatica Brothers do present this format in the future, hopefully some of the feedback in this thread will be constructive. My own critique comes with respect for the artistes, as well as an immense appreciation of what it takes to deliver a successful performance in a system of music where innumerable factors come into play “at that momentâ€
First, I believe the Brothers did really attempt to present something new and different from the usual jugalbandhi formats. I think one problem was that the audience had something different in mind going into the concert. For one thing there was an expectation that the two styles would be tightly integrated and woven into each and every piece, as is done in traditional jugalbandhi presentations. The Brothers were trying to do something different, presenting both karnatic and Hindustani pieces in their respective wholesome, uncompromised forms. But this format ended up coming across to many as if each artiste just sat down and did their thing in isolation and did not coordinate much with each other. A more elaborate introduction to the format and its rationale may have helped (re)set expectations.
There was a comment by sangitarasika about balance. If you go by the clock, more time was spent on the karnatic than Hindustani side. Also most of the dual-pieces were started by a karnatic krithi followed by a Hindustani piece, and very little vice versa. So one could easily walk away with an impression of more weightage given to the karnatic style. However I do not believe this came out of any deliberate intent to have one style dominate over another...(if so why even bother with a jugalbandhi?)...I might give the benefit of doubt to the artistes, whose mood that day may have dictated their respective roles and degree of involvement. A performance on another day might have played out a different balance.
There was a comment by sangitarasika about diction. It is true that the lyrics were hard to follow that day. Interestingly, the day before the Brothers performed a small karnatic concert at a private house party in a small chamber-like setting. The lyrics came out quite clearly that day - so acoustics/ambiance have evidently played some role.
Another issue that was raised is handling requests by organizers/rasikas. I totally agree organizers should not wield their position to impose their own requests on artistes. However, artistes frequently try to get a pulse for the local audience from the organizers - which I think is perfectly reasonable. For this concert, Sri Shashikiran did ask me and other rasikas for raga choices (he was asking us as music enthusiasts, not as organizers), and was kind enough to entertain several of them. I would not have been the least bit disappointed if he chose to handle a different set of ragas. It is ultimately up to the artiste as to how receptive he/she wishes to be towards requests and how to incorporate them into an appropriate presentation.
On the percussion side, I have great respect for Sri Murugabhupathy, and hearing Sri Gourishankar for the first time, I felt he was also an accomplished tabla player in his own right. However coordination between the two could have been better. The RTP fell squarely within the realms of karnatic music (by design), thus it was incumbent on the karnatic musicians to acquaint their Hindustani colleagues to a format they are not intimately familiar with. The tabalchi had some difficulty with the ½ idam eduppu, and did not seem familiar – or oriented – with mohra and korvai during the thani, which resulted in an unsynchronized finale. I am not an expert on Hindustani percussion…but I don’t believe they have exact equivalents of these constructs, so I perfectly understand their predicament, and would not expect the synchrony to happen without adequate rehearsal.
I agree with S'rasika's remark about the Brothers' frequent conversations on stage while the Hindustani artistes were performing - this was a bit awkward and distracting, and I'm not sure what prompted it. In the reverse situation, the Hindustani artistes were fully absorbed while their peers were performing.
Sri Sashikiran mentioned the tone of the chitraveena did not sound right. However to me, the few minutes that Ganesh played were very pleasant - I really did wish he had played more, as the chitraveena would have lent more variety than a second voice.
One point that might add context to some of the strong emotions expressed earlier...there is a sentiment amongst a few of the Rochester rasikas that being a small town, there is a tendency for musicians to discount the audience and not treat this venue as seriously as the big cities. I really do not believe this was the case with Carnatica Brothers... In fact, au contraire, I think most artistes quickly find out that our audience, while small in number, is very discerning and engaged, thus making the performance a gratifying experience for all.
In sum, this was a new kind of experiment, and anyone involved in experimental science knows that it is a higher risk proposition when compared to following the known, beaten path. If the Carnatica Brothers do present this format in the future, hopefully some of the feedback in this thread will be constructive. My own critique comes with respect for the artistes, as well as an immense appreciation of what it takes to deliver a successful performance in a system of music where innumerable factors come into play “at that momentâ€
Last edited by raja on 30 May 2007, 03:52, edited 1 time in total.
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sangitaRasika
- Posts: 14
- Joined: 19 May 2007, 00:22
Thanks Raja. Good to hear the organizers' perspective. It is too bad that some feelings got hurt in this process of reviewing.
We cannot iterate enough and we all know how very difficult it is to learn, perform, perfect any art. Nevertheless, it is hard to impress the audience, these days.
It seems that favorably written reviews in flamboyant language - as a form of advertisement, in the guise of encouragement - are in abundance. But, general trend seems to be that when a favorable review comes, no one questions how knowledgeable the reviewer is, but when a non-favorable review comes by, everyone starts questioning the knowledge, ethics, personal life etc, of the reviewer.
In my humble opinion, performers need to make EXTRA effort to connect with the audience, more so outside of India.
We cannot iterate enough and we all know how very difficult it is to learn, perform, perfect any art. Nevertheless, it is hard to impress the audience, these days.
It seems that favorably written reviews in flamboyant language - as a form of advertisement, in the guise of encouragement - are in abundance. But, general trend seems to be that when a favorable review comes, no one questions how knowledgeable the reviewer is, but when a non-favorable review comes by, everyone starts questioning the knowledge, ethics, personal life etc, of the reviewer.
In my humble opinion, performers need to make EXTRA effort to connect with the audience, more so outside of India.
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mahakavi
sangitaRasika:sangitaRasika wrote:It seems that favorably written reviews in flamboyant language - as a form of advertisement, in the guise of encouragement - are in abundance. But, general trend seems to be that when a favorable review comes, no one questions how knowledgeable the reviewer is, but when a non-favorable review comes by, everyone starts questioning the knowledge, ethics, personal life etc, of the reviewer.
In my humble opinion, performers need to make EXTRA effort to connect with the audience, more so outside of India.
I would have said very much the same thing. Somehow it appears that every performance has to be praised--come what may. In tennis, the best player gets beaten by someone way down the totempole (as it happened in the French Open yesterday when the unknown Russian player Andreev squarely beat Andy Roddick, rated #3, in four sets) and the sports journalists ask the best player some embarassing questions as to what happened. What happened? He got beaten--that is it. Likewise even good/reputable musicians have off-days--either due to change of weather, delay due to travel, poor planning/coordination, or just plainly they do not exhibit their mettle on that day. When a reviewer (although not in the cadre of Subbudu) points it out others have to take it in stride or just offer a rebuttal countering the original reviewer without animosity as a few have done in this thread.
Questioning the credentials of the reviwer without countering any flaw in the review does not pass muster.
Last edited by mahakavi on 30 May 2007, 20:11, edited 1 time in total.
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arasi
- Posts: 16873
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
sangitaRasika,
I agree with you that the effort on part of the artistes to reach the level of proficiency that would make them win over rasikAs is not an easy one.
However, the reviewers are a different cup of tea. They come in all varieties. To start with, there are neither schools that train rasikAs and reviewers, nor are all knowledgeable rasikAs willing to write reviews. It helps a great deal if the reviewer is an expert on music. On the other hand, his knowledge itself can be an impediment in the case of young performers for example, who need encouragement; and an expert may not be able to excercise his rasanA as much as he wants to, because of his superior knowledge. What I am trying to say is that eventually, it is rasikAs who matter most. And we are all at different levels of musical experience. As much as we love to listen to lecture & demonstrations to educate ourselves about CM, we as rasikAs are more about listening to concerts which is beyond theory and is all about experiencing music. I am not conscious of a blue print or the skeletal structure of a new home when I enter it. It is the house that I experience. Having said that, there is a reason I am reluctant to write reviews--I lack the knowledge that many others possess. However, there are many among the audience who are like me, and some others whose knowledge is lesser than mine. There is room for all to enjoy the music and discuss it.
Any rasika is a reviewer. Just listen to crowds coming out of a concert! What is seen in print is read by those who went to the concert too, to see how the critic reacted to the experience. Others read it to get an idea about the concert they did not attend.
As for our regular reviewers, I love reading all their reviews. Their expertise lies in various areas. Their levels of response and the emotional quality of it all varies. There is something new--either in the knowledge or musical feeling of theirs that I learn from. And, none of them went to a reviewers school, and it is fine by me. Moreover, as you keep reading them, you would find that the 'not much relished' bits of their impressions blend in with the complimentary ones, since they are all for the betterment of the health of CM. They love CM dearly and what could be more positive? Of course, once in a blue moon, 'a personally I don't like this performer' feeling can show up in a review (not among our AsthAna reviewers, I add).
Just as there will be performers, ther will be reviewers too, and ours are one of the best bunch...
I agree with you that the effort on part of the artistes to reach the level of proficiency that would make them win over rasikAs is not an easy one.
However, the reviewers are a different cup of tea. They come in all varieties. To start with, there are neither schools that train rasikAs and reviewers, nor are all knowledgeable rasikAs willing to write reviews. It helps a great deal if the reviewer is an expert on music. On the other hand, his knowledge itself can be an impediment in the case of young performers for example, who need encouragement; and an expert may not be able to excercise his rasanA as much as he wants to, because of his superior knowledge. What I am trying to say is that eventually, it is rasikAs who matter most. And we are all at different levels of musical experience. As much as we love to listen to lecture & demonstrations to educate ourselves about CM, we as rasikAs are more about listening to concerts which is beyond theory and is all about experiencing music. I am not conscious of a blue print or the skeletal structure of a new home when I enter it. It is the house that I experience. Having said that, there is a reason I am reluctant to write reviews--I lack the knowledge that many others possess. However, there are many among the audience who are like me, and some others whose knowledge is lesser than mine. There is room for all to enjoy the music and discuss it.
Any rasika is a reviewer. Just listen to crowds coming out of a concert! What is seen in print is read by those who went to the concert too, to see how the critic reacted to the experience. Others read it to get an idea about the concert they did not attend.
As for our regular reviewers, I love reading all their reviews. Their expertise lies in various areas. Their levels of response and the emotional quality of it all varies. There is something new--either in the knowledge or musical feeling of theirs that I learn from. And, none of them went to a reviewers school, and it is fine by me. Moreover, as you keep reading them, you would find that the 'not much relished' bits of their impressions blend in with the complimentary ones, since they are all for the betterment of the health of CM. They love CM dearly and what could be more positive? Of course, once in a blue moon, 'a personally I don't like this performer' feeling can show up in a review (not among our AsthAna reviewers, I add).
Just as there will be performers, ther will be reviewers too, and ours are one of the best bunch...
Last edited by arasi on 30 May 2007, 21:20, edited 1 time in total.
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
Arasi, the Kalinga frequenter shall bare his bodkin as soon as his mortal coil recovers from the whips and scorns of the northern snows....Beware, for the Day of the Narthanam is neigh!
Now, if only my leech of a pen could find some artistes to prey on...Spring seems such a distant memory - a fleeting mirage on the Marina's torrid sands...
Now, if only my leech of a pen could find some artistes to prey on...Spring seems such a distant memory - a fleeting mirage on the Marina's torrid sands...
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saptaswara
- Posts: 4
- Joined: 08 May 2007, 02:16
Raja,thanks for your comments.It doesnt matter to me if you find my review opposing or supportive of the artists.But it was a good jugalbandi concert.Thanks for organizing such a unique concert.BTW I am not new to Rochester but I was new only to your venue.
PS Sapthaswara: Your review was a good reminder to all that it is possible to have very different (even opposing) percepts of the same reality - such is the nature of a subjective artform. Just one remark- perhaps you are new to the Rochester venue - but we give a standing ovation to EVERY artiste who performs at our venue…it is the least respect we can give to the performers.
Raja,you as an organizer along with other organizers give standing ovation for EVERY Artist irrespective of whether their performance was good or bad.That may be the trend in your venue in Rochester but not everywhere.
But WE non organizers gave a standing ovation for Carnatica Brothers & the Hindustani artists based on their performance.
Likewise I have witnessed Carnatica Bros getting a standing ovation in all their concerts(6-7 concerts) I attended this tour.Non organizers outnumbered the organizers in all these venues including in your venue.
PS Sapthaswara: Your review was a good reminder to all that it is possible to have very different (even opposing) percepts of the same reality - such is the nature of a subjective artform. Just one remark- perhaps you are new to the Rochester venue - but we give a standing ovation to EVERY artiste who performs at our venue…it is the least respect we can give to the performers.
Raja,you as an organizer along with other organizers give standing ovation for EVERY Artist irrespective of whether their performance was good or bad.That may be the trend in your venue in Rochester but not everywhere.
But WE non organizers gave a standing ovation for Carnatica Brothers & the Hindustani artists based on their performance.
Likewise I have witnessed Carnatica Bros getting a standing ovation in all their concerts(6-7 concerts) I attended this tour.Non organizers outnumbered the organizers in all these venues including in your venue.
Last edited by saptaswara on 01 Jun 2007, 03:33, edited 1 time in total.
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raja
- Posts: 24
- Joined: 20 Dec 2006, 22:51
Sapthaswara, I am very glad that you enjoyed this concert....after all it is gratifying to the artistes and the organizers when they see rasikas enjoy the program they have taken the trouble to put forth. Seeing a negative review is no fun for the artiste or organizer or rasika. We all know that no artiste intends to disappoint his/her audience. But such is the nature of any artistic performance -especially one involving as much spontaneity and uncertainty as our music...and we have to take it in stride.
My comment about ovations was coming from "us the rasikas". I do not make distinctions between organizers and non-organizers when it comes to how an audience expresses its appreciation to the artistes. To me, an organizer is merely a "behind-the-scenes" volunteer working towards the cause of bringing an artform to the community. He is not entitled to dictate audience dynamics during/after the performance, or to shape the concert to his personal taste.
My comment about ovations was coming from "us the rasikas". I do not make distinctions between organizers and non-organizers when it comes to how an audience expresses its appreciation to the artistes. To me, an organizer is merely a "behind-the-scenes" volunteer working towards the cause of bringing an artform to the community. He is not entitled to dictate audience dynamics during/after the performance, or to shape the concert to his personal taste.
Last edited by raja on 01 Jun 2007, 16:53, edited 1 time in total.
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thanjavooran
- Posts: 3038
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44
an article in hindu pertaining to jugalbandhi is quite interesting.
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/11/23/stor ... 530300.htm
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/11/23/stor ... 530300.htm