SEASON 2011-12 THE MUSIC SEASON Lukewarm season at the Academy V. Ramnarayan in flautist Shashank whose New Year concert was marked by a meditative approach that enhanced his obvious virtuosity and mastery of the flute. Mala Chandrasekhar’s flute recital was well structured and well executed, offering high aesthetic value. Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Jayanthi Kumaresh collaborated seamlessly to hold the audience in thrall, with Jayanthi showing admirable restraint to ensure an ideal concert experience. Savita Narasimhan justified her elevation to the senior slot, and we hope she works Ganesh and Kumaresh at getting even better in the years to come. Amritha Murali and Nisha Rajagopalan he 2011 Chennai season at the Music Academy featured gave further notice to the Academy with occasional sparks of genuine brilliance, sometimes from some immaculate musicianship that they unexpected quarters. Some musicians dispelled preconceived deserve to follow in Savita’s footsteps. notions about them with their excellent performances, while some Another vocalist who has it in her to earn T a promotion, Sumitra Vasudev, was not others disappointed the expectant listener. quite at her best, for some inexplicable Among the seniors, vocalists Sangeetha Sivakumar and the violin duo reason. Ganesh-Kumaresh exceeded expectations, with Sangeetha giving one of the more satisfying vocal performances of the season. Sudha Ragunathan, Vijay Siva, the Malladi Brothers, S. Sowmya and Chitravina The violin brothers focused on accomplishing rasanubhava of Ravikiran did not disappoint their a high quality, confining fireworks to their own creations titled audience, though none of their concerts Ragapravaham. In this apparent makeover, they found a kindred spirit reached great heights. Aruna Sairam’s was a thunderous performance, but less Mala Chandrasekhar with Sukanya Ramgopal (ghata) in evidence were the mellow resonance and restraint we have experienced in her music in the past. T.M. Krishna strove hard to maximise the raganubhava quotient in his concert, but he too fell short of the high standards he has set for himself. The Varali raga alapana he sang in isolation was the subject of much heated debate, which finds a place elsewhere in this issue. While Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s, Bombay Jayashri’s and Ranjani-Gayatri’s concerts were among the successes l SRUTI February 2012 SEASON 2011-12 Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Jayanthi Kumaresh of the season, two other vocalists – Kunnakkudy Ramakrishnan Murthy was the outstanding junior M. Balamuralikrishna and to a lesser extent Sikkil vocalist of the season, with an emotive depth that made Gurucharan – gave lacklustre performances not in his concert a delightfully nuanced one. T.S. Pattabhitram keeping with their reputations as leaders of the young Pandit proved a worthy disciple of KVN, if still in the brigade. While Balamuralikrishna seemed to have imitative phase. Sandeep Narayan drew a full house suffered considerable diminution of his once-strong voice, and gave an energetic performance, but we have heard Gurucharan displayed an apparent reluctance to use the him sing better. Vignesh Ishwar showed promise. full power of his asset. The surprise package in the 1.45 pm slot was Pantula Rama was another singer who fell short of M.K. Sankaran Namboodiri, the once-child prodigy expectations in terms of vocalisation, while Manda vocalist from Kerala. Surely his must be close to the Sudharani, evidently suffering from a sore throat, struggled best voice in Carnatic music today? Apparently on to stay aligned to sruti. an earnest comeback trail, his is a career trajectory well worth watching closely. A star who promised much was Abhishek Raghuram, whose vocal pyrotechnics earned ecstatic applause time A strong votary of naayanam, Sruti was delighted after time, but left the traditionalist less impressed. last year to accord some prominence to Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman’s morning opening concert steeped in Ranjani and Gayatri the deeply evocative sounds of the temple instrument, but this season’s nagaswaram duet by Sheikh Subhani and Khalisha-Bi-Mehboob turned out to be a different kind of experience – focussed rather more on showmanship than desirable. To put things in perspective, the standard of performance at the Music Academy was far higher than the Indian cricket team’s recent show in Australia, but a considerable way behind Australia’s sweeping success. The following pages will feature more detailed coverage of the music and dance season at the Music Academy and elsewhere in Chennai. PHOTOS COURTESY: THE MUSIC ACADEMY 10 l SRUTI February 2012.