T M Krishna - Vocal
R K Shriram Kumar - Violin
K Arun Prakash - Mridangam
Venue : Bridge Water Temple, New Jersey
01 vanajakshi - kalyani - ata thala varnam
02 sala kallala - Arabhi - adi - s
03 vinave o manasa - vivardhini - Adi
04 kumaraswamy - asAveri - r s
05 aparadhamula - lathangi - adi - n
06 mari mari ninne - khambodhi - adi - r n s
thani avarthanam
07 Gopanandhana - bhushavali
08 RTP - abheri - misra chapu
Veenabheri vinodhini vaani maampaahi
Swaram: Begada, behaag, suruti
09 parulanna matta - karnataka kApi
10 rama rama - ramkali
11 maalai pozhudhinile - rAga malika
12 dasarendare - yadukula khambhoji
13 pachchai maa malai - sindhu bhairavi, ataana, bilahari
13 nadandha kaalgal - sindhu bhairavi
14sarvam brahma Mayam - madhuvanti
15 thillana - kanadA
16 mangalam
An amazing four hour concert. Will somone write the review, please?
T M Krishna at IACRF, New Jersey
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gobilalitha
- Posts: 2056
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:12
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fuddyduddy
- Posts: 206
- Joined: 19 May 2006, 19:45
one more amazing concert from tmk. i got my request - mari mari ninne 
and it was filled with brilliance. tmk pretty much sang most of the requests as they kept pouring in.
i wish the RTP was longer. it felt like the thaanam ended pretty fast..
i used to hear MSs' maalai pozhudinile as a kid and what tmk sang was in no way less with respect to the bhaavam and he seemed to be totally involved in the song (as any other song..)
i wish i could write a review for every song but i dont think i would do justice... u had to be there to experience it. plus i'm not sure i would be able to write technical details about the nadai, anulomam, pratilomam etc etc
hope IACRF releases a CD. this would be a masterpiece to own!
is sarvam bhrama mayam in raagam madhuvanti or pilu?
and it was filled with brilliance. tmk pretty much sang most of the requests as they kept pouring in. i wish the RTP was longer. it felt like the thaanam ended pretty fast..
i used to hear MSs' maalai pozhudinile as a kid and what tmk sang was in no way less with respect to the bhaavam and he seemed to be totally involved in the song (as any other song..)
i wish i could write a review for every song but i dont think i would do justice... u had to be there to experience it. plus i'm not sure i would be able to write technical details about the nadai, anulomam, pratilomam etc etc
hope IACRF releases a CD. this would be a masterpiece to own!
is sarvam bhrama mayam in raagam madhuvanti or pilu?
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Ramaprasad
- Posts: 94
- Joined: 12 Jun 2006, 08:43
I have added a few more details in the kriti list posted by Hariharan.
T M Krishna - Vocal
R K Shriram Kumar - Violin
K Arun Prakash - Mridangam
Venue : Bridge Water Temple, New Jersey – April 26, 2008
01 Vanajakshi - Kalyani - Ata Thala Varnam -Pallavi Gopala Iyer
02 Salakallala - Arabhi - Adi – Thyagaraja (S)
03 Vinave O Manasa - Vivardhini – Rupaka - Thyagaraja
04 Kumara Swaminam Guruguham - Asaveri – Adi - Dikshitar (R,S)
05 Aparadhamula - Lathangi - Adi – Patnam Subramania Iyer (S)
06 Mari Mari Ninne - Kambodhi - Adi – Thyagaraja (R, N, S)
Thani avarthanam
07 Gopanandhana – Bhushavali – Adi – Swathi Thirunal
08 RTP - Abheri (with the suddha dhaivatham) - Misra Chapu
Pallavi: Veenabheri VinodhiniVvaani Maam Paahi
Swaram: Begada, Behaag, Suruti
09 Parulanna Mata (Javali) - Karnataka Kapi – Rupaka – Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer
10 Rama Rama Kalikalusha – Ramakali – Rupaka - Dikshitar
11 Malai Pozhudhinile – Ragamalika – Adi – Subramania Bharathi
12 Dasarendare - Yadukula kambodhi – Vyasa Raya
13 Pacchai Ma Malai Pol Meni (Tondaraipodi Alwar Pasuram on Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam) - Sindhu Bhairavi, Atana, Bilahari
13 Nadantha Kalgal (Pasuram on Kudandhai Aravamudhan composed by Tirumizhisai
Alwar and set to tune by yesteryear stalwart TK Rangachari) - Sindhu Bhairavi
14 Sarvam Brahma Mayam - Madhuvanti – Sadasiva Brahmendral
15 Thillana – Kaanada – Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar
16 Mangalam
The following is not so much a review of TMK’s concert as much as the impressions of a sincere rasika. I have no credentials to be a music critic.
T. M. Krishana’s concert was A-rated – aural, audacious and authentic. In the history of Carnatic music, there has been in the past many vocal/violin/mridangam teams that endured well to produce great music over the decades. Krishna/Shriram Kurmar/Arun Prakash could well be called a dream team of the present. To any observer, it is evident that they have a remarkable chemistry together on the stage.
Ata Thala varnam Vanajakshi is a great start for a concert. The first kriti, Salakallala set the stage for what was to be expected in the rest of the concert – authenticity seeped in tradition and rendered with passion. The slow tempo chosen by Krishna for rendering the major pieces cast a contemplative spell on the audience. As is well known to all, there are two Dikshitar krithis in Asaveri - Chandram Bhaja Manasa and the rarely heard Kumara Swaminam. Prior to singing Kumara Swaminam, Krishna pointed out the absence of Chatushruthi Rishabam as detailed in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini. The raga elaboration and the rendering of the kriti were meticulous in attention to such details.
Thyagaraja’s magnum opus kriti in Kambodhi - Mari Mari Ninne – has 17 sangathis in the pallavi line itself. This was one of the classics in the Alathur Brothers repertoire, but currently enjoys little attention. Krishna, in his raga elaboration, left nothing unexplored in his musical painting of its rupa. Shriram Kumar was ever ready with his bow to answer in equal measure the challenges of this raga. It was a magnificent concert experience for those in the audience. The neraval at Karunatho Druvuni Keduta was truly moving, a deliberate slow tempo chosen aiding the mood of the krithi. The introduction of Thani Avarthanam at this point was an incredible musical decision of the evening. Like Shriram Kumar’s very sensitive response to Krishna’s neraval phrases, Arun Prakash’s thani was not a thani in the literal sense of separate. His nuanced performance on the mridangam was a continuation of Krishna’s leisurely elaborated neraval line. This was music at its best.
The RTP in Abheri was a musical journey to be remembered for a long time. Krishna prefaced his singing of this piece with some very instructive comments on the history of this raga. It is different from Karnataka Devagandhari. What he rendered was the authentic Abheri as heard in Dikshitar’s “Veenabheriâ€
T M Krishna - Vocal
R K Shriram Kumar - Violin
K Arun Prakash - Mridangam
Venue : Bridge Water Temple, New Jersey – April 26, 2008
01 Vanajakshi - Kalyani - Ata Thala Varnam -Pallavi Gopala Iyer
02 Salakallala - Arabhi - Adi – Thyagaraja (S)
03 Vinave O Manasa - Vivardhini – Rupaka - Thyagaraja
04 Kumara Swaminam Guruguham - Asaveri – Adi - Dikshitar (R,S)
05 Aparadhamula - Lathangi - Adi – Patnam Subramania Iyer (S)
06 Mari Mari Ninne - Kambodhi - Adi – Thyagaraja (R, N, S)
Thani avarthanam
07 Gopanandhana – Bhushavali – Adi – Swathi Thirunal
08 RTP - Abheri (with the suddha dhaivatham) - Misra Chapu
Pallavi: Veenabheri VinodhiniVvaani Maam Paahi
Swaram: Begada, Behaag, Suruti
09 Parulanna Mata (Javali) - Karnataka Kapi – Rupaka – Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer
10 Rama Rama Kalikalusha – Ramakali – Rupaka - Dikshitar
11 Malai Pozhudhinile – Ragamalika – Adi – Subramania Bharathi
12 Dasarendare - Yadukula kambodhi – Vyasa Raya
13 Pacchai Ma Malai Pol Meni (Tondaraipodi Alwar Pasuram on Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam) - Sindhu Bhairavi, Atana, Bilahari
13 Nadantha Kalgal (Pasuram on Kudandhai Aravamudhan composed by Tirumizhisai
Alwar and set to tune by yesteryear stalwart TK Rangachari) - Sindhu Bhairavi
14 Sarvam Brahma Mayam - Madhuvanti – Sadasiva Brahmendral
15 Thillana – Kaanada – Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar
16 Mangalam
The following is not so much a review of TMK’s concert as much as the impressions of a sincere rasika. I have no credentials to be a music critic.
T. M. Krishana’s concert was A-rated – aural, audacious and authentic. In the history of Carnatic music, there has been in the past many vocal/violin/mridangam teams that endured well to produce great music over the decades. Krishna/Shriram Kurmar/Arun Prakash could well be called a dream team of the present. To any observer, it is evident that they have a remarkable chemistry together on the stage.
Ata Thala varnam Vanajakshi is a great start for a concert. The first kriti, Salakallala set the stage for what was to be expected in the rest of the concert – authenticity seeped in tradition and rendered with passion. The slow tempo chosen by Krishna for rendering the major pieces cast a contemplative spell on the audience. As is well known to all, there are two Dikshitar krithis in Asaveri - Chandram Bhaja Manasa and the rarely heard Kumara Swaminam. Prior to singing Kumara Swaminam, Krishna pointed out the absence of Chatushruthi Rishabam as detailed in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini. The raga elaboration and the rendering of the kriti were meticulous in attention to such details.
Thyagaraja’s magnum opus kriti in Kambodhi - Mari Mari Ninne – has 17 sangathis in the pallavi line itself. This was one of the classics in the Alathur Brothers repertoire, but currently enjoys little attention. Krishna, in his raga elaboration, left nothing unexplored in his musical painting of its rupa. Shriram Kumar was ever ready with his bow to answer in equal measure the challenges of this raga. It was a magnificent concert experience for those in the audience. The neraval at Karunatho Druvuni Keduta was truly moving, a deliberate slow tempo chosen aiding the mood of the krithi. The introduction of Thani Avarthanam at this point was an incredible musical decision of the evening. Like Shriram Kumar’s very sensitive response to Krishna’s neraval phrases, Arun Prakash’s thani was not a thani in the literal sense of separate. His nuanced performance on the mridangam was a continuation of Krishna’s leisurely elaborated neraval line. This was music at its best.
The RTP in Abheri was a musical journey to be remembered for a long time. Krishna prefaced his singing of this piece with some very instructive comments on the history of this raga. It is different from Karnataka Devagandhari. What he rendered was the authentic Abheri as heard in Dikshitar’s “Veenabheriâ€
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coolkapali
- Posts: 179
- Joined: 03 May 2007, 14:32
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jnaanasoonyam
- Posts: 53
- Joined: 20 Jan 2007, 23:56
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true_rasika
- Posts: 20
- Joined: 06 May 2007, 18:49
I attended this concert and frankly, came away hugely disappointed. Here are a few points, which do not seem to have found mention in any of the earlier posts in this thread:
1. Before the concert began there was a large crowd that thronged in anticipation of a great concert and there was quite a scramble for seats, excitement in the air, etc. So there was a tremendous build-up to the concert with all the frenzy early on.
2. The host (Rajam Ramanathan) made a rather boring and rambling introduction to the artistes and went off-track to even mention Barack Obama in his welcome. Also, the praise lavished on TMK was quite excessive. IMHO, I think too much praise too early in life leads to complacency, and what people from back home in India used to call and perhaps still refer to as 'head-weight' - I am not implying that TMK has this already but my fear is that he seems to be heading in that direction. My next two points hopefully illustrate that.
3. TMK began with a nice thank-you to the organizers, NJ rasikas, etc. Then he launched into an elaborate exercise of testing the mikes for himself and the accompanists and requested complete silence and cooperation from the audience while this was performed. Now, I have attended thousands of concerts back in India and the US by true Jambavaans (living and gone) and I cannot recall even one of them launching into an elaborate preparation of this sort. Honestly there was a big fuss made by TMK about the acoustics setup. Please remember, this was an very large audience in a packed auditorium and already impatient to get on with the music....I think such 'stunts' are not called for. Perhaps the organizers share part of the blame here because the next day (for Aruna Sairam's concert) they first tested all the mikes while the crowds milled outside and then let everyone in after the mike-testing was completed.
4. There were about half a dozen (or perhaps more) youngsters seated on the dias close to / behind the artistes. Two were right behind him - one, a girl, on the tambura and the other, a boy, simply seated (do not recall him providing actual vocal accompaniment). And there was a row of kids seated at the rear of the dias. Presumably these kids are learning from TMK but why parade them on the stage? Were some of the kids students of RKS and Arun? Were the parents seeking to convey to the crowds that their kids are 'TMK's students' by simply seating them on the dias? Why this craving for attention? Why did TMK permit this? I am not sure, Regardless, these are, IMHO, needless distractions....and I for one, was certainly perturbed by these trends, being seen increasingly of late and especially in the US. BTW this association with 'a celebrity teacher from India' is a very fashionable thing in the US - it is not uncommon to see parents boast that their kids learn from big names - often times it is clear that that they care not about the actual music or the learning itself but the 'celebrity stature' of the Guru (even if the learning lasts for only a few weeks each summer) - I digress here but hope to post more on that front, possibly in the Cleveland thread.
5. The organizer Rajam Ramanathan made a request on behalf of the artistes to refrain from walking in / out during the songs. This was followed up by TMK elaborating on Rajam's point on this topic. when he cited numerous examples / situations where the audience was requested not to walk in / out. While the intent is laudable, this unfortunately does not work when a concert flops. More on this point towards the end of this post.
5. The concert was a combination of long stretches of rather slow-paced, low-volume (barely audible) singing interlaced with rather loud, fast-paced cacophony that was bereft of music or melody. The elaborate chowka-kaalam singing, accompanied by some rather dull and insipid mridangam (Arun was BARELY audible for much of the concert, and thani was a disastrous letdown) was enough to see many in the large audeince squirming in their seats, probably embarrased by the fact that they paid top dollars for the concert. As one mama put it succintly and in light-hearted fashion: TMK's performance was like the weather in NJ - hovering between the hot and cold extremes many times.
6. The varnam and Asaveri pieces were very good overall. However in Asaveri (IIRC, the ragam), TMK seemed to switch to a false voice in the higher ocataves instead of his usual full-throated singing. The result was a voice that sounded almost feminine, and naturally, quite unlke TMK...and it was not pleasing to the ear.
7. RKS was the saving grace in the entire concert. He was outstanding throughout and did his best to lift the concert whenever it was sagging badly.
8. Clearly Arun Prakash's inept accompaniment was a huge letdown. I have heard him play MUCH better on several earlier occasions. There were many instances when he completely stopped playing (I mean, when a krithi was being sung). And pray, why did he have to reduce the voume of his playing to alnost inaudible levels whenever TMK slowed down? Whether or not there was great chemistry between the artistes, their chemistry with many in the audience somehow did not work out right.
I was sitting patiently until the start of the thani, but despite TMK's polite request at the outset, many folks, me included, simply felt that enough was enough and started heading to the exit doors. My point is, regardless of the stature of an artiste, if his / her concert falls short of expectations, there can be no control over people leaving. IMO, people are making a strong statement that they did not like the concert, by choosing to get out and get some fresha air, even AFTER such a fervent request as TMK's right at the outset.
Should this review sound like a stinging / unrestrained / biased / unfair criticism of TMK and Arun, I would also like to point out that I am a big fan of both of them. They are truly wonderful artistes and I hold absolutely no grudge against either. In fact, I have been listening to them ever since the fledgling YACM days at Chennai in the early nineties and their progress has been definitely remarkable. I was fortunate to have attended a superb TMK concert at the Cleveland Aradhana back in '05, where he was accompanied by the great Trichy Sankaran. But this one clearly did not pass muster. I sincerely think that there was a sizeable number of folks in the audience who did not like this concert, but am surprised that they have not voiced their opinions.
1. Before the concert began there was a large crowd that thronged in anticipation of a great concert and there was quite a scramble for seats, excitement in the air, etc. So there was a tremendous build-up to the concert with all the frenzy early on.
2. The host (Rajam Ramanathan) made a rather boring and rambling introduction to the artistes and went off-track to even mention Barack Obama in his welcome. Also, the praise lavished on TMK was quite excessive. IMHO, I think too much praise too early in life leads to complacency, and what people from back home in India used to call and perhaps still refer to as 'head-weight' - I am not implying that TMK has this already but my fear is that he seems to be heading in that direction. My next two points hopefully illustrate that.
3. TMK began with a nice thank-you to the organizers, NJ rasikas, etc. Then he launched into an elaborate exercise of testing the mikes for himself and the accompanists and requested complete silence and cooperation from the audience while this was performed. Now, I have attended thousands of concerts back in India and the US by true Jambavaans (living and gone) and I cannot recall even one of them launching into an elaborate preparation of this sort. Honestly there was a big fuss made by TMK about the acoustics setup. Please remember, this was an very large audience in a packed auditorium and already impatient to get on with the music....I think such 'stunts' are not called for. Perhaps the organizers share part of the blame here because the next day (for Aruna Sairam's concert) they first tested all the mikes while the crowds milled outside and then let everyone in after the mike-testing was completed.
4. There were about half a dozen (or perhaps more) youngsters seated on the dias close to / behind the artistes. Two were right behind him - one, a girl, on the tambura and the other, a boy, simply seated (do not recall him providing actual vocal accompaniment). And there was a row of kids seated at the rear of the dias. Presumably these kids are learning from TMK but why parade them on the stage? Were some of the kids students of RKS and Arun? Were the parents seeking to convey to the crowds that their kids are 'TMK's students' by simply seating them on the dias? Why this craving for attention? Why did TMK permit this? I am not sure, Regardless, these are, IMHO, needless distractions....and I for one, was certainly perturbed by these trends, being seen increasingly of late and especially in the US. BTW this association with 'a celebrity teacher from India' is a very fashionable thing in the US - it is not uncommon to see parents boast that their kids learn from big names - often times it is clear that that they care not about the actual music or the learning itself but the 'celebrity stature' of the Guru (even if the learning lasts for only a few weeks each summer) - I digress here but hope to post more on that front, possibly in the Cleveland thread.
5. The organizer Rajam Ramanathan made a request on behalf of the artistes to refrain from walking in / out during the songs. This was followed up by TMK elaborating on Rajam's point on this topic. when he cited numerous examples / situations where the audience was requested not to walk in / out. While the intent is laudable, this unfortunately does not work when a concert flops. More on this point towards the end of this post.
5. The concert was a combination of long stretches of rather slow-paced, low-volume (barely audible) singing interlaced with rather loud, fast-paced cacophony that was bereft of music or melody. The elaborate chowka-kaalam singing, accompanied by some rather dull and insipid mridangam (Arun was BARELY audible for much of the concert, and thani was a disastrous letdown) was enough to see many in the large audeince squirming in their seats, probably embarrased by the fact that they paid top dollars for the concert. As one mama put it succintly and in light-hearted fashion: TMK's performance was like the weather in NJ - hovering between the hot and cold extremes many times.
6. The varnam and Asaveri pieces were very good overall. However in Asaveri (IIRC, the ragam), TMK seemed to switch to a false voice in the higher ocataves instead of his usual full-throated singing. The result was a voice that sounded almost feminine, and naturally, quite unlke TMK...and it was not pleasing to the ear.
7. RKS was the saving grace in the entire concert. He was outstanding throughout and did his best to lift the concert whenever it was sagging badly.
8. Clearly Arun Prakash's inept accompaniment was a huge letdown. I have heard him play MUCH better on several earlier occasions. There were many instances when he completely stopped playing (I mean, when a krithi was being sung). And pray, why did he have to reduce the voume of his playing to alnost inaudible levels whenever TMK slowed down? Whether or not there was great chemistry between the artistes, their chemistry with many in the audience somehow did not work out right.
I was sitting patiently until the start of the thani, but despite TMK's polite request at the outset, many folks, me included, simply felt that enough was enough and started heading to the exit doors. My point is, regardless of the stature of an artiste, if his / her concert falls short of expectations, there can be no control over people leaving. IMO, people are making a strong statement that they did not like the concert, by choosing to get out and get some fresha air, even AFTER such a fervent request as TMK's right at the outset.
Should this review sound like a stinging / unrestrained / biased / unfair criticism of TMK and Arun, I would also like to point out that I am a big fan of both of them. They are truly wonderful artistes and I hold absolutely no grudge against either. In fact, I have been listening to them ever since the fledgling YACM days at Chennai in the early nineties and their progress has been definitely remarkable. I was fortunate to have attended a superb TMK concert at the Cleveland Aradhana back in '05, where he was accompanied by the great Trichy Sankaran. But this one clearly did not pass muster. I sincerely think that there was a sizeable number of folks in the audience who did not like this concert, but am surprised that they have not voiced their opinions.
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mri_fan
- Posts: 382
- Joined: 15 Aug 2006, 22:12
I wasn't at the concert, but I felt the need to respond to some of the numbers
3. It's not fair to call a musicians insistence on proper audio control a "stunt". This can be very important. Ideally, this should have been done before the concert hall was filled, but such things are unavoidable (musicians have a tendency of not arriving too early) . It is extremely important, however, for the musician, because if they are uncomfortable with the setup, their mood will be disrupted.
8. Calling Arun Prakash inept is inexcusable. He's performed in thousands of concerts for top ranked musicians (US tours with Sanjay + TMK+Ranjani Gayathri). He has won accolades from top ranking senior mridangam artists. He is an excellent musician, and you are not qualified to comment on his style of playing. Tell me, why would he be so sought after is he was inept?
His style is unabashedly muted. He rarely takes center stage in playing for a krithi, and his thani's prominently feature sarvalaghu. The fact of the matter is, that he works really hard to support a vocalist , and act as his/her foil on stage.
A big issue in the US vs. India is that the US expects percussionists to dazzle them, having been trained to expect really fast phrases and aggressive playing, thanks to repeated tours by UKS, Bhaktavatsalam and Raja Rao. Do not take this as a criticism of those three vidwans, but I'm just making the point that Arun Prakash represents a different but entirely appropriate style of mridangam accompaniment. His style is one that is more respected in India than here, because of our different expectations in the US, which is somewhat unfortunate.
The same type of criticism was made of Sri Ramabhadran when he started playing, namely that what he played was far too simple, but as he continued to perform and musicians (MMM, SSI, LGJ) repeatedly called him, he grew in popularity. If it were up to audiences made up of people liek you, Ramabhadran would not have been given a chance to prove that his unique style was successful.
MMI and SSI would repeatedly ask the audience not to leave when Ramabhadran would start playing his thani, and only few would comply ....it was only later when people started to stay for his thanis and give him the respect he deserved.
The US-based rasika tends to value individual accomplishment in any concert over the quality of the overall team effort. I think in that respect you fail to understand the qualities that Arun Prakash brings to a concert. He does his job to ensure that a concert has high quality unobtrusive, chaste mridangam accompaniment . Many younger mridangam artists have adopted this type of approach, including Neyveli Venketesh, Neyveli Skandasubramaniam, H.S. Sudindra, and many others. If nothing else, I'd hope at some point in your life, you'd give these musicians a chance.
I trust that TMK and Sanjay know that they are doing when they repeatedly ask Arun Prakash for concerts.
3. It's not fair to call a musicians insistence on proper audio control a "stunt". This can be very important. Ideally, this should have been done before the concert hall was filled, but such things are unavoidable (musicians have a tendency of not arriving too early) . It is extremely important, however, for the musician, because if they are uncomfortable with the setup, their mood will be disrupted.
8. Calling Arun Prakash inept is inexcusable. He's performed in thousands of concerts for top ranked musicians (US tours with Sanjay + TMK+Ranjani Gayathri). He has won accolades from top ranking senior mridangam artists. He is an excellent musician, and you are not qualified to comment on his style of playing. Tell me, why would he be so sought after is he was inept?
His style is unabashedly muted. He rarely takes center stage in playing for a krithi, and his thani's prominently feature sarvalaghu. The fact of the matter is, that he works really hard to support a vocalist , and act as his/her foil on stage.
A big issue in the US vs. India is that the US expects percussionists to dazzle them, having been trained to expect really fast phrases and aggressive playing, thanks to repeated tours by UKS, Bhaktavatsalam and Raja Rao. Do not take this as a criticism of those three vidwans, but I'm just making the point that Arun Prakash represents a different but entirely appropriate style of mridangam accompaniment. His style is one that is more respected in India than here, because of our different expectations in the US, which is somewhat unfortunate.
The same type of criticism was made of Sri Ramabhadran when he started playing, namely that what he played was far too simple, but as he continued to perform and musicians (MMM, SSI, LGJ) repeatedly called him, he grew in popularity. If it were up to audiences made up of people liek you, Ramabhadran would not have been given a chance to prove that his unique style was successful.
MMI and SSI would repeatedly ask the audience not to leave when Ramabhadran would start playing his thani, and only few would comply ....it was only later when people started to stay for his thanis and give him the respect he deserved.
The US-based rasika tends to value individual accomplishment in any concert over the quality of the overall team effort. I think in that respect you fail to understand the qualities that Arun Prakash brings to a concert. He does his job to ensure that a concert has high quality unobtrusive, chaste mridangam accompaniment . Many younger mridangam artists have adopted this type of approach, including Neyveli Venketesh, Neyveli Skandasubramaniam, H.S. Sudindra, and many others. If nothing else, I'd hope at some point in your life, you'd give these musicians a chance.
I trust that TMK and Sanjay know that they are doing when they repeatedly ask Arun Prakash for concerts.
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mohan
- Posts: 2808
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52
Doing an audio testing exercise after a concert has commenced is not very professional. If artistes are particular about sound quality, they should ensure that they are in the hall sufficiently early to do a proper mic test, before the audience arrives.
Can't comment on the other concert details. Clearly there are widely differring views about the concert and this is to be expected since each of us have different perceptions and expectations of music.
Can't comment on the other concert details. Clearly there are widely differring views about the concert and this is to be expected since each of us have different perceptions and expectations of music.
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fuddyduddy
- Posts: 206
- Joined: 19 May 2006, 19:45
true_rasika,
what is wrong for a musician to have expectations in how his mike system shd be? And obviously, its because he shd be better heard with his true voice rather than 10 other mike noises joining him as background. Dont we all have expectations as to how our work environment shd be???
And same for the expectation that he doesnt want people moving around. Though he said that, people were still moving around and TMK was not saying anything during the concert..
how does it affect the concert that there were so many people in the stage or behind the artist?? if some parents want to boast, its their issue. That dint affect TMK's rendition in any way. And if the students are good, they are obviously going to shine.. If not, it might just be an experience to sit on stage. couldnt understand how it affected the concert.
ofcourse different people have different tastes and thats why we have the forum so we can voice out what songs we liked or not.. but it seems quite inappropriate to point out things that had nothing to do with TMK's singing or the concert.
Organisers talking for a long time is there in any concert in the US, and is pointless in this thread. No one wants to hear the artist bio's since everyone knows who is singing. This could be a separate topic generally for most concerts in the US...
what is wrong for a musician to have expectations in how his mike system shd be? And obviously, its because he shd be better heard with his true voice rather than 10 other mike noises joining him as background. Dont we all have expectations as to how our work environment shd be???
And same for the expectation that he doesnt want people moving around. Though he said that, people were still moving around and TMK was not saying anything during the concert..
how does it affect the concert that there were so many people in the stage or behind the artist?? if some parents want to boast, its their issue. That dint affect TMK's rendition in any way. And if the students are good, they are obviously going to shine.. If not, it might just be an experience to sit on stage. couldnt understand how it affected the concert.
ofcourse different people have different tastes and thats why we have the forum so we can voice out what songs we liked or not.. but it seems quite inappropriate to point out things that had nothing to do with TMK's singing or the concert.
Organisers talking for a long time is there in any concert in the US, and is pointless in this thread. No one wants to hear the artist bio's since everyone knows who is singing. This could be a separate topic generally for most concerts in the US...
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Dear Rasikas,
i did not attend this particular concert but I am forced to write the following:
After more than 50 years of attending & listening to CM concerts I find SRI RAM KUMAR on the Violin is one of the most able, knowledgeable CM musicians I have heard. The same goes for Arun Prakash whose timing & precision of playing makes him an OUTSTANDING stand out in recent times. He has managed to absorb the solid knowledge of SRI. M.N.Kanadasway Pillai and the tradition of the GREAT Palani Subramanya Pillai & is in my opinion the TRUE representative of that tradition playing the Mridangam as it should be played in a concert today making the OVERALL success of the concert paramount as opposed to just exhibiting his mastery & skills on the Mridangam.. I STRONGLY FEEL that if Carnatic music is in the hands of persons like Sriram kumar & Arun Prakash we can hope for a great musical future. vkv
i did not attend this particular concert but I am forced to write the following:
After more than 50 years of attending & listening to CM concerts I find SRI RAM KUMAR on the Violin is one of the most able, knowledgeable CM musicians I have heard. The same goes for Arun Prakash whose timing & precision of playing makes him an OUTSTANDING stand out in recent times. He has managed to absorb the solid knowledge of SRI. M.N.Kanadasway Pillai and the tradition of the GREAT Palani Subramanya Pillai & is in my opinion the TRUE representative of that tradition playing the Mridangam as it should be played in a concert today making the OVERALL success of the concert paramount as opposed to just exhibiting his mastery & skills on the Mridangam.. I STRONGLY FEEL that if Carnatic music is in the hands of persons like Sriram kumar & Arun Prakash we can hope for a great musical future. vkv
Last edited by cacm on 01 May 2008, 08:59, edited 1 time in total.
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kadambam
- Posts: 104
- Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 04:10
vkv sir,
With all due respect, there seems to be little resemblence of Arun to either shri.MNK or the legend Palani. Arun's style may be subdued, relaxed and hats off to him for evolving an individualistic approach, but Trichy Sankaran in my opinion truly represents Palani style and Shri.Dorai sir would come next. Palani school not only stands for sarvalaghu but also brings out the best in Nadai solkattus. Arun, imo has not demonstrated these traits in his playing.
Regarding organizers speeches and TMK arranging amplifying systems when the audience are present, it all boils down to 'Don't Care Attitude'. Living in NA, to listen to a good carnatic concert, one sacrifices at least 4-5 hours (incl. travelling time, preparation etc) and especially for families with kids less than 5 years, every minute counts. The same wouldn't have happened if it were a western performance. Recently, attended a Celtic Woman concert, it started on time and ended on time, no speeches nothing!!Why don't we learn the good things!!!
With all due respect, there seems to be little resemblence of Arun to either shri.MNK or the legend Palani. Arun's style may be subdued, relaxed and hats off to him for evolving an individualistic approach, but Trichy Sankaran in my opinion truly represents Palani style and Shri.Dorai sir would come next. Palani school not only stands for sarvalaghu but also brings out the best in Nadai solkattus. Arun, imo has not demonstrated these traits in his playing.
Regarding organizers speeches and TMK arranging amplifying systems when the audience are present, it all boils down to 'Don't Care Attitude'. Living in NA, to listen to a good carnatic concert, one sacrifices at least 4-5 hours (incl. travelling time, preparation etc) and especially for families with kids less than 5 years, every minute counts. The same wouldn't have happened if it were a western performance. Recently, attended a Celtic Woman concert, it started on time and ended on time, no speeches nothing!!Why don't we learn the good things!!!
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Ragjay
- Posts: 208
- Joined: 12 Oct 2006, 17:10
It might be possible that the mirdangam artist may have had an off day. To say that his performance was below par on that day is no crime. A lot of hype is being attached to every concert of the said artistand I am reminded of a comment made by subbudu... it generated more heat than light in reference to the raga alapana of one of the items in a concert of a senior artist and frankly it is time that a spade be called a spade.... Bye Ragjay
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arasi
- Posts: 16873
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
Leaving the performers of this concert out of it, this concert had some irritating elements (don't we know them?).
Kadambam,
Yes, why don't we take the best from both cultures? While we are (and the performers are) particular about good sound arrangements-- to make the audience wait that long is trying. Yes, it has to be done 'before' the start of the concert. Up to five minutes after the performers occupy the stage is okay.
As for rasikAs, one or two of them who are prime rasikAs who get to speak (after all, they go to the trouble of organizing), I would say, let the music speak! Spend a tiny bit of money in printing out all the information about the performers and make sure they are given to the listeners as they enter the hall. Don't read from the printed paper either! At the end of the concert, thank all briefly and that would really add to the value of the concert. If you feel that more than one from the committee has to stand up, let one garland (give flowers)
while the other thanks everyone briefly. In the next concert, other office bearers can do the same, taking turns. This way, the rasikAs who come from miles away can get back home at a reasonable hour.
Another thing--you may attract more attendees who have less time to sit through a prolonged concert through the parts which are non-musical.
After all, those who come to have a pleasant musical experience needn't be jolted out of their uninterrupted listening pleasure by unnecessary unmusical interruptions. It would also inspire the performers to carry on without a break in the momentum while they perform...
Kadambam,
Yes, why don't we take the best from both cultures? While we are (and the performers are) particular about good sound arrangements-- to make the audience wait that long is trying. Yes, it has to be done 'before' the start of the concert. Up to five minutes after the performers occupy the stage is okay.
As for rasikAs, one or two of them who are prime rasikAs who get to speak (after all, they go to the trouble of organizing), I would say, let the music speak! Spend a tiny bit of money in printing out all the information about the performers and make sure they are given to the listeners as they enter the hall. Don't read from the printed paper either! At the end of the concert, thank all briefly and that would really add to the value of the concert. If you feel that more than one from the committee has to stand up, let one garland (give flowers)
while the other thanks everyone briefly. In the next concert, other office bearers can do the same, taking turns. This way, the rasikAs who come from miles away can get back home at a reasonable hour.
Another thing--you may attract more attendees who have less time to sit through a prolonged concert through the parts which are non-musical.
After all, those who come to have a pleasant musical experience needn't be jolted out of their uninterrupted listening pleasure by unnecessary unmusical interruptions. It would also inspire the performers to carry on without a break in the momentum while they perform...
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
KADAMBAM'S OBSERVATIONS:
With all due respect, there seems to be little resemblence of Arun to either shri.MNK or the legend Palani. Arun's style may be subdued, relaxed and hats off to him for evolving an individualistic approach, but Trichy Sankaran in my opinion truly represents Palani style and Shri.Dorai sir would come next. Palani school not only stands for sarvalaghu but also brings out the best in Nadai solkattus. Arun, imo has not demonstrated these traits in his playing.
Dear Kadambam,
Tiruchy S & Guravayoor D are very good friends of mine & hence I will not comment in ths forum about their representing Palani Style or School etc. Arun I also know somewhat but as the discussion was about his playing in this concert let me elaborate what I meant.
When Palani started his career he was mostly playing unbelievably difficult & complicated "Kanakkus" etc; For example it is said he had contributed some to Alathur Bros. tough& difficult Pallavis. From that style he became the favourite accompanist for Late Madurai Mani Iyer whose Sarva Laghu style was considered simple by some but was actually very difficult to accompany for in an interesting way for most Mridangists. To paraphrase what Sri. K.S.Kalida( critic & disciple of Palani) has said: MMI used to say Palani was a Thyagi!....
The point I was trying to make was PALANI'S ACCOMPANIMENT for a concert ENHANCED the concert & he did not do it by just showing his extra-ordinary abilities in playing the instrument. Mridangam is still ( I hope) considered a Pakka Vadyam. (Of course Palani's "Thoppi" Nadam is yet to be equalled by any one I have heard in my life time so far). It is in this sense of the OVER ALL CONCERT that I made my remarks about Arun. His sensibilty to do his best- even subduing his mridangam playing- is a great & remarkable trait & in my opinion is worthy of emulation by MANY MANY Mridangists active today. vkv
With all due respect, there seems to be little resemblence of Arun to either shri.MNK or the legend Palani. Arun's style may be subdued, relaxed and hats off to him for evolving an individualistic approach, but Trichy Sankaran in my opinion truly represents Palani style and Shri.Dorai sir would come next. Palani school not only stands for sarvalaghu but also brings out the best in Nadai solkattus. Arun, imo has not demonstrated these traits in his playing.
Dear Kadambam,
Tiruchy S & Guravayoor D are very good friends of mine & hence I will not comment in ths forum about their representing Palani Style or School etc. Arun I also know somewhat but as the discussion was about his playing in this concert let me elaborate what I meant.
When Palani started his career he was mostly playing unbelievably difficult & complicated "Kanakkus" etc; For example it is said he had contributed some to Alathur Bros. tough& difficult Pallavis. From that style he became the favourite accompanist for Late Madurai Mani Iyer whose Sarva Laghu style was considered simple by some but was actually very difficult to accompany for in an interesting way for most Mridangists. To paraphrase what Sri. K.S.Kalida( critic & disciple of Palani) has said: MMI used to say Palani was a Thyagi!....
The point I was trying to make was PALANI'S ACCOMPANIMENT for a concert ENHANCED the concert & he did not do it by just showing his extra-ordinary abilities in playing the instrument. Mridangam is still ( I hope) considered a Pakka Vadyam. (Of course Palani's "Thoppi" Nadam is yet to be equalled by any one I have heard in my life time so far). It is in this sense of the OVER ALL CONCERT that I made my remarks about Arun. His sensibilty to do his best- even subduing his mridangam playing- is a great & remarkable trait & in my opinion is worthy of emulation by MANY MANY Mridangists active today. vkv
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kadambam
- Posts: 104
- Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 04:10
vkv sir,
Thanks for the clarification. I have not been as fortunate as you to hear these maestros live multiple times. My 'layman' observations come from the tapes that i have heard. There is absolutely no doubt that either Palani Sir or Ramabhadran Sir's accompaniments enhanced the beauty of the overall concert infinitely. But, Palani's style of accompaniment, imo had some resemblances to a Thavil style, which i vivdly notice in TS. It is extremely difficult to play a full 3 or 4 hour concert in this style. One needs a lot of stamina to approach this style.
Arun is subdued & imo, neither enhances nor disturbs the main artist. Now, i am not justifying whether it is right or wrong. Some (musicians and/or rasikas) may enjoy that style of accompaniment and that may be the reason why he is preferred. But when a comparission is made to either Palani or Ramabhadran Sir, there are significant differences and we cannot use a 'sarvalaghu' umberalla to group these styles. Arun is more 'shanthalaghu' and i do admire him in not indulging in too much 'kannakku driven' solkattu or urupuddis.
Thanks for the clarification. I have not been as fortunate as you to hear these maestros live multiple times. My 'layman' observations come from the tapes that i have heard. There is absolutely no doubt that either Palani Sir or Ramabhadran Sir's accompaniments enhanced the beauty of the overall concert infinitely. But, Palani's style of accompaniment, imo had some resemblances to a Thavil style, which i vivdly notice in TS. It is extremely difficult to play a full 3 or 4 hour concert in this style. One needs a lot of stamina to approach this style.
Arun is subdued & imo, neither enhances nor disturbs the main artist. Now, i am not justifying whether it is right or wrong. Some (musicians and/or rasikas) may enjoy that style of accompaniment and that may be the reason why he is preferred. But when a comparission is made to either Palani or Ramabhadran Sir, there are significant differences and we cannot use a 'sarvalaghu' umberalla to group these styles. Arun is more 'shanthalaghu' and i do admire him in not indulging in too much 'kannakku driven' solkattu or urupuddis.
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vigneshbal
- Posts: 52
- Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 11:31
To all,
Please..please dont compare or even write about Arun Prakash and Trichy Sankaran on the same thread.. Its a great insult to a mastero Sankaran..
Dear Vkv sir, with all respects to you, please tell me any one mridangist greats like Pazhni, Mani Iyer, Karaikudi Mani, UKS, TSS etc.. who were subdued??? To be subdued without accompanying a chowka kala keertanai is not musical maturity it is droham... I can also do that easily, people these days can call it as musical maturity and escape after all a very small % of rasikas are knowledgable about mridangam, accompaniment etc..
Having said that I would like to make it clear.. I have no problem/personal issues with any of the above artists, my argument has more to do with Issue than anything else..
One artists gave tani to Arun Prakash at 7PM in 6-9PM concert, knowing pretty well that if he was given the tani after 8pm, crowd will walk out.. Believe me, the crowd stayed intact till Mangalam..
Please..please dont compare or even write about Arun Prakash and Trichy Sankaran on the same thread.. Its a great insult to a mastero Sankaran..
Dear Vkv sir, with all respects to you, please tell me any one mridangist greats like Pazhni, Mani Iyer, Karaikudi Mani, UKS, TSS etc.. who were subdued??? To be subdued without accompanying a chowka kala keertanai is not musical maturity it is droham... I can also do that easily, people these days can call it as musical maturity and escape after all a very small % of rasikas are knowledgable about mridangam, accompaniment etc..
Having said that I would like to make it clear.. I have no problem/personal issues with any of the above artists, my argument has more to do with Issue than anything else..
One artists gave tani to Arun Prakash at 7PM in 6-9PM concert, knowing pretty well that if he was given the tani after 8pm, crowd will walk out.. Believe me, the crowd stayed intact till Mangalam..
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Dear Vigneshbal,
I can tell you having attended at least more than 500 concerts in which Palani Subramania pillai played that I personally attended he was not loud at all. Actually in one concert mmi's Thmbura was not good & he used Palani's mridangam playing for SRUTI & continued the concert. If you make the point that now a days the placement of mikes for mridangam-too many in my opinion- affects the VOLUME I may say you have a point . With respect to Palani's playing. Believe me he was ONE OF A KIND. vkv
I can tell you having attended at least more than 500 concerts in which Palani Subramania pillai played that I personally attended he was not loud at all. Actually in one concert mmi's Thmbura was not good & he used Palani's mridangam playing for SRUTI & continued the concert. If you make the point that now a days the placement of mikes for mridangam-too many in my opinion- affects the VOLUME I may say you have a point . With respect to Palani's playing. Believe me he was ONE OF A KIND. vkv
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Purist
- Posts: 431
- Joined: 13 May 2008, 16:55
I think too much praise too early in life leads to complacency, and what people from back home in India used to call and perhaps still refer to as 'head-weight' - I am not implying that TMK has this already but my fear is that he seems to be heading in that direction. ..from'.true-rasika lines above.
Seems true to some extent ..In one concert TMK began with Ahiri(mayamma) and a sahana varnam in bang middle of concert prefixed with an elaborate alapana. Another Ramanavamiconcert started off with Madhyamavathi(Ramakathasudha). Such liberties takes sensitivies of audiences for granted.
'Innovation orwhy not' attitudes when carried too far will prove disastrous in long run...one day you may
have a concert starting with an RTP.
SSI ,MS remained fresh even over 6 decades and eschewed undue liberties Belonging to that school TMK should take a leaf out.
Seems true to some extent ..In one concert TMK began with Ahiri(mayamma) and a sahana varnam in bang middle of concert prefixed with an elaborate alapana. Another Ramanavamiconcert started off with Madhyamavathi(Ramakathasudha). Such liberties takes sensitivies of audiences for granted.
'Innovation orwhy not' attitudes when carried too far will prove disastrous in long run...one day you may
have a concert starting with an RTP.
SSI ,MS remained fresh even over 6 decades and eschewed undue liberties Belonging to that school TMK should take a leaf out.
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mri_fan
- Posts: 382
- Joined: 15 Aug 2006, 22:12
Why don't you ask your son's music teacher before you continue your blathering. Of course Sankaran and Prakash can be discussed in the same thread...they're both PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS from the same school of mridangam. Your tone is incredibly condescending and insulting. I am a huge fan of Sankaran's too, but in no way does that give me the right to disparage other musicians for their approach to music. Reasonable people can disagree without being disagreeable, and your ridiculous statements show a weak understanding of the greater purpose of music. Even if you think that everyone in the olden days were loud and aggressive (not true), that doesn't mean that current musicians have to follow past traditions. You cannot be serious when you claim that you can play as he does easily. It's statements like that that make you seem foolish. You need to accept that you don't really know what your talking about. Please talk to your son's mridangam teacher, he's a very reasonable man.musician, and perhaps he can suggest a more mature way of looking at music, especially mridangam. And when given the chance, please ask other musicians on their approach to understanding music ...it's not like there's this big hoax that Arun Prakash is pulling on everyone, and everyone just cant' see what you see so clearly....I think it's must more likely that for whatever reason, you've developed a distorted idea on what is required in mridangam accompaniment
vigneshbal wrote:To all,
Please..please dont compare or even write about Arun Prakash and Trichy Sankaran on the same thread.. Its a great insult to a mastero Sankaran..
Dear Vkv sir, with all respects to you, please tell me any one mridangist greats like Pazhni, Mani Iyer, Karaikudi Mani, UKS, TSS etc.. who were subdued??? To be subdued without accompanying a chowka kala keertanai is not musical maturity it is droham... I can also do that easily, people these days can call it as musical maturity and escape after all a very small % of rasikas are knowledgable about mridangam, accompaniment etc..
Having said that I would like to make it clear.. I have no problem/personal issues with any of the above artists, my argument has more to do with Issue than anything else..
One artists gave tani to Arun Prakash at 7PM in 6-9PM concert, knowing pretty well that if he was given the tani after 8pm, crowd will walk out.. Believe me, the crowd stayed intact till Mangalam..
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vigneshbal
- Posts: 52
- Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 11:31
At VKV sir,
Sir I respect your comments.. I have not heard even a single live concert of PSP, but quite have heard a few of AP and Sankaran, - Certainly not as much as u did. Now the issue is not loud.. I dont think KRM/UKS/PMI are loud... But certainly when they played vilamba kala kirthanae, they showed much more maturity not keeping quite.This one I can comment on the basis of lot of casettes I have heard..So I dont have sufficient evidence to accept your arguement that subdued playing was done by him/better . Thats my opinion.. Lets leave it there...
BTW I did not intend hurting anyone with my previous post, I dont feel what I have done there is wrong, But if any one feels hurt, I am sorry about that.
Now at Mri_fan
Was that post meant for me? If yes, why am I quoted, should I respond? very importantly, How do u know my son/son's mridangam teacher?
Sir I respect your comments.. I have not heard even a single live concert of PSP, but quite have heard a few of AP and Sankaran, - Certainly not as much as u did. Now the issue is not loud.. I dont think KRM/UKS/PMI are loud... But certainly when they played vilamba kala kirthanae, they showed much more maturity not keeping quite.This one I can comment on the basis of lot of casettes I have heard..So I dont have sufficient evidence to accept your arguement that subdued playing was done by him/better . Thats my opinion.. Lets leave it there...
BTW I did not intend hurting anyone with my previous post, I dont feel what I have done there is wrong, But if any one feels hurt, I am sorry about that.
Now at Mri_fan
Was that post meant for me? If yes, why am I quoted, should I respond? very importantly, How do u know my son/son's mridangam teacher?
Last edited by vigneshbal on 02 May 2008, 20:04, edited 1 time in total.
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mri_fan
- Posts: 382
- Joined: 15 Aug 2006, 22:12
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Dear Vigneshbal,vigneshbal wrote:At VKV sir,
Sir I respect your comments.. I have not heard even a single live concert of MMI, but quite a few of AP and Sankaran, I have heard - Certainly not as much as u did. Now the issue is not loud.. I dont think KRM/UKS/PMI are loud... But certainly when they played vilamba kala kirthanae, they showed much more maturity not keeping quite.. Thats my opinion.. Lets leave it there...
Please go back & seriuosly listen to PMI. He can be loud at times & not at all at other times. It has to do with what the main artist is trying to convey at that time taking into account the composer's emphasis etc. Also the main point I wish to make is: There will be SEVERAL PAUSES IN HIS PLAYING- that is he will be totally silent & I remember a MMi concert at Academy (Rasika Ranjani Sabha concert) when the audience shouted out at him to play & not keep quiet; MMI had to intervene & request the audience to not disturb the artists & the concert. But the beauty of those pauses of PMI were when he came out of it IT WOULD LITERALLY BE A TORRENT like Niagara Falls he would play- not necessarily in Volume- so many exciting new ideas I have listened to them again & again to figure out what he did; How & why he did it has intrigued even LGJ & I have asked him myself how he came up with thise ideas. Iam stating these as a student of Mridangam (which I learnt from Famous Vidwans) as well as the music for more than 50 years
There was a concert of MMI in which BOTH LGJ & PMI JUST KEPT QUIET when MMI was doing Niraval for close to 5 minutes in "Nee Oru SILAIYO" creating the fantastic effect of MMI directly appealing to God. What a smart & memorable move resulting in an indelible moment for all time for any one who attended or heard that concert......
Till I came to USA I was attending a minimum of 4 concerts per week in which all the mridangam names you are mentioning & both know as well as heard EVERY ONE of the names you are mentioning from day one of their professional career practically. IN THIS FORUM WHICH I find has persons writing at various levels of knowledge, understanding & motivation I will not write about current senior vidwans (living) in what I consider to be an immature not so knowledgeable fashion. It took me more than 10 years before I DEVELOPED ENOUGH GUTS TO EVEN TALK TO PMI.
I will not respond here-you can email me if you wish; [email protected] more here just to prove any points or score a knockout. My opinion is we should share expertise if we have it &share opinions & NOT CONTINUOUSLY HARP ON WHATEVER........I am not giving ADVICE either or acting as a holier than thou. I do appreciate your interest as I feel its persons like you who can contribute to propagate our music to greater heights. vkv
Last edited by cacm on 02 May 2008, 20:37, edited 1 time in total.
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vigneshbal
- Posts: 52
- Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 11:31
Sorry, its a mistaken identity, I have nothing to do with US. I have never been there..But since this is addressed to me, i shall respond.mri_fan wrote:Why don't you ask your son's music teacher before you continue your blathering.
Yes true.. they are from the same school of playing.. They play the same instrument, that does not mean they are comparable. I can give examples but that would be too unfair to the musician, so I shall not give it.mri_fan wrote:Of course Sankaran and Prakash can be discussed in the same thread...they're both PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS from the same school of mridangam.
Thats why, I asked sorry to those who felt hurt by my statement.. But that does not constrain me from talking MY version of truth / MY experiences. You can share yours... No problem..mri_fan wrote:Your tone is incredibly condescending and insulting.
Unfortunately I have tuned my ears to Sankaran, KM, UKS etc, so I am not able to "dilute" my standards.mri_fan wrote:] I am a huge fan of Sankaran's too, but in no way does that give me the right to disparage other musicians for their approach to music.
100% agreed.. Only statement in which both of us seem to have some common ground.mri_fan wrote:Reasonable people can disagree without being disagreeable, and your ridiculous statements show a weak understanding of the greater purpose of music.
.I never used they were "loud". But I will not call it a musical intelligence to keep quiet at a start of vilamba kala kirthanae.. (More than one instance I have heard it..) and playing a content less tani, now how according to your musical intelligence will you call that ??? continuation of song??Certainly I cannot accept thatmri_fan wrote:Even if you think that everyone in the olden days were loud and aggressive (not true), that doesn't mean that current musicians have to follow past traditions.
Sorry.. If this statement bothered you much.. I meant that there are many such people who can do that... BTW.. Sitting simply in the floor is not that hard for me..mri_fan wrote:You cannot be serious when you claim that you can play as he does easily.
What is foolish here? I dont understand.Questioning a persons approach to playing is foolish, then what do reviewers do?will you ever dare to call them the same? BTW, mind your language.. Things may very easily spill out from here.. You need not call me foolish even if I am.By calling me so you prove that you also belong to the same league .. We may disagree but I have never questioned your musical knowledge/integrity/musical intelligence etc.I was playing mridangam for 12 years in India, I know how junior artists are treated in India (May be not in Chennai but elsewhere) and other politics etc which i dont want to discuss.. and lets please not go to such a level..mri_fan wrote:It's statements like that that make you seem foolish. You need to accept that you don't really know what your talking about.
If you say I am willing to agree, need not go to mridangam teacher etc.pavam avara yen idula izhukanummri_fan wrote:Please talk to your son's mridangam teacher, he's a very reasonable man.musician, and perhaps he can suggest a more mature way of looking at music, especially mridangam.
.... BTW for the same reason as the top line, this is also irrelevant.Sure, I am willing to accept your views in that.Why go to musicians for it? No probs about that... I dont want to mention the reason why people prefer him.. May be because the musician has your taste, May be because he does not steal the spot light, may be becoz of economics.. May be anything....I dont organize concerts, I just invest some thought, time and money... That side of the story is not known to me, but I know it is very very difficult job.. Thats why.. All salutes to VKV.. I wrote what I thought may be useful for him.. Thats why, I dont even want to comment on his observations.. He has definitely heard all the past masters whom I have heard only in CD's/Tapes etc..mri_fan wrote:And when given the chance, please ask other musicians on their approach to understanding music ...it's not like there's this big hoax that Arun Prakash is pulling on everyone, and everyone just cant' see what you see so clearly.
BTW.. Do you organise some concerts in US?? then you are justified in having these opinions? otherwise it should be only -- taste difference...
Last edited by vigneshbal on 02 May 2008, 23:35, edited 1 time in total.
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sankirnam
- Posts: 374
- Joined: 07 Sep 2006, 14:18
Just being able to sit on the floor with the mrudangam on you leg is itself a big achievement, I have heard so many people mention this, incl. UKS sir. If you look at most students, the biggest hurdle is simply to get them comfortable with the posture and getting them to sit like that for an hour or more!vigneshbal wrote:BTW.. Sitting simply in the floor is not that hard for me..
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dhanyasi
- Posts: 45
- Joined: 07 Aug 2006, 20:53
My apologies Sridhar, I have to take this out on someone and your post seems to be the last one on this subject.hssridhar wrote:I think too much praise too early in life leads to complacency, and what people from back home in India used to call and perhaps still refer to as 'head-weight' - I am not implying that TMK has this already but my fear is that he seems to be heading in that direction. ..from'.true-rasika lines above.
Seems true to some extent ..In one concert TMK began with Ahiri(mayamma) and a sahana varnam in bang middle of concert prefixed with an elaborate alapana. Another Ramanavamiconcert started off with Madhyamavathi(Ramakathasudha). Such liberties takes sensitivies of audiences for granted.
'Innovation orwhy not' attitudes when carried too far will prove disastrous in long run...one day you may
have a concert starting with an RTP.
SSI ,MS remained fresh even over 6 decades and eschewed undue liberties Belonging to that school TMK should take a leaf out.
First of all Carnatic music and most of its compositions predates the “so calledâ€
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rajumds
- Posts: 715
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 11:16
Why are we so intolerant to reviews which say a concert is not up to the mark. We have had enough of discussions on reviews & reviewers and many of us ahve heard these artists many a times and we don't form an opinion based on single review. If a review says that a concert was not upto the mark why should the reviewers credentials be questioned.
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Purist
- Posts: 431
- Joined: 13 May 2008, 16:55
Dhanyasi wrote... who are we to rank the songs and decide that Shyama Sastri's Mayamma does not deserve the first place in a concert..
Sorry you got it wrong. The empahsis was on the raga 'Ahiri' to begin the concert and not the kriti deserving the first place.(I cannot dream of insulting Shyama Sastri). Ahiri is known for its sad/pathos mood
and i doubt if starting a concert on a melancholic note is right...(affecting sensitivities of audience!!!)
The point is not that one should follow a fixed order( of songs ) .... let there be some discipline or method
in choosing instead ..both the item and raga as well
Sorry you got it wrong. The empahsis was on the raga 'Ahiri' to begin the concert and not the kriti deserving the first place.(I cannot dream of insulting Shyama Sastri). Ahiri is known for its sad/pathos mood
and i doubt if starting a concert on a melancholic note is right...(affecting sensitivities of audience!!!)
The point is not that one should follow a fixed order( of songs ) .... let there be some discipline or method
in choosing instead ..both the item and raga as well
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arvindt
- Posts: 78
- Joined: 04 Jan 2007, 09:35
That's your personal preference then, and I totally respect it, but do recognize that some ofand i doubt if starting a concert on a melancholic note is right...(affecting sensitivities of audience!!!)
us have different preferences so it's a bit of a stretch to criticize the artist on the grounds of
tradition or saying that it affects the "sensitivities" of all concerned. Speak for yourself!
For example, I have absolutely no objections to a concert starting with Ahiri
(it's one of my favourite ragas and I don't find it melancholic, just deeply meditative), and
would be absolutely thrilled to hear more concerts with an exquisite varnam or padam
paid due homage as main piece.
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true_rasika
- Posts: 20
- Joined: 06 May 2007, 18:49
Dear RasikAs:
Thanks to my being a little unwell for a couple of days, I could not follow up on the posts subsequent to my first post offering a somewhat different, not-so-flattering review of TMK's concert. Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of reactions to the post, and also noticed that Arun Prakash (rather his 'style') has come in for a fairly detailed analysis. I thought I had stirred a hornet's nest with my comments and hope not to do an encore this time
I recognize and appreciate that each one is entitled to his / her opinion, so rather than take positions / respond to the several individual comments / counter-comments in this thread, I would like to offer a few more thoughts here.
With respect to Arun, the following things struck me the most about his playing for TMK at BWTR:
a) The rather subdued volume of his mridangam - so much subdued that one had to lean forward to check if / how he was playing. Honestly, I never had any doubt like this whenever the maestros played. On the contrary, the pleasure of listening multiplied whenever this (deliberately subdued playing) happened.
b) The rather prolonged periods of time when Arun was conspicuous by his 'absence'. Actually, I was wondering what he was really up to by not playing at all. By no stretch of imagination can this be compared to PMI's pauses and grand reentries. That was a class apart, and that was sheer genius at work...
c) If what he played at BWTR is reflective of a style that he cultivated on his own, Arun is probably not the ideal accompanist for chowkka kAlam singing. The impression that seemed to form in people's minds was that he seemed to be 'at a loss' and therefore could not play....Veteran rasikAs in this forum would surely agree that this is really the greatest challenge for a mridangist because it calls for exceptional imagination, precision control and exquisite timing. Having been fortunate to listen live to UKS accompanying MDR on many oaccasions, I confess that I am somewhat biased when I say that UKS was / is unmatched in this department. I have not heard of any mridangist other than him, practising extensively in his younger days to this style of singing (as UKS himself revealed in an interview in Sruti).
d) He surely does not bear the stamp of the glorious Pazhani School - unquestionably the low-profile Maestro Trichy Sankaran richly deserves the accolade of being the greatest torch-bearer of this School today. Any comparisons of Arun with Sankaran would be odious, if at all attempted. The two are poles apart in class and style.
Please let me make it amply clear that I have NO axe to grind here by taking on Arun. In fact I know him well and he has visited my place in the US and in India (while I was there in the nineties). I was / have been a big fan of his, and given that I listened to him after a gap of 2 or 3 years, I could not but take notice of a downhill trend. It is my sincere hope that .
Moving on to TMK, the overall message that I was trying to get across was that all gimmicks such as mike testing / talking / parading students on stage / loudly expressing appreciation for his accompanists with 'SabhAshes' and Balae's / wild gesturing with his hands - (btw - did anyone notice that he puts tALam only sometimes?) are not called for in an artiste who is as young as he. For ALL the hullabaloo around or about him, one expects some 'weighty musical output' from him, but he falls short here, and hence the disappointment is magnified. I do not for a moment doubt his immense talent, gifted and wonderful voice, very good knowledge, savvy communication skills, etc. But as a sincere well-meaning rasikA, let me say that all does not matter in the ultimate analysis. What truly matters is the music and music alone. I think it is therefore very reasonable for a simple rasikA like me to expect him let his music do all his 'talking'. He is far too young in his years and has a LONG way to go, and my biggest fear is that he should not start 'resting on his laurels' way too soon.
Thank you.
Thanks to my being a little unwell for a couple of days, I could not follow up on the posts subsequent to my first post offering a somewhat different, not-so-flattering review of TMK's concert. Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of reactions to the post, and also noticed that Arun Prakash (rather his 'style') has come in for a fairly detailed analysis. I thought I had stirred a hornet's nest with my comments and hope not to do an encore this time
I recognize and appreciate that each one is entitled to his / her opinion, so rather than take positions / respond to the several individual comments / counter-comments in this thread, I would like to offer a few more thoughts here.
With respect to Arun, the following things struck me the most about his playing for TMK at BWTR:
a) The rather subdued volume of his mridangam - so much subdued that one had to lean forward to check if / how he was playing. Honestly, I never had any doubt like this whenever the maestros played. On the contrary, the pleasure of listening multiplied whenever this (deliberately subdued playing) happened.
b) The rather prolonged periods of time when Arun was conspicuous by his 'absence'. Actually, I was wondering what he was really up to by not playing at all. By no stretch of imagination can this be compared to PMI's pauses and grand reentries. That was a class apart, and that was sheer genius at work...
c) If what he played at BWTR is reflective of a style that he cultivated on his own, Arun is probably not the ideal accompanist for chowkka kAlam singing. The impression that seemed to form in people's minds was that he seemed to be 'at a loss' and therefore could not play....Veteran rasikAs in this forum would surely agree that this is really the greatest challenge for a mridangist because it calls for exceptional imagination, precision control and exquisite timing. Having been fortunate to listen live to UKS accompanying MDR on many oaccasions, I confess that I am somewhat biased when I say that UKS was / is unmatched in this department. I have not heard of any mridangist other than him, practising extensively in his younger days to this style of singing (as UKS himself revealed in an interview in Sruti).
d) He surely does not bear the stamp of the glorious Pazhani School - unquestionably the low-profile Maestro Trichy Sankaran richly deserves the accolade of being the greatest torch-bearer of this School today. Any comparisons of Arun with Sankaran would be odious, if at all attempted. The two are poles apart in class and style.
Please let me make it amply clear that I have NO axe to grind here by taking on Arun. In fact I know him well and he has visited my place in the US and in India (while I was there in the nineties). I was / have been a big fan of his, and given that I listened to him after a gap of 2 or 3 years, I could not but take notice of a downhill trend. It is my sincere hope that .
Moving on to TMK, the overall message that I was trying to get across was that all gimmicks such as mike testing / talking / parading students on stage / loudly expressing appreciation for his accompanists with 'SabhAshes' and Balae's / wild gesturing with his hands - (btw - did anyone notice that he puts tALam only sometimes?) are not called for in an artiste who is as young as he. For ALL the hullabaloo around or about him, one expects some 'weighty musical output' from him, but he falls short here, and hence the disappointment is magnified. I do not for a moment doubt his immense talent, gifted and wonderful voice, very good knowledge, savvy communication skills, etc. But as a sincere well-meaning rasikA, let me say that all does not matter in the ultimate analysis. What truly matters is the music and music alone. I think it is therefore very reasonable for a simple rasikA like me to expect him let his music do all his 'talking'. He is far too young in his years and has a LONG way to go, and my biggest fear is that he should not start 'resting on his laurels' way too soon.
Thank you.
Last edited by true_rasika on 04 May 2008, 09:24, edited 1 time in total.
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Dear true_rasika, I really respect your views esp as I was not present at this particular concert! My only question is: Based on what you wrote previously can you recall if in the inordinate time it took for testing -was the mridangam VOLUME LOW? As you know the relative volumes can be easily manipulated. Actually when i arranged concerts i switched off the mikes bec. of the contrary requirements of the artists (after palying around to make them happy as their requests typically VIOLATE the rules of Class "A" amplifiers) before the concerts started in many cases.true_rasika wrote:Dear RasikAs:
With respect to Arun, the following things struck me the most about his playing for TMK at BWTR:
a) The rather subdued volume of his mridangam - so much subdued that one had to lean forward to check if / how he was playing. Honestly, I never had any doubt like this whenever the maestros played. On the contrary, the pleasure of listening multiplied whenever this (deliberately subdued playing) happened.
b) The rather prolonged periods of time when Arun was conspicuous by his 'absence'. Actually, I was wondering what he was really up to by not playing at all. By no stretch of imagination can this be compared to PMI's pauses and grand reentries. That was a class apart, and that was sheer genius at work...
.
I was not comparing Arun with any other Mridangist. In my mind & experience I PUT PMI, PALANI & MURUGA BHOOPATHY IN A CLSSS BY THEMSELVES. The rest to me are great but no comparison with the above three. Again the only reason I WROTE ABOUT THE PAUSES is my own annoyance at the CONTINUOUS accompanying by accompanists- applies to violinists also as the nuances of the compositions are LOST many times by what I consider to be annoyances or nuisances. My own personal reaction esp. in Chennai concerts is that the positioning & poor quality of the mikes cum amplification system results in a DISTORTION OF A MONSTROUS KIND that if the accompanying instruments are absent at least part of the time one may be better off.As I indicated PMI is Kaliyuga Nandi & the other two I mentioned & anything they did also was BRILLIANT.
I beg to differ. For MDR, Palghat Raghu & Vellore Ramabhadran for totally DIFFERENT reasons were BETTER accompanists in my view. This is not to say UKS IS NOT GREAT.Having been fortunate to listen live to UKS accompanying MDR, I confess that I am somewhat biased when I say that UKS was / is unmatched in this department. I have not heard of any mridangist other than him, practising extensively in his younger days to this style of singing (as UKS himself revealed in an interview in Sruti)......
Please do take upper case letters to imply I am angry etc. I use them only for emphasis. vkv
Last edited by cacm on 04 May 2008, 09:45, edited 1 time in total.
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Ragjay
- Posts: 208
- Joined: 12 Oct 2006, 17:10
Hi I have followed this thread with great interest. The other day IFAS celebrated GNB day and veteran Chingelpet Shri Ranganathan speaking about GNB recalled a concert arranged by Trichy Fine Arts in one of the then existing film Talkies. This concert was held in1953and one can imagine the poor accoustic that must have existed along with milling crowds . The concert despite all these handicap was a roaring success which was very vividly and emotionally recalled by Shri Ranganathan Comparing with all the nakras of this artist in this concert and what followed I can not help feeling that critical comments made are justified... If artists are so sensitive about the mike arrangement it is their business to be present at the venue ahead of the concert schedule and have all the adjustments made. Bye Ragjay
Last edited by Ragjay on 04 May 2008, 11:47, edited 1 time in total.
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shripathi_g
- Posts: 359
- Joined: 30 Mar 2005, 08:25
Just want to add my 2 cents.
1) It's not entirely appropriate to blame the artists for arriving late to a concert in the US. Most of the time, they have to depend on the organizers for getting to the venue. If there was a delay in that process, the artists cannot help it. Also, it's the responsibility of the organizers to make sure the artists have settled down before letting people in. I volunteered for SIFA, Bay Area in 2006 and I remember that we did that for almost all our concerts. Not sure about the protocol followed here.
2) With regards to Arun Prakash's playing, speaking purely as a layman rasika, I too sort of get the feeling that he can do much more when he plays for slow-paced singing. Maybe, it's the sort of unobtrusive playing that the vocalists want. I'm a big fan of MDR and though I haven't heard him live, I listen to his music almost everyday for a few hours. I feel that the way people like UKS, Palghat Raghu, PMI played for his chowka-kala singing was totally different and sounded more pleasing to the ears than the way Arun Prakash plays for similarly paced songs. I'm not sure what a good measure of comparison would be or if it's even proper to compare. I tried listening to a few chowka-kala krithis (Koniyadina (MDR/PMI & Sanjay), Rangapuravihara (KVN/UKS, R&G) and I felt that AP could have enhanced the krithis in either case. Just my perception.
1) It's not entirely appropriate to blame the artists for arriving late to a concert in the US. Most of the time, they have to depend on the organizers for getting to the venue. If there was a delay in that process, the artists cannot help it. Also, it's the responsibility of the organizers to make sure the artists have settled down before letting people in. I volunteered for SIFA, Bay Area in 2006 and I remember that we did that for almost all our concerts. Not sure about the protocol followed here.
2) With regards to Arun Prakash's playing, speaking purely as a layman rasika, I too sort of get the feeling that he can do much more when he plays for slow-paced singing. Maybe, it's the sort of unobtrusive playing that the vocalists want. I'm a big fan of MDR and though I haven't heard him live, I listen to his music almost everyday for a few hours. I feel that the way people like UKS, Palghat Raghu, PMI played for his chowka-kala singing was totally different and sounded more pleasing to the ears than the way Arun Prakash plays for similarly paced songs. I'm not sure what a good measure of comparison would be or if it's even proper to compare. I tried listening to a few chowka-kala krithis (Koniyadina (MDR/PMI & Sanjay), Rangapuravihara (KVN/UKS, R&G) and I felt that AP could have enhanced the krithis in either case. Just my perception.
Last edited by shripathi_g on 04 May 2008, 14:25, edited 1 time in total.
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sureshvv
- Posts: 5542
- Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17
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ram
- Posts: 705
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:48
Ref: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2 ... 250200.htmshripathi_g wrote:I'm a big fan of MDR and though I haven't heard him live, I listen to his music almost everyday for a few hours. I feel that the way people like UKS, Palghat Raghu, PMI played for his chowka-kala singing was totally different and sounded more pleasing to the ears than the way Arun Prakash plays for similarly paced songs. I'm not sure what a good measure of comparison would be or if it's even proper to compare.
On one such car ride the maestro confided, reducing that heavy, resonant voice into a whisper on his favourite accompanists. `You must not tell this to anyone,' he made us promise, so childlike and he said he was very comfortable with Umayalpuram Sivaraman and T. N. Krishnan," remembers Rameshan Thampuran, who, looking back, feels that it was a rare privilege to spend so many hours with this great musician.
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true_rasika
- Posts: 20
- Joined: 06 May 2007, 18:49
Dear Sri VKV:
Thank you for sharing your views. The mridangam volume was definitely tested by AP and TMK and the concert started only after both were completely satisfied. In fact there were occasions when he audible loud and clear, dare I say - 'good old AP' was in his elements. It was such a pleasure to listen to his playing whenever that happened. Perhaps he is trying too hard to innovate? Or perhaps it was just one of those days when his mind was drawing a blank? He is human afterall and so perhaps one should give him the benefit of doubt.....He is young and knowing his attitude and personality, I have the confidence that he will take positive well-meant criticism in his stride and go on to take the pristgious mantle from TS eventually.
As regards your point about accompanists other than UKS excelling with MDR, you may be right, but again, as I had stated earlier, mine was a biased view. May I add that one of UKS's huge plus points was and is (in addition to his playing of course) his amazing ability to develop an excellent rapport with a wide variety of artistes - vocal and instrumental. This chemistry was particularly special between him and MDR + TNK (as Ram pointed out). While PMI's genius was never in doubt, one cannot say the same about his temperament - he clearly had his favorites he loved to accompany and stayed away from the rest as much as possible. Also PMI's demeanor on stage was 'serious' almost angry looking while UKS had the pleasing / efferevescent presence. Theirs were two entirely contrasting personalities. Of course both let their mridangams do all the 'serious talking' eventually.
As a little aside, I must confess that I was and still am particularly interested in following mridangam / tablA accompaniment with passion and devotion. Therefore, ANY artiste who truly excels playing for a particular song / artiste / concert is my favorite. That way, my 'favorites' range from the stalwarts like PMI / CSM / Pazhani / UKS / Ramabhadran / Raghu / KRM / Yella / Upendran / TKM / Dorai / Raja Rao / Trichur Narendran & Surendran / TVG to the younger artistes like JV / AP /Neyveli Narayanan / Neyveli Venkatesh / Poongulam / Poovalur Srinivasan / Rohan / Sudhindra / Praveen / Manoj Siva / Skanda / Melakkaveri / Balaji / Ramesh etc. Each of these artistes (and others I might have forgotten to mention - no offence meant) is special and they have all had amazing concerts - some of which I was lucky to listen to. They also have their unique strengths and weaknesses, and like all other artistes / humans, their own great days and 'off days'. Styles and schools and training and vidwat apart, it all really boils down to attitude. As the old adage goes - 'attitude is everything'. It is this attitude that can take a nobody to really becoming a somebody or the other way.
Dear shripathi_g:
You have made a valid point about commuting time leading to starting delays at concerts. This is true many a time, perhaps not all the time. In this case (TMK's concert), I do not think that was a contributing factor. Anyways, let me add that the commuting factor is probably equally, if not more, significant in India, especially in the major metros, where getting from one place to another is becoming a nightmare.
On the same topic again, the standing joke is that concert times are still based on IST (Indian Stretchable Time) and most people, including organizers, take delays for granted. You might have probably noted to your chagrin and amazement that these delays somehow do not seem to occur at Western programs - how do they manage to keep this amazing punctuality each time and without fail? And they never tinker around with acoustics AFTER the audience is seated and ready. And they NEVER mess with the audio AFTER a program has begun. And how is it that the quality of the audio is always impeccable? And they NEVER bore their audiences to death with long-winding speeches and formalities either before or during a program. We surely have a thing or two to learn from the Westerners!! Surely, we can apply some of our seemingly limitless abilities with manodharmam and the 'genius genes' that we all are so proud of, to improve in these areas...BTW this was not aimed at any organizer or individual in particular, but on our lot as a whole, myself included 
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your views. The mridangam volume was definitely tested by AP and TMK and the concert started only after both were completely satisfied. In fact there were occasions when he audible loud and clear, dare I say - 'good old AP' was in his elements. It was such a pleasure to listen to his playing whenever that happened. Perhaps he is trying too hard to innovate? Or perhaps it was just one of those days when his mind was drawing a blank? He is human afterall and so perhaps one should give him the benefit of doubt.....He is young and knowing his attitude and personality, I have the confidence that he will take positive well-meant criticism in his stride and go on to take the pristgious mantle from TS eventually.
As regards your point about accompanists other than UKS excelling with MDR, you may be right, but again, as I had stated earlier, mine was a biased view. May I add that one of UKS's huge plus points was and is (in addition to his playing of course) his amazing ability to develop an excellent rapport with a wide variety of artistes - vocal and instrumental. This chemistry was particularly special between him and MDR + TNK (as Ram pointed out). While PMI's genius was never in doubt, one cannot say the same about his temperament - he clearly had his favorites he loved to accompany and stayed away from the rest as much as possible. Also PMI's demeanor on stage was 'serious' almost angry looking while UKS had the pleasing / efferevescent presence. Theirs were two entirely contrasting personalities. Of course both let their mridangams do all the 'serious talking' eventually.
As a little aside, I must confess that I was and still am particularly interested in following mridangam / tablA accompaniment with passion and devotion. Therefore, ANY artiste who truly excels playing for a particular song / artiste / concert is my favorite. That way, my 'favorites' range from the stalwarts like PMI / CSM / Pazhani / UKS / Ramabhadran / Raghu / KRM / Yella / Upendran / TKM / Dorai / Raja Rao / Trichur Narendran & Surendran / TVG to the younger artistes like JV / AP /Neyveli Narayanan / Neyveli Venkatesh / Poongulam / Poovalur Srinivasan / Rohan / Sudhindra / Praveen / Manoj Siva / Skanda / Melakkaveri / Balaji / Ramesh etc. Each of these artistes (and others I might have forgotten to mention - no offence meant) is special and they have all had amazing concerts - some of which I was lucky to listen to. They also have their unique strengths and weaknesses, and like all other artistes / humans, their own great days and 'off days'. Styles and schools and training and vidwat apart, it all really boils down to attitude. As the old adage goes - 'attitude is everything'. It is this attitude that can take a nobody to really becoming a somebody or the other way.
Dear shripathi_g:
You have made a valid point about commuting time leading to starting delays at concerts. This is true many a time, perhaps not all the time. In this case (TMK's concert), I do not think that was a contributing factor. Anyways, let me add that the commuting factor is probably equally, if not more, significant in India, especially in the major metros, where getting from one place to another is becoming a nightmare.
On the same topic again, the standing joke is that concert times are still based on IST (Indian Stretchable Time)
and most people, including organizers, take delays for granted. You might have probably noted to your chagrin and amazement that these delays somehow do not seem to occur at Western programs - how do they manage to keep this amazing punctuality each time and without fail? And they never tinker around with acoustics AFTER the audience is seated and ready. And they NEVER mess with the audio AFTER a program has begun. And how is it that the quality of the audio is always impeccable? And they NEVER bore their audiences to death with long-winding speeches and formalities either before or during a program. We surely have a thing or two to learn from the Westerners!! Surely, we can apply some of our seemingly limitless abilities with manodharmam and the 'genius genes' that we all are so proud of, to improve in these areas...BTW this was not aimed at any organizer or individual in particular, but on our lot as a whole, myself included Thanks!
Last edited by true_rasika on 04 May 2008, 20:08, edited 1 time in total.
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vijaykrish
- Posts: 10
- Joined: 08 Dec 2007, 12:22
Very few knew that MDR had also composed many `slokas,' on a variety of themes. " There is an excellent one of how to make good decoction coffee. It deals elaborately on the various ingredients needed, the right proportion and the implications when the proportion goes wrong.
The Hindu articles says about the sloka MDR composed on making a coffee. Can anyone get the lyrics.
Last edited by vijaykrish on 04 May 2008, 19:16, edited 1 time in total.
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annamalai
- Posts: 355
- Joined: 23 Nov 2006, 07:01
I shall to add my 4 cents.
1. Soundcheck - This was an all-day events/concerts. Packed hall from 3 PM. TMK's concert starting at 6.30 PM. Was all of the audience willing to leave the hall at 6 PM to allow the artists to d the sound check ? It created a near stampede. As a pragmatic solution, I think all the audience sat down and the artists used 5 minutes to check the sound levels.
2. Speeches - Audience are used to totally inane speeches in concerts. "I have known the musician XYZ from the age of 5. He is the reincarnation of Dakshinamurthy Pillai , ...... "
I have grown immune to these speeches and use that time for a coffee break.
3. Mridangists - I read the list of mridangists carefully. If we want to be critical, we can amplify the negatives of each ....
4. Order in Western concerts - Since you were complaining, "Mama were not allowed to leave the hall in the middle", - In a broadway show, Mama can not go for bathroom break in the middle of the show. That Mama has to wait for the intermission. ..... I thought TMK requested everyone not leave the hall, in the middle of a composition, which is a fair request, I think.
It is ok, if some one does not like the concert. But based on the tone, it is clear that True_rasika has an axe to grind .....
1. Soundcheck - This was an all-day events/concerts. Packed hall from 3 PM. TMK's concert starting at 6.30 PM. Was all of the audience willing to leave the hall at 6 PM to allow the artists to d the sound check ? It created a near stampede. As a pragmatic solution, I think all the audience sat down and the artists used 5 minutes to check the sound levels.
2. Speeches - Audience are used to totally inane speeches in concerts. "I have known the musician XYZ from the age of 5. He is the reincarnation of Dakshinamurthy Pillai , ...... "
I have grown immune to these speeches and use that time for a coffee break.
3. Mridangists - I read the list of mridangists carefully. If we want to be critical, we can amplify the negatives of each ....
4. Order in Western concerts - Since you were complaining, "Mama were not allowed to leave the hall in the middle", - In a broadway show, Mama can not go for bathroom break in the middle of the show. That Mama has to wait for the intermission. ..... I thought TMK requested everyone not leave the hall, in the middle of a composition, which is a fair request, I think.
It is ok, if some one does not like the concert. But based on the tone, it is clear that True_rasika has an axe to grind .....
Last edited by annamalai on 04 May 2008, 20:13, edited 1 time in total.
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Dear true_rasika,Dear shripathi_g:
You have made a valid point about commuting time leading to starting delays at concerts. This is true many a time, perhaps not all the time. In this case (TMK's concert), I do think that was a contributing factor. Anyways, let me add that the commuting factor is probably equally, if not more, significant in India, especially in the major metros, where getting from one place to another is becoming a nightmare.
On the same topic again, the standing joke is that concert times are still based on IST (Indian Stretchable Time)
Ravi Shankar in the SIXTIES ITSELF used to insist that his concerts START on time & in many concerts would allow people coming in late be seated only inbetween songs. As a matter of fact for India Festival with 57 artists- Palghat Raghu played mridangam along with Alla Rakha played for the main piece which was by Ravi Shankar- for close to 45 days( if my memory is right) Ravi Shankar PRACTISED every day how to do Namaskarams to the audience by turning 10 degrees every 30 seconds or so before the concert started.. I was present(along with my wife every day as Raghu wanted us there & Ravi Shankar liked South Indian FOOD!). Reason for writing this is if the persons including the artists are TRULY are professional in their approach it can be done. As a matter of fact in 1971 when LGJ-RAMAINI-RAGHAVAN TOUR took place I started the concert ON TIME in every concert I was involved in & there were no introduction of the artists & all the speeches as we distributed printed programs. Any speeches etc by dignitaries etc was just after the Thani for less than 10 minutes. Of course as we had less than five volunteers we could not prevent people wandering in late & disturbing every one else. We could have prevented it but usually I was in charge of the mikes had to recoed the concerts too.....Moral is these things can be done if the organisers & artists have enough conviction & discipline on these points. vkv
Last edited by cacm on 04 May 2008, 20:19, edited 1 time in total.
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true_rasika
- Posts: 20
- Joined: 06 May 2007, 18:49
Dear Annamalai:
Thanks for your candid views. If I truly had an axe to grind and wanted to simply complain for the sake of complaining, I certainly could have let myself loose with a barrage of choice words. Hopefully, I did not sound like a loose cannon all along - I took the time and care to make sure that my real intent (ie, offer constructive criticism) came through unmistakably.
It is easily possible to list topics like 'punctuality', 'audio', 'mridangam' etc. and dismiss them in 1 sentence each as 'no big deal'. IMHO, these are extremely important factors that contribute to and probably even decide, the success or failure of performance in many cases. Again as stated before, these issues pale into insignificance if a concert was a roaring success but become magnified when it ends up as a damp squib.
Perhaps it will be impossible for us to inculcate the Western traits of punctuality, etc., because of our independent / individual / freewheeling nature as people of Indian origin. That is probably why we shine in creativity while for the Westerners, creativity (as compared to our levels) is almost inconcievable because they are by nature, more disciplined / regimental in their approach to many things, music included.
Thanks for sharing your PoV again.
Dear Sr VKV:
Thanks for pointing out examples of Ravishankar and LGJ-Ramani-Raghavan with respect to punctuality. Life was probably much more simple and less sophisticated in the sixties and seventies. In this Internet era and Jet Age one would have probably expected things to have become much more efficient and streamlined, but today we are all in a 'multitasking mode' and therefore challenged more when it comes to niceties like punctuality, etc.
BTW I was incredibly fortunate to get hold of a recording of LGJ-Ramani-Sankaran(?) - 1971 when they played Sobillu and an RTP in Kambhoji - divine stuff...unfortunately I lost that recording and would be extremely grateful if you could upload that for the listening pleasure of all rasikAs,....
Thanks again...
Thanks for your candid views. If I truly had an axe to grind and wanted to simply complain for the sake of complaining, I certainly could have let myself loose with a barrage of choice words. Hopefully, I did not sound like a loose cannon all along - I took the time and care to make sure that my real intent (ie, offer constructive criticism) came through unmistakably.
It is easily possible to list topics like 'punctuality', 'audio', 'mridangam' etc. and dismiss them in 1 sentence each as 'no big deal'. IMHO, these are extremely important factors that contribute to and probably even decide, the success or failure of performance in many cases. Again as stated before, these issues pale into insignificance if a concert was a roaring success but become magnified when it ends up as a damp squib.
Perhaps it will be impossible for us to inculcate the Western traits of punctuality, etc., because of our independent / individual / freewheeling nature as people of Indian origin. That is probably why we shine in creativity while for the Westerners, creativity (as compared to our levels) is almost inconcievable because they are by nature, more disciplined / regimental in their approach to many things, music included.
Thanks for sharing your PoV again.
Dear Sr VKV:
Thanks for pointing out examples of Ravishankar and LGJ-Ramani-Raghavan with respect to punctuality. Life was probably much more simple and less sophisticated in the sixties and seventies. In this Internet era and Jet Age one would have probably expected things to have become much more efficient and streamlined, but today we are all in a 'multitasking mode' and therefore challenged more when it comes to niceties like punctuality, etc.
BTW I was incredibly fortunate to get hold of a recording of LGJ-Ramani-Sankaran(?) - 1971 when they played Sobillu and an RTP in Kambhoji - divine stuff...unfortunately I lost that recording and would be extremely grateful if you could upload that for the listening pleasure of all rasikAs,....
Thanks again...
Last edited by true_rasika on 04 May 2008, 21:07, edited 1 time in total.
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vasanthakokilam
- Posts: 10958
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01
true_rasika:
Can you address what Annamalai wrote about the Soundcheck that it was a pragmatic solution? It would have been useful to the discussion if you had indicated that part of the story in your original email. Atleast this gives us another data point if this is a one-off situation and not the "unprofessional practise" of TMK.
Can you address what Annamalai wrote about the Soundcheck that it was a pragmatic solution? It would have been useful to the discussion if you had indicated that part of the story in your original email. Atleast this gives us another data point if this is a one-off situation and not the "unprofessional practise" of TMK.
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Dear true_rasika,
Please write your address. I feel your standards are sufficiently high I would like to send you whatever I send you in wav format; I feel mp3 deteriorates well recorded concerts significantly esp as the wav itself is not the perfect reording to start out with & another level of compression on top of it wil not do justice to the artists- esp LGJ feels he was at his peak in 1971 tour of north america.....my email is [email protected] did not get myself some of the lgj concerts in Canada where sankaran was the accompanist( from john higgins).
I will look for it; As my entire room for music was rearranged painted etc in my absence in India recently there are close to 4 thousand cd's scattered all over the place. If you give me more choices may be chances are better? vkv
Please write your address. I feel your standards are sufficiently high I would like to send you whatever I send you in wav format; I feel mp3 deteriorates well recorded concerts significantly esp as the wav itself is not the perfect reording to start out with & another level of compression on top of it wil not do justice to the artists- esp LGJ feels he was at his peak in 1971 tour of north america.....my email is [email protected] did not get myself some of the lgj concerts in Canada where sankaran was the accompanist( from john higgins).
I will look for it; As my entire room for music was rearranged painted etc in my absence in India recently there are close to 4 thousand cd's scattered all over the place. If you give me more choices may be chances are better? vkv
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Bhindi
- Posts: 25
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 12:33
mri_fanmri_fan wrote:Yeah, it was aimed at you. You mentioned that your son learned from a student of the Palani school in new jersey.
You have an uncanny ability of being the "know it all". Please put your money where your mouth is or in this case your fingers. Can you show where Vigneshbal said that his son learnt from a teacher in NJ