Concert Attendance Report

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 24 Jul 2009, 22:26

I felt a vibe that many members feel that they are not qualified to write full fledged reviews of concerts. They may find it cumbersome to open a new thread for just a few sentences. I have created this thread where members can post a report of their attendance at a concert. It can contain the event details ( Who, What, where ) along with some brief comments about the concert. You can post a full or partial song or raga list as well, if you have it. Though follow up comments to the member's post are encouraged, if it gets to be a lot, we will move them to its own thread.

If the attendee has a lot of things to say about the concert, it is probably better to open a separate topic so any discussion of the concert can be conducted there.

I anticipate that after writing 'Reports', some members will feel confident enough to write 'Reviews'.
Those members who usually write reviews, please do not post in this thread, do the usual thing of opening up a new topic for that concert.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Jul 2009, 23:29

I think it is a good idea.

During last season we had a "twitter" thread in which people shared their plans and concerts attended. Sometimes just a short note that a concert was seen can bring forth further comment from someone else who was there.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 25 Jul 2009, 02:40

Good idea. Thanks, VK.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 25 Jul 2009, 02:54

I second the idea

sivakami · Post by **sivakami** » 01 Aug 2009, 00:48

Vocal concert held under the auspices of Kalasagaram Hyderabad at Keyes High School recently

Shyamkumar K -vocal
Dinakar-violin
DSR Murthy -mridangam
Radha Padmaja- Morsing

1. Sarasuda -saveri varnam
2. Swaminatha paripalaya - nATai
3. aTu kArAdani- manOranjani
4. sarasIruha nayanE-: amritavarshiNi
5. mAyaMA ani ne - Ahiri
6. sudhA mAdhurya bhASaNa -sindu rAmakriyA
7. annapUrNE- sAmA
8. idi nyAyamA - mALavi
9. mAmava mInAkSi - varAli
10. tunga thEra virAjam - yamunA kalyANi
11. gopi gopAla bAla - gamanAsrama
12. neneTu sahinchune -(preceded by a bhajan: vanamAli radha ramaNA)
13. gangAdhEswaram sankaram - sindhu bhairavi
14. mangaLam
It was a monthly program by the organizers. The budding vocalist K. Shyamkumar, is popular among the rasikas of the twin cities as a kanjira & mridangam player. It was interesting to see him perform also a vocal concert. I went in when the item #4, amritavarshini alapana was on. This was apt for the dry weather prevailing here - there was a slight drizzle towards the end of the concert.... This kriti was rendered well, with the neraval at "vara dAyaki amrtavarshiNi"

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 26 Aug 2009, 07:33

25 August 2009 --- T V Sankaranarayanan gave a spirited and enjoyable concert at Sastri Hall.

Vocal support -- ?
Violin -- M Chandrasekaran
Mridangam -- Srimushnan Raja Rao
Ghatam -- T V Vasan

This was an "event" concert, marking the birth day of Dr. T. V. Kuppuswamy so speeches were in order, and SRR, TVS, and MC each spoke for a few minutes before the concert started. They spoke in Tamil, so I am none the wiser about the event. The duration of the speeches seemed perfectly acceptable.

I haven't seen TVS sing for ages, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

His support artist has a terrific voice. He has the habit of singing about two inches too close to the mic, which is strain to the soundsystem, and, of course, this was not adjusted for. A minor quibble!

M C's violin was, as perfect as ever. I wish I understood why he caused laughter from the audience at one point during his alapana reply to the main piece --- but I guess that there are many cultural/musical allusions that may always escape me.

SRR and TVV played excellently, but I would have liked to have heard more of TVV.

My favourite item was the "sub-main" which I found extremely sweet from beginning to end. The main was just a bit boisterous for me! The Thani, however, was excellent.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 26 Aug 2009, 07:49

Nick - vocal support must have been provided by his son Sri Mahadevan.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 26 Aug 2009, 17:40

Thank you, rshankar

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 29 Aug 2009, 09:27

Nick - here is a piece with a picture: http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/08/28/stor ... 240600.htm

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 29 Aug 2009, 10:34

OMG .. missed this concert , thanks to my travel . But as nick said , i dont remember going to a TVS concert in the last 10 months-1 year . But luckily i heard 2 concerts this month ( 15th at PS high school and 16th at krishna gana sabha with uks sir , the review link for which is given by rshankar ) .. The PS high school concert had a fabulous kAmbhOji ( kAna kan kOdi - one of my eternal TVS favourites ) and the KGS concert had a great shankarAbharNam ..

Arvind.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 29 Aug 2009, 12:35

rshankar wrote:Nick - here is a piece with a picture: http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/08/28/stor ... 240600.htm

Just read the review of the hindu:

The hindu reviewers sometimes dont attend the full concert , so usually they just write about few songs they listened and just make a passing mention.Looking at this review by M.V. RAMAKRISHNAN , this appears a more PR exercise than talking about the concert(I dont mind PR being done but that should be a minimum).

There is just one mention of endukku peddala and manasu nilpa. Rest they have just praised in general about UKS , the old MMI -TVS days, worst thing that is happening nowadays is lifting of previous reviews thehindu.com, May 2 and 16, 2008): etc(I do agree for say poochi srinivasa iyengar , one can take from legacy archives, but taking excerpts from just a year back) , kind of wasting the space by putting some excerpts excluding this concert.

While all these exercises will certainly add few fans for the artist, but many would think otherwise. Would be nice if who all write and those collaborate to write work on really doing a good job for ShankaranArayanan.

Incidentally in all the concerts that I had listened in the last 1 or 2 years shri TVS always gives the main alApanai to his son. So this 2 sentence balti of " TVS has been extremely restrained in projecting his sonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s image so far, assigning him only a subsidiary role in his concerts, and expecting the youngster to grow in stature gradually.But MahadevanÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s progress in recent years has been so rapid and impressive that on this occasion, TVS was tempted to throw caution to the winds," has its own share of inconsistency.Out of 14 paragraphs only 3 paragraphs is about the concert.

Incidentally I have heard mahadevan singing with Shri TVS , he is indeed doing a good job.While all these exercises will certainly add few fans for the artist, but many would think otherwise. Would be nice if those who write and collaborate with them do a good job for this young aspiring mahadevan.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 29 Aug 2009, 19:58

Rajesh - you've hit the nail on the head. For the most part, the reviewers either think that the readers are less informed than they are, or they have such a distorted view of themselves, that they feel they should and can get away with anything. There doesn't seem to be any accountability at all. I wonder how many journalists will get to keep their jobs if they get the name of a politician wrong, report incompletely, or incoherently. But many of the 'journalists' who contribute to art reviews are guilty of all three.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE: I still chuckle about a composition that was billed as 'Ananda naTam ADuvadillai in pUrvikalyANi by Nilakanta SIvan' in one of the reviews and I still wonder if there was some direct communication from the Lord to the composer (which was then shared with the reviewer) where-in He expressed his displeasure with pUrvikalyANI and refused to dance to it.

karthikbala · Post by **karthikbala** » 31 Aug 2009, 22:22

rajeshnat wrote: The hindu reviewers sometimes dont attend the full concert , so usually they just write about few songs they listened and just make a passing mention.

I know of one instance of the opposite. The Hindu reviewer was deputed to the concert with instructions to cover only 20 minutes worth (apparently the editor didn't share the enthusiasm for the singer, unlike the 700-odd rasikas who thronged the hall). The reviewer enjoyed the performance so much, he stayed for the entire concert and conscientiously wrote a full review. Alas, only half the review escaped the editorial scissors, leaving non-attendees wondering why the artiste had taken up only two ragas! Let us not be too harsh on reviewers; perhaps they have agendas not of their making.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 31 Aug 2009, 23:40

Good point. Just as artists have sound engineers to contend with, journalists have sub-editors and editors to deal with.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 01 Sep 2009, 07:48

Point well taken, yes at times the hindu reviewer is not at fault, it could be sub editors and editors.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 01 Sep 2009, 08:11

Karthikbala, this is news to me. I don't see the logic behind reviewing part of a concert!

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 01 Sep 2009, 08:27

I do understand reviewing part of a concert when you need to come late and go early for various reasons, but still want to tell others what you thought about it -- maybe so that they'll try to listen to the artists when they perform next. But when the whole concert has been attended why review only two or three items? If space on the paper is constrained, there can still be a briefer but over-all review, highlighting the most important points.

karthikbala · Post by **karthikbala** » 01 Sep 2009, 12:35

bilahari wrote:Karthikbala, this is news to me. I don't see the logic behind reviewing part of a concert!

In their Grand Scheme of things, some artistes are alloted less coverage than others, perhaps to put them in their proper place in the pecking order.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 01 Sep 2009, 12:57

How sad that there's a "grand scheme" even in music reviewing! Nothing is without politics anymore

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 01 Sep 2009, 16:55

bilahari wrote:is without politics anymore

'Anymore'? - I think it was always the case. It is the music and newspaper worlds' interpretation that 'some are more equal than others'!

avyukta · Post by **avyukta** » 01 Sep 2009, 17:14

Even among rasikas, some artists are more equal than others. Some rasikas equate artists with yesteryear celebrities and write pages including the time take by them to sneeze, drink water etc while the same reviewer rasika/rasikas nonchalantly dismisses/dismiss some artistes who are not to their liking. so bias is everywhere.
This earth is not for the meek but for the mighty and aggressive marketers and manipulators. Music is no exception. The top few create a monopolistic competition among themselves and together try all their might to scuttle upcoming artists with perhaps better talents. So especially in review in dailies like The Hindu, reviewers, editors, sub-editors pampered by such mighty manipulators always bring out the bias in them. So one of the routes to the top is swaying the best critics to their advantage. another route appears to be through rasikas in forums like rasikas.org.
so more than music and talent many other factors do make some more equal than others

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 01 Sep 2009, 20:40

avyukta wrote:Even among rasikas, some artists are more equal than others. Some rasikas equate artists with yesteryear celebrities and write pages including the time take by them to sneeze, drink water etc while the same reviewer rasika/rasikas nonchalantly dismisses/dismiss some artistes who are not to their liking. so bias is everywhere.

But the difference is that on rasikas and forums like these, everyone can write about their favorites - an opportunity not available in the usual print media. So, if you feel that some artist has been treated 'less than equally' thus far, feel free to write about them. No one is assigned to write these views/reviews etc., and that is the beauty of a forum like this - so that people like you should feel empowered to right these wrongs. What is incorrect is to expect that the individuals who have hitherto taken the trouble to post to expand on the list of artists they write about - because, as individuals everyone has biases, and they do indulge in them. You should too, as should anyone else (as long as there is nothing derogatory, or unfair comments).

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 01 Sep 2009, 20:44

The rasikAs in the center point of CM - Chennai get the upper hand in reviewing various artists

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 01 Sep 2009, 23:15

nick H wrote:Good point. Just as artists have sound engineers to contend with, journalists have sub-editors and editors to deal with.

But the buck has to stop somewhere! I feel that the artistes should be held responsible for bad sound system settings in the concert hall. Some artistes make it a point to show up early at the venue and with the help of trusted assistants get the sound system fine tuned correctly. It would be good if more of them took this cue and did the same. Similarly for incomplete or truncated reviews, the reviewer should take it up with the editors, because after all it is their name that is placed on top of the review, and it is their reputation that is hurt by cavalier editing.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 02 Sep 2009, 02:09

I'm afraid that that is not how it works in the world of newspapers. If the sub-editor needs to save a quarter of a column inch, the journalist can end up being totally misrepresented!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Sep 2009, 02:51

Here is an imagined scene:

Reviewer to colleagues: Great! Finally I have been asked to write about vidvAn X, the best of them all!
Editor: (Overhearing him): Big Head and Basher are ill. Otherwise, I would not have assigned this concert to you. By the way, you stay exactly for thirty minutes and go on to cover two more concerts. We are terribly short of staff...

Suresh,
I have been to concerts where the performers arrive early, sound system check is done too, and yet there are annoying disturbances during the concert--too much sound, none of it and 'you name it' problems.
There was one such concert where the mrudangist kept asking for mega doses of sound when I started signaling to the sound men shaking my head, gesturing, covering my ears. The mrudangist persisted. I don't know if the sound men were getting fed up with my gestures or they couldn't take the noise themselves--they just ignored looking at the mrudangist and even toned the sound down a little bit. I thanked them with my smile and a salAm. They smiled back. Call it rasikA power. My one time victory!

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 02 Sep 2009, 09:53

arasi wrote: Big Head and Basher are ill.

LOL!

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 02 Sep 2009, 10:35

nick H,

I don't fully agree. If a sub-editor decides in advance how much space can be given, the journalist should be able to write appropriately. For example, in our own forum we have people like rbharath who write hardly a line or two (apart from the list) and people like bilahari who write pages and pages. A journalist should be able to do both. (But policies like reviewing 20 minutes of a concert are ludicrous! The journalist should strike!

)

Analogously, an artist should be able to arrive at reasonably good settings if the venue is available only five minutes in advance, and at the same time be able to set the sound system to surgical precision if a whole hour is available.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 02 Sep 2009, 14:42

Srikant, I have to force my memory back 40 years, to what I was knew a little of as a child, when my father was a newspaper editor (he retired in 1967). The author may be asked to write so many hundred words to fit in with the page plan, but the final layout may well include further cuts, and they may not pay a great deal of attention to content, or even, sometimes, sense! In the newspaper world, a writer has no control at all over his copy once it is out of his hands, and, if he doesn't like what happens, well, journalism is a field with a huge queue of aspirants!

Analogously, an artist should be able to arrive at reasonably good settings if the venue is available only five minutes in advance, and at the same time be able to set the sound system to surgical precision if a whole hour is available.

Unfortunately, what typically happens, even with those artists of good intention who, along with organisers of good intention, take the trouble to do this, is that many of them will sit and hum a few few lines into the microphone.

-- They leave the stage, and return, not necessarily to the same spot. The difference between three inches from the mic and six inches from the mic is substantial in its effect.

-- Our dearest friends, the speech makers, often borrow a mic, quite often the mridangam's, and it will not be returned to the same position.

-- The acoustics of a hall with people are entirely different to an empty hall

-- When the concert starts for real, they get warmed up, and the levels become quite different.

But... this is a topic well covered in other threads, past and future!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 07 Oct 2009, 00:56

I'm still trying to catch up on some of the artists that are spoken of with great respect on this site, but are, as yet, unknown to me.

Tonight I saw Suguna Purushothaman give an RTP concert, accompanied by R. Hemalatha and K R Ganesh.

It was a terrific concert. Just to hear such a long ragam, two turns each, vocal and violin, was a treat. It would be great if someone can post a proper rasika report. I arrived with nerves frazzled after a really dreadful drive which added one more bad scratch to my car. My nerves were put back in working order as soon as the concert began. Wonderful; another great rasikas.org "recommendation"

I'm a confirmed fan of RH, having seen her play maybe five or six times, now. I'm so impressed, not only with her music, but with the way that she adjusts to the character and music of the main artist, and the way she played tonight was brilliant.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Oct 2009, 01:40

Nick,
Your attendance reports are worth reading. I think SP is one of my favorites. She gives me the feeling as though I'm sitting with her in a room and she is singing just for me. Her singing has a calming effect. She knows so much about music and laya and yet she seems so very accessible to a rasikA. No wonder your fraught nerves were calmed. Another thing. jAmbavAn (veteran) that she is in tALams, I was surprised that even when she indulged in complicated kaNakkus, I didn't feel intimidated but was drawn in. Looking forward to hearing her this season...

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 08 Oct 2009, 15:43

She is likely to become one of my favourites too, Arasi.

Before the palavi, she talked to the audience, and it was indeed as if she was talking to family friends in her living room, and there was a lot of laughter. Of course, I didn't understand --- and I didn't have my personal Tamil stenographer with me.

I was told that the raga for the RTP was the 72nd melakarta raga. As you know, I cannot comment on raga with any knowledge, but it had, to my ear, an unusual sound, with a flavour that sometimes made me think of jazz or blues.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 15 Oct 2009, 23:53

I am delighted to say that, today, I did not miss the announcement, and got to see Saswati Sen dance, in the presence of her great guru, Pandit Birju Maharaj, and, for one small finale, to his tabla accompaniment.

There was a presentation made to Pt. Birju Maharaj in the first part of the program, and a short kathak performance by Saswati in the second half.

Usually, I would consider driving, from home, into the city, twice in one day as something just not to be done, but the sight of those two names, Maharaj and Sen, made my evening trip as vital as my unavoidable morning errand. Expecting a packed hall, I put on my "cab driver" personality, and worked hard to arrive at the venue a good ten minutes early.

I arrived to an empty car park and a very sparce audience.

The proceedings started half an hour late, and audience numbers filled out a bit, but Kathak doesn't seem to have a a great following here. Whilst the performance was well received, there was a certain hesitancy in the audience, a certain feeling of not being sure, and not wanting to be caught clapping in the wrong place. I confess to feeling that myself once or twice.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 29 Oct 2009, 07:54

Richmond has published the song list of suryaprakash's last week concert
http://www.richmondrasikas.org/

I am particularly interested in review of his houston concert on Nov 1st,2009 as it is madurai mani iyer foundation one. This week Friday and Sat (oct 30 and 31st), performing in rochester and buffalo in upstate Newyork.

Enna_Solven · Post by **Enna_Solven** » 09 Nov 2009, 09:15

Austin, TX - November 8, 2009

An excellent concert by Sanjay Subrahmanyan, S. Varadarajan and Neyveli B. Venkatesh

1. calamu seya - hindOlam (It smelled like hindOlam, so it should be; but I may be wrong)
2. sri parvati paramAdvaita sivE - Sri
3. anudinamunu kAvumayya - begada
4. bhOgIndra sAyinam - kunthalavarAli (rAgam - beautiful)
5. kAmakshi ambA - bhairavi
6. murugA muzhumadhi pazhikkum - sAvEri (RNS) During the neraval, he dwelt on just three notes - MPD - for about five minutes. Though it was good, I lost the feeling of sAvEri during this time.
7. niravadhi sukhadA - ravichandrikA
8. enna rakshisO (subha panthuvarali?)
9. RTP - Jonpuri, palavi: eppO varuvArO followed by full krithi! I could identify only pahadi in the pallavi.
10. vishaveshwar - sindhubhairavi
11. viruttam: kundram Endhi kuLir mazhai (kambhOji), UrilE kANiyillai (kApi), jAnati rAma (mAnd) followed by rAmani bhajittAl - mAnd
12. mangaLam - pavamana.

The concert lasted a little over 3 hours, but it was too short! He was still in full flow but the organizer called time

Concerts like this make our year! (Envy the people in chennai who get to listen to Sanjay every so often.) The sAveri main was fantastic. Kunthalavarali was beautiful. Varadarajan & Venkatesh accompanied excellently.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 04 Dec 2009, 00:05

Narada Gana Sabha, 3rd December 2009

Prema Rangarajan, Padma Shankar, J Balaji, A Murali.

A stunning concert, which I hope someone will review. Prema Rangarajan floated through the concert, with equally beautiful music from Padma Shankar. Balaji provided utterly sparkling accompaniment.

I had to move away from four chattering old men. Gentlemen: Although younger than you, I am deaf too; I understand you cannot hear whispers, because I can't either, so how about passing each other notes instead of shouting, eh?

Anyway, a very minor irritation in a wonderful concert. I could not believe that nearly two hours had passed when I looked at my watch.

My first concert of December 2009 --- and a wonderful start

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 06 Dec 2009, 22:18

I just came from a concert of Vidwan Palladam Venkataramana Rao, who gave a scintillating concert on Harmonium and supported on second Harmonium by his grand son Mstr Krishna Prasad s/o Flute Vidwan Prapancham Balachandar. They were enhanced by Ms Bharathi d/o Violin Maestro Vidwan M. Chandrasekaran and Sri Poongulam Ramakrishnan.

The highlight was that this was a mike less chamber concert organised by Sath Guru Gana Nilayam run by Sri Govindarajan, a Mrudhanga Vidwan from 1952. When i entered the hall Sri Palladam was performing a Thyagaraja krithi RamaBakthi in Suddha Bangla followed by a great presentation of Denuka with the krithi Theliyaledhu Rama. He then went on to perform a elobarate Kannada Gowla aalapana followed by the krith Sogasujuda Tharama.

All this while Mstr. Krishna Prasad was accompanying his grand father and came to the focus after a wonderful presentation of Kalyani Raaga aalapana from Sri Palladam ji and Smt. G. Bharathi. It was really commandable on the part of this young artist to first of all attempt to perform the Kalyani aalapana after the entire structure was almost exhausted by two senior musicians. Yet Mstr Krishna Prasad gave a excellent presentation and drew a special applause for his efforts. Palladam ji caught on to Thanam presentation after announcing that, "I am only trying to bring the best on this instrument with all the limitations it has and known to the world". However Sri Chandrasekharan sir immediately said, "you have brought the best already". It was seconded by Sri Saranathan who said,"If this was just trying how great best could be!". Well i thought Sri Palladam Venkataramana Rao has done the best possible on a harmonium like the other great vidwans on Flute, Violin, Mandolin, Veena and other melody instruments have managed to achieve. It was so good but feel sad that this great artiste has not been taken care by the Music field in the right way with due recognition, just because it was probably banned by "AIR".

The kalyani raaga aalapana was followed by his raagamalika thanam presentation with highlight of Sahana & Saveri. PVR ji brought indeed the best and was applauded by MC sir many times and at the end of the concert he openly praised his great efforts on the Kannada Gowla ragam and krithi presentation. Sri Poongulam Ramakrishnan was great in his efforts and enhanced the concert in the best way possible with a crisp thani for the krithi Nithichala Sukama set to Misra Chapu. Later the krithi Karunaideivame Karapace was presented by Krishna Prasad and here he showed what great a material he is and i pray Almighty that this child gets the due recognition and with his focus, achieve great laurels which probably did not get attached to his grand father!

A soulful evening with a great music to the ears and lots of satisfaction - Mana Nimmadhi. I pray Almighty to get the due right recognition to the artist and instrument soon and it is indeed a fact that years before Carnatic / Karnatic music learners actually had started off with harmonium as the sruthi and even today many of our leading artists knows to perform the instrument. Still the fact today is that this is kind of neglected instrument and requires urgent attention and patronage.

I wanted to write on Ms Sharadha Mohan and Ms Sriranjani Santhanagopaln's concerts i attended yesterday at Pethachi Auditorium which i will do it tmrw.

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 06 Dec 2009, 23:14

Just came from a concert by R.K.Srikantan(Sriramkumar/Raja Rao/Kanjira player not known-apologies!) @ the Asthika Samajam under the auspices of the Guruvayoor Durai Foundation.
Concert started @ 7:40 P.M. preceded by a tedium of speeches(which I managed to miss providentially!! Brief 90 mts concert.Varnam(Sri Ragam),Vinayaka(Hamsadhwani),Manasunilpa(Abhogi),Enthaveduko(Saraswathimanohari),Varamulu(Keeravani) followed by light pieces in Abheri(Dasar nama?), and a piece in Sindhubhairavi. The Tani was in the Keeravani kriti.

The concert was vintage RKS--chaste,strong on fundamentals--sruthi,Kalapramanam,Bhavam etc,balanced with a good sense of proportion..Ramakant gave the vocal support to his father--gave a good account of himself with Keeravani alapana. The fact that at his age(probably in the Mid eighties)RKS was able to maintain the tone and timbre of his voice speaks volumes for his classicism and arduos practice.
Sriramkumar was sowkhyam incarnate and an able 'foil' to RKS and Ramakant in the swaraprasthara exchanges,unfettered by Srimushnam's overlyenthusiatic intrusive playing--heightened by the mike volume and the less-than-ideal acoustics of the Asthika Samajam Hall.
As promised in my follow-up to Kedaram's TNS concert recap,I will continue my crusade against the overbearing mridangam style of playing,notwithstanding the fact that the artistes concerned are very well accomplished and very well known to me personally as well!!Sorry I have listened to too many concerts of Palghat Mani Iyer,Palani Subramania Pillai and C.S.Murughabhoopathi--none of whom "banged" the instrument the way these folks are doing!! I acknowledge all of them are talented and endowed with technical virtuosity,but as the Tamil saying goes--Ponnusiyai irundalum kannai kuthikulla Mudiyadu!!

I think it is about time the artistes listened to us --the listeners -- for a change,in matters of mike volume enhancement!!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Dec 2009, 11:49

R,
Srikantan's music is straight from the treasure chest of classicism.
I am glad you feel the way I do about percussionists sacrificing their mastery at the altar of big sound. The said mrudangist was one of my favorites--until he took to the big bang route. I heard him last year and it seemed as though he was back with his glory in bringing down the sound. It's pity he has reverted to the old ways.

girish_a · Post by **girish_a** » 07 Dec 2009, 20:18

Kind Attn: Sri MKR

Sir, you ought to post your reports in the main Kutcheri review section, because this thread is for lay rasikas who might be hesitant to post a full fledged review for want of technical knowledge. You obviously belong among the more knowledgable folk.

I'm sure your reviews (and observations) in the main review section will spark lively chatter.

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 07 Dec 2009, 21:15

In my post number 37 of this thread i have wrongly mentioned the name of the organiser as Govindarajan instead of Sri Nagai Soundararajan a Mrudhangam artiste. My apology.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 08 Dec 2009, 01:00

Blisteringly great concert from T V Shankarnarayanan.

Whilst all the participants were superb, UKS's mridangam playing deserves special mention.

sivakami · Post by **sivakami** » 09 Dec 2009, 07:54

Hyderabad - 3rd DecemberÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢09
Kalasagaram Annual Festival of Music, Dance & Drama

Enthralling concert by the Malladi Brothers
Sriram Prasad & Ravikumar
M. A. Sundaresan - violin
K. V. Prasad-mridangam
Tiruchi Murali -ghatam

1. karuNimpa idi manci taruNamu - sahaanaa varnam
2. bhuvini dhaasuDanE - shree ranjani
3. ranganaatuDE - sowraashTram
4. pasupathEswaram - subhapanthuvarALi
5. saravana bhava guhane shanmukane
6. panchAshat peeta rUpiNi
7. mari mari vachuna - kAmbhoji(neraval at 'ramuni mahimanemani pogaduthu')
tani avardanam 16-18 min
8. Short RTP in kalyANi,
Pallavi: "dikshita vara syama tyAgarAjam bhaje, sangIta sadgurum sadha"

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 09 Dec 2009, 10:52

I was there at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium on the 5th December'09 at 1pm and listened to Ms. Shraddha Mohan who gave a confident presentation. I say this because while she was singing the power went off and with no sign of panic or hesitation she continued to sing and suddenly the environment turned to be that of a chamber concert - with no mikes. When the power came in also she did not adjust her voice level and so was the enhancement artists namely Sri Rahul on Violin and Sri Parthasarathy on Mrudhangam. Kudos to the team for this.

Shraddha started the concert with Ninne Bajanaseya in Naatai followed with Sattininne in Purvikalyani, a Ponnayapillai Krithi set to Misrachapu. She then sang a fast number Varanaradha in Vijayasri before getting to the detail aalapana of Kamboji for Sriraguvara followed by good niraval and the kalpanaswaram. She is really confident with good bhavam and the diction is also good. I am sure she is one of the artists who will become a quality artists in few years. Sri Rahul was very good on his violin and truly enhanced the concert along with Sri Parthasarathy on Mrudhangam who gave a short but effective thani avarthanam. She finished the concert with a Chandrakowns Dasarkrithi Kandena which was really pleasing to the ears. My best wishes to all the artists featured in this team for a great future.

This concert was followed by Ms Sriranjani, daughter and disciple of Neyveli Santhanagopalan, who began her concert brightly with the Navaragamalika varnam. Blessed with a voice that does her bidding, she then sang 'Sri Shankara Guruvaram', Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer's composition in Nagasvaravali. Rounding off her rendition with brisk svaras - including in the higher speed - she portrayed the exuberance of youth with the confidence that comes with it. Her solid grounding in the Carnatic music tradition was evident in the Lathangi alapana that she took up next. Patnam Subramania Iyer's 'Aparadhamulanniyu' followed, again at a brisk pace and Sriranjani showcased her ability to render long phrases with ease. The neraval was energetic and the svara patterns scintillating.

Thyagaraja's 'Sukhi Evvaro' was the main piece of the recital and the Kanada alapana that preceded the krithi was well structured. I felt, with excellent diction and the effort to pronounce the words correctly, she could be more effective if she renders the sangathis a trifle slower but that will probably come with more experience. Violinist Ragul shone with his excellent essays, the succinct Kanada alapana being the highlight. His sensitive accompaniment was quite reminiscent of his guru, Sangita Kalanidhi M. Chandrasekaran. Kudos to this youngster to adapt to have adopted to two differt school of singers and played his role of being an accompanist in the true spirits. Palakkad Narayanan on the mridangam was supportive and, conscious of time, kept the thani brief. Sriranjani concluded with the Marimutha Pillai song in Behag, 'Innamum our thalam' sung with a lot of bhava.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 13 Dec 2009, 22:31

Today I have been listening to Dr R Hemalatha accompanying.

Actually, I went in the afternoon because it was an RTP concert. Her name on the program was a bonus.

Concert A: RTP concert...

Vocal, G. Madhavan
Violin, Dr R Hemalatha
Mridangam, K S Ramana.

Not a fireworks concert, but a gently satisfying concert; no complaints at all!

From the program, I noticed that R Hemalatha was playing in the evening too. "Yes," she said, "They are my sisters!".

Vocal: Mambalam Sisters
Violin: Dr R Hemalatha
Mridangam: Tanjore Subramaniam
Kanjira: K S Rangachari.

Afterwards, I asked if she had a mridangam player in the family too. She pointed out the the gentleman playing kanjira was their father! A family affair. Of the whole day, I enjoyed the RTP the most, but the sister's concert was excellent too.

This was held by Chennai Fine Arts, at Gokhale Sastri Hall, Karpagambal Nagar, Mylapore. It is a nice hall, and, sitting near the front, one has the feeling of being in chamber concert. There is no stage, no curtain, and so on. After initial difficulties with the sound, it was well balanced, volumes were appropriate, and balance was good.

hSrikanth · Post by **hSrikanth** » 27 Dec 2009, 17:12

on a 19th Dec 2009 Saturday morning on a lec dem on bhajans and its beauty, by Dr Sri ram parasuram could get about 50 serious rasikas and uniqueness was their participation. He chose one soordas bhajan and one abhang. One is darbari and another in equivalent to saveri. As usual two hours just flied he brought up nuances of each word in bhajan with beautiful anecdotes and observations. To me it was a huge educational experience. I have no word to praise the amount of work he has done on all these rare topics. Ability to articulate is immaculate and clearly shows as a rasika how we have to move up in the value chain by making an effort to improve.He says rasikas gets kick the moment they hear a known kritii so then they just do not make an effort to go deeper and understand. Abhang song he dealt beautifully, very different from usual abahangs people sing with huge excitement and shouting. He too showed different ways of singing abhangs, ofcourse being a chemburkar he knew marathi quite well. Lots of observations by him made immense sense to me

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 28 Dec 2009, 00:20

R Vedavalli, MA, 9.15am.

Concert was great; audience was horrible. I've posted the promised rant elsewhere.

Saswati Sen, Birju Maharaj, Hamsadvani, evening.

Poor Saswati (who I have never seen give a poor performance) got off to a bit of a rough start, with growing irritation at the inadequacies of the sound system. I wouldn't have liked to have been on the receiving end of some of the looks she gave them! Eventually, things fell into shape, and the highlight of her performance came after she asked Birju Maharaj to sing, and subsequently, to play tabla for her.

The second part of the conference put Pandit Birju Maharaj at the centre of the stage, or rather, at the centre of the platform, for he did not dance, but presented, seated, a mixture of vocal recital and abinhaya performance. I've said before that he can tell more of a story with one finger than most people can with their whole bodies. It was absolute, pure, magic.

The program was well received by a much larger audience than I expected, including Mrs YGP, abandoning her own Sabha for the entire evening, and whose request resulted in one of the items performed by Maharaj-ji.

.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 28 Dec 2009, 02:36

nick H wrote: I've said before that he can tell more of a story with one finger than most people can with their whole bodies. It was absolute, pure, magic.

How I envy you Nick! By the way, regarding the finger, I would go as far as to say, 'one eyebrow'....

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 28 Dec 2009, 11:24

I wouldn't disagree

.

He is dancing tonight at BVB, and singing on 31st at Vani Mahal.

BVB is usually packed full in the evenings, but, as this is ticketed, I have hopes of getting in.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 29 Dec 2009, 00:41

I am making a separate thread for his Chennai 2009 performances, and will copy the above to it

It is here