Ganesh Athreya - 13/10/2013 - Chennai

[B.Devnath]

[b]Artists :[/b]
Ganesh Athreya - Flute
Padma Shankar - Violin
K.S.Ramana - Mridangam
Harihara Sharma - Khanjira

[b]Venue :[/b]Maha Meru Dhyana Nilayam , Oragadam

[b]Song List :[/b]
1.Shri Mahaganapati - gowla - misra chapu - mutthuswami dikshithar
2.ninnada - kannada - adi - tyagaraja
3.palinchu kamakshi - madhyamavathi - adi - shyama shastry
4.mayamma - ahiri - adi - shyama shastry
5.RTP - ragamalika - adi
6.tiruppugazh - suratti - chatusra dhruvam - arunagirinathar

Ganesh Athreya's concert on 13/10/2013 took off to a vibrant Shri Mahaganapathi ravatumam in gowla . The chittai swarams were accorded a trikala treatment which was truly refreshing , with kalpana swarams at 'ravi sahasra'. But what really set the tempo of the concert was the tyagaraja piece ninnada which followed . The gamaka suttham with which Ganesh played this kriti left the audience asking for more. Played in an appropriate kaala pramaanam , Ganesh literally made the accompanying artists dance to his tunes which was a treat to watch n hear.
Having brilliantly started , the concert moved towards the sub-main piece - palinchu kamakshi in madhyamavathi. Ganesh's delineation of the raga was both philosophical and physiological. Employing characteristic phrases and meaningful pauses , he brought out the raaga shuddham in its entirety.The handling of the kaishiki nishadham towards the end of the alapana struck an emotional chord. Padma Shankar gave an adequate response to the questions posed by ganesh's flute through her violin.Her bowing and fingering technique bore the indelible stamp of the lalgudi baani.The neraval at 'Svantambulona' was as clean as a bolt.
This was followed by the soulful mayamma in ahiri. One of the sangatis Ganesh played for this piece at 'naatho maatlaada' made time stand still as one was reminded of the great flute maali.The effect left by this song still fails to fade away.
What came next was the main piece of the concert - the pallavi. Set to the lyrics - medhandhevi saraswathy parabrahma prakaashini , it was preceeded by a taanamalika. The taanamalika was played in the ragas of the pancharatna kritis (nattai,gowlai,arabhi,varali and shri) which was a canny selection.The violinist , in her tanam essays employed characteristic phrases from the pancharatnams which was truly imaginative and enjoyable.the pallavi itself was a ragamalika of 4 ragas ( latangi,atana,kaapi and maand) .Ganesh's and Padma's rendition of maand and kaapi find particular mention for they made one sway about in their seats.Bereft of trikalam and other mathematical complexities for want of time , the pallavi was a welcome change from the oft beaten pallavi format.For once the rasika could enjoy the musical aspects of the pallavi than bother about the arithmetic and geometric progressions it usually traverses.The concert ended with the tiruppugazh 'theruvinil nadava madavaar' in suratti.
K.S.Ramana on the mridangam was a revelation.His sense of timing and paattu gnanam took the concert to a different level which is surely the job of a percussionist.Unfortunately a lot of hoopla surrounds these days on how a percussionist plays the thani avarthanam rather than how he/she supports the main artist in advancing the entire concert cause.Harihara Sharma on the Khanjira helped the cause with his intelligent playing.His deft touches for the neraval of palinchu to the violin accompaniment is worth mentioning.The thani avarthanam was brief and bullish.
On the whole it was a wonderful evening well spent listening to osthi old school sangeedam.Ganesh Athreya 's pristine gnanam , powerful blowing and shruthi shuddham make him an explosive mix.Its sad that one doesnt get to hear from such a quality artist too often.In a nutshell Ganesh is a tough find and a costly miss!!

[rajeshnat]

Venue : Maha Meru Dhyana Nilayam , Oragadam

Devnath
Is this oragadam very near to Ambattur OT bus stand or the oragadam near sriperumbudur?
Thanks for your review , flautist is rare to hear these days.

[B.Devnath]

Rajeshnat,
Its the oragadam next to padappai ...not the one next to the OT bus stand , not sure whether its the one near sriperumbudur.N yup , flautists n that too quality ones are really rare to come by...hope to c a turn around . J.A.Jayanth looks promising as well.

[rajeshnat]

Devnath
Thanks , the oragadam near padappai(close to vandalur) and the one that i am referring closer to sriperumbudur should be the same . Nice to hear reports of concerts outside of chennai .

I just googled to find not a single link where i can get information about ganesh athreya. May I know bit more about him(is he as young as shruthisagar,jayanth) and also his guru. I have only heard palinchu kamAkshi being taken as a main , possibly it was extended as a bit more in a submain, to accommodate the pallavi that came later. Madhyamavati and flute always has a special bond.

[B.Devnath]

Rajeshnat,
Thanks for the follow up....Ganesh athreya is much older. started playing in 1995 , quit due to professional relocation in 2002.Now ,he plays concerts as and when invited .Appreciate ur diligence in doing the google search . He initially learnt from pallavi venkatrama iyer and later from vairamangalam lakshminarayanan. Will run the thread whenever i chance upon his concerts , hopefully in advance.

[sangeetham]

I heard from someone that he also learnt from Ramani, but not sure though....I remember him being an active participant of the YACM team in the late 90's / early 2000s....so he should be in his late 20s or 30s, I guess......

[rajeshnat]

He initially learnt from pallavi venkatrama iyer

You must have meant Trichy J Venkatraman who is known for his pallavi right. If yes I am sure he is not an iyer.
I think Mudikondan venkatrama iyer is known for his pallavi ,i am sure ganesh athreyA must have not learnt from him.

[B.Devnath]

sangeetham,
ganesh didnt learn from ramani mama.....am quite sure about that.n agewise , perfect guess!

rajeshnat,
no, the venkatrama iyer i have mentioned is not trichy.j.venkatraman. when asked he just mentioned pallavi venkatrama iyer who was a flautist.

[rajeshnat]

rajeshnat,
no, the venkatrama iyer i have mentioned is not trichy.j.venkatraman. when asked he just mentioned pallavi venkatrama iyer who was a flautist.

Devnath
I was not aware of pallavi venkatrama iyer(flute). Thanks for the clarification. Googled to find bit more about him
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/09/08/stor ... 560600.htm

[B.Devnath]

rajeshnat,
thank u so much for the search n url .....

[B.Devnath]

here is the link of the concert from sound cloud - https://soundcloud.com/athreyaa/sets/navaratri-concert
have a wonderful time listening.