T.N. Krishnan - Singapore - 25th Mar 2011

[bilahari]

T.N. Krishnan - Violin
Srimushnam Raja Rrao - Mrudangam
T.R. Sundaresan - Morsing

SIFAS Festival
Esplanade Concert Hall

Duration: 2h 45min

Approximate Songlist:

01. vAtApi gaNapatim (R, S @ pallavi) - hamsadhwani - Adi - MD
02. nAda tanum anisham - cittaranjani - Adi - T
03. sArasAkSa (R, N, S) - pantuvarALi - Adi - ST
04. anupama gunAmbudi - aTANA - khaNDa cApu - T

05. nagumOmu ganalEni (R) - AbhEri - Adi - T
06. saravaNa bhava - SaNmugapriya - Adi - PS
07. kA vA vA - varALi - Adi - PS
08. rAgam tAnam pallavi - kApi - Adi (2) (samam + 1 eDuppu) (Thani)
rAgamAliga neraval in mOhanam and simmhEndramadhyamam

09. eppO varuvArO - jOnpuri
10. English Note
11. tIrAda viLaiyATTu piLLai (R) - rAgamAliga
12. nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) - sowrASTram - Adi

TNK started his concert with a really detailed alapanai of hamsadhwani, which featured some rather MDR-esque glides to the S and N. The alapanai on the whole was quite creative, with a cheeky kEdAram-esque descent to shadjam that he later emphasised in the word "dandam" in the charaNam of the krithi. TNK juxtaposed the madhya and tAra stAyi G beautifully by playing them consecutively in the concluding stages of the alapanai. MD's vAtApi provided a beautiful opening to this concert, and the kalpanswaras were high in laya content. TNK then played T's nAda tanum aniSam as movingly as he always does before launching into an elaborate pantuvarALi ragam. TNK's pantuvarALi was top-class, featuring a lovely glide from the madhya to tAra shadjam, and interesting uses of MPDP and NSRS phrases. Just like in the hamsadhwani, he brought out the beauty of the G in both the middle and upper octaves. TNK played ST's krithi and the neraval in this krithi was very nicely done beginning in the mandra stAyi before switching dramatically to the tAra stAyi in TNK's patented switch between octaves. TNK combined the use of first and second speed patterns in the neraval, and the subsequent kalpanaswaras were equally intense, with the final round centered about the nishAdam.

After a brief aTANA (wish there had been an alapanai!), TNK played an evocative AbhEri with some very folksy sounding fast-fingering phrases that added significant charm to the alapanai. I have always loved TNK's handling of this raga and I thoroughly enjoyed the alapanai and nagumOmu. After two prati ma fillers in a row, TNK played a very interesting and innovative kApi ragam. All my guesses about where phrases were heading were generally incorrect, and TNK wove the varied hues of the raga - the jagadOdhArana kApi, the enna tavam kApi, the inta sowkhya maninnE kApi, and the parulannamATa kApi - together seamlessly, and the resulting kApi was very beautiful. He even played G3 and G2 consecutively in the tAra stAyi! The tAnam was also good and featured some smooth cross-string bowing. He played the tAnam in one long segment spanning about five minutes, and it was constructed beautifully. The pallavi neraval was thorough, and I was surprised when TNK played neraval in mOhanam and simmhEndramadhyamam. I particularly liked the simmhEndramadhyamam, but can't say that TNK has made me a fan of ragamaliga neravals. However, TNK's return to kApi from SM was particularly smooth and it took me a few seconds to realise he was back in kApi!

As always, I enjoyed TNK's sindhu bhairavi alapanai, which brought the concert to a nice conclusion.

It was altogether a rather different TNK concert. He was not in his usual contemplative mood but was quite animated throughout, stopping to announce all the pieces. Throughout the concert, it seemed like he was pushing himself to uncover new facets of the ragas and compositions he took up, and his music was consequently imaginative and often experimental. Alas, the Esplanade concert hall is large and as a result, there was little intimacy and I somehow did not feel the warmth that usually radiates from TNK's music. I must also mention that TNK's technique is still amazingly sound - his bowing was supple and his fingering was almost always spot-on this evening.

Srimushnam Raja Rao played very beautifully on the mrudangam. He played very appropriately for krithis and embellished sangathis nicely. I also liked his playing for neravals and kalpanaswaras, where his anticipation was admirable. He was a bit loud sometimes, but he was far more restrained this evening than I've ever seen him. T.R. Sundaresan didn't play all that much, but I liked whatever little he played. He sometimes played alone in kalpanaswara and neraval returns, and his anticipation was also very good and earned TNK's praise. The thani was engaging and I enjoyed it; I actually particularly loved the morsing responses.

It was a lovely evening of music from the legend, who carried us along with him in his quest to dust off the dark corners of ragas and unearth some rare sangathis and patterns.

[gee]

excellent review. it almost makes me feel like i was there. i had the opportunity to attend my first TNK kutcheri this time in the december season...it was nothing short of great!

[VRV]

Bilahari,

Excellent review. Nothing short of "THE BEST from this Octogenarian. He even got you enjoying Pantuvarali. I am sure you did not have any doubts in this ragam (with Purvikalyani). This must have been a much needed respite from all the lab work you have been doing.

Any recordings of this concert.

VRV

[bilahari]

What octogenarian?! When you listen to the recording, you wouldn't think he's a day older than fifty, at most!
After yesterday's concert, I have become convinced TNK does not need accompanying violinists.

I do wish he'd taken up a more weighty raga for the main, though. But I suspect he didn't think the Singapore audience knew much, given he announced every single piece, which I've never seen him do. It is what our Kamalamba would call the "Esplanade Effect".

[rajeshnat]

bilahari,
Lovely review . KApi had all flavours a terrific rAga that just gives a fresh feel everytime . sarasAksha with a high ] voltage neraval and swaras must have had a lot of pointers to semmangudi's famous renditon . In general just noticing TNK's songlist it is always a semmangudi mama in violin(which coolkarni always use to say) or a combo of semmangudi + MMI in violin. At this age playing for 2 hours and 45 mins , WOW.

[srikant1987]

However, TNK's return to kApi from SM was particularly smooth and it took me a few seconds to realise he was back in kApi!

Probably a grsn kind of phrase was used as a bridge ...

After yesterday's concert, I have become convinced TNK does not need accompanying violinists.

Indeed! You need to see it to believe it, it seems!

[Murali]

nice review, bilahari. It was an engaging concert. I particularly liked his tonal quality and fingering techniques. Srimushnam Raja Rao's playing was quite uplifting. As you rightly said, TR Sundaresan's responses on the morsing was interesting but limited.

[bilahari]

About the fingering, I forgot to mention (thanks to Srikant for reminding me) that TNK played the madhya and tara stAyi G on the A string! In one phrase, he even played a flourish going up and down. It was absolutely stunning.

[cienu]

Wonderful review Bilahari !

[csuresh]

It was a lovely evening of music from the legend, who carried us along with him in his quest to dust off the dark corners of ragas and unearth some rare sangathis and patterns

Bilahari,
Good review and you have summed up the whole concert in the above line.

[rshankar]

Bilahari - very nice review, as always! Thank you!
I think it is indeed our privilege and honor to listen to people like Prof TNK, who can provide music of the highest caliber time and time again probably because everything they play comes to us through the sensibilities, imagination, and editing acquired through their many decades worth of experience both with music in particular, but also with life in general. Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan is the other example that springs to mind.

[bilahari]

Ravi, what an eloquent post perfectly summing up the magic of these legends!

[Nick H]

What octogenarian?! When you listen to the recording, you wouldn't think he's a day older than fifty, at most!
After yesterday's concert, I have become convinced TNK does not need accompanying violinists.

I do wish he'd taken up a more weighty raga for the main, though. But I suspect he didn't think the Singapore audience knew much, given he announced every single piece, which I've never seen him do. It is what our Kamalamba would call the "Esplanade Effect".

Why did you ever need convincing?

I'm sure you didn't really!

With due respect to TNK's family members, it is a long time since I had the pleasure of seeing him play alone --- and I am convinced that there is absolutely nothing like pure, undiluted, TNK!

I had the pleasure of sitting in the front row, right in the middle seat. Apart from having to look upwards to the stage (it is a huge concert hall, no doubt of international standards for classical music venues) it was wonderful to be so close. Probably due to the looking-up factor, it was not even one of the more expensive tickets (S$30 and S$40 a seat, at about Rs35c to the S$: suck on that, fellow Chennai free-concert goers . We all need an experience like this once in a while to remind us of how lucky we are :$ ). I was aware that the stage/house lighting was such that I doubt that any of the musicians on stage could actually see any of the faces in the audience. That is one of the downsides of a big Western-style auditorium. From my vantage point, though, I was almost unaware of the hundreds of seats behind me: it could have been a house concert! Excepting, of course, the two-way communication that happens in the smaller venues.

My favourite song was there, Nagumomu, and my least favourite. English Note makes me groan... but two performers, in the past couple of years, have made me really enjoy what I otherwise find to be a pretty pointless piece: Suryaprakash, and, in this very concert, TNK.

I was sad not to meet any friendly forumites. I kept a lookout for Bilahari, and was disapointed not to see him. At the end, I got lost by taking what turned out to be some sort of emergency exit.

My trip to Singapore is over, and I am posting again from my Chennai home, after a "hiatus" caused by not taking any of my passwords with me! Anyway, I like to get away from computers when on holiday.

[rshankar]

With due respect to TNK's family members, it is a long time since I had the pleasure of seeing him play alone --- and I am convinced that there is absolutely nothing like pure, undiluted, TNK!

Nick - very delicately put! Did you miss a diplomatic calling??

[srikant1987]

Rshankar, it would be coming but naturally to Londoners.

[Nick H]

Oh goodness no! London may be a mere child in the art or rudeness compared to Paris or new York, but it is a cold, hard city! And I get blunter with age :$

Let me put it this way: I like very much to see his daughter play, however, the last time I saw three of them, the experience was of TNK conducting an orchestra, which is, of course, entirely different to seeing him playing alone.

We are blessed that he is blessed with such good health.

[bilahari]

Nick, I actually saw you sitting in the front row but left in a hurry after the concert (to avoid running into odious family acquaintances). I'm glad you enjoyed the concert. I was sitting in the box seats by the side which were angled weirdly (nearly perpendicular to the stage), so I had to sit at an angle and crane my neck to see the artistes!

Also, this happened to be my very first true solo of TNK! I have only heard him with his children for the last six years!

[srikant1987]

it is a long time since I had the pleasure of seeing him play alone

Which was SVK Birthday Series 2009?

[vasanthakokilam]

my least favourite. English Note makes me groan... but two performers, in the past couple of years, have made me really enjoy what I otherwise find to be a pretty pointless piece: Suryaprakash, and, in this very concert, TNK.

A bit of a detour...

I am glad that you can get past that when done well. Setting aside individual taste differences, what is going for it is the attractive rhythm wrapped in a simple and nice sounding melody and that is always a good recipe for a thukkada and a crowd pleaser. It is also an indication of how the carnatic mind of that time viewed the western music. That view was largely limited to flat notes, big jumps and long kArvais. Sri. Mali used to play some western sounding pieces using the same idiom but they were not as popular as gamaga rigapa rigasa.

Fast forward several decades. In the hands of Ilayaraja, Bach sounds like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuOvXSZaeuA . The stanzas ( samashti charanams ; ) ) are in indian classical-folkish tune alright but the refrain is quite Bach'ish!! Sounds of Leipzig for a song and dance, set amongst the gorgeous lush green paddy fields of Tamil Nadu villages!!

[Nick H]

Will take a look at that later, VK; still settling in!

Bilahari, I did take a look at those box seats, and wondered if I should have laid out for one, but, once the concert started, I thought my seat perfect. There was a young black woman sitting next to me, totally entranced by the music. I wonder if she is a regular rasika? I didn't get the chance to ask (afterwards, I thought that it might have sounded a bit like the archetypal bad chat-up line, "Do you come here often?" anyway:$ ) I spoke to a couple who might have been Chinese or Japanese (or some other Asian country, I couldn't place them): they had also been in the front row, and they were regulars, who were going to go to other programs in the series, and had been to Chennai for music. Otherwise, despite this being an event billed/advertised by the major venue, there was not much non-South-Indian-origin evident in the audience

Which was SVK Birthday Series 2009?

Goodness, what a memory. I had been thinking that it was back in London, over five years ago! However, I think you are right! I expect you can remember details of the concert too: I'm afraid I can't :$

[arasi]

Nick,
The last time you were at Ragasudha in February, TNK didn't play at all! I appreciate your being there
Wish I had heard him play too, that too in Singapore--then Bilahari couldn't have escaped easily, with both of us keeping an eye on him.
Very happy to know that he played energetically. The retreat must have done him a lot of good. May he be blessed with many more years of his wonderful playing...

[Nick H]

That, arassi, I remember very well!

But then, it was but a few weeks ago :$

[Sivaramakrishnan]

I am reminded of a TNK concert at Tripunithura (Kerala) temple utsavam several years ago with the very same menu (plus a yadukulakambodhi if I remember correct). The audience was oblivious of the sounds of the ritualistic seeveli procession passing by outside the 'koodam' in the middle of the concert.

bilahari, I am convinced now. Time stands still for TNK and he is in his fiftees only.