Violin virtuoso’s tribute to his father

An exemplary performance from one of the leading exponents of the violin in memory of his father’s legendary music

BY MALLI IYER

Dr. L Subramaniam’s stunning violin concert in Sydney, where he was accompanied by his son Ambi Subramaniam under the aegis of Nataraj

Cultural Centre, was essentially a tribute to his father and guru, Sri V.Lakshminarayana in this year of his Centenary celebrations. The Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival has been ongoing since 1992 all over North America, Europe, Middle and the Far East, with participation by several legendary performers such as Yehudi Menuhin, Zubin Mehta, Herbie Hancock, Zakir Hussein, Pt. Jasraj, Stephane

Grappelli to name just a few.

Sri V Lakshminarayana was an exponent of violin as a solo instrument since 1935 and his son and grandson have left no stone unturned in their effort to convert his dream into a reality. Dr. L Subramaniam’s mastery as an author, conductor, composer and a violinist trained in carnatic and western classical music is well-known, and he has received global acclaim in his orchestral and nonorchestral contributions to music. His attainments in jazz, fusion, global music, classical and film scores are too many to enumerate here. Despite his iconic status in the world of music, Dr Subaramaniam readily agreed to be interviewed and was extremely forthcoming with his opinions to my questions. Below are excerpts of the interview.

Malli Iyer: You studied to be a medical doctor, but instead pursued and excelled at music. Do you see music as a science or art, or both?

Dr. L Subramaniam: I see music as a unique blend of both. Every musician creates an artistic expression and it is the creativity and individual stamp makes it invaluable as an art. Yet the rhythm, the thala and the mathematical precision of the ‘melakarta ragas’ and scale systems are very methodically organised, which makes music equally a science.

MI: There is not much in the field of music that you have not touched, one way or another. So what are your future aspirations?

Dr. LS: I have followed my father’s footsteps in popularising and establishing violin as a stand-alone instrument, and not merely an accompaniment. I have worked with major orchestras such as London and New York Philharmonic to gain acceptance and recognition of the Indian style violin. I have also collaborated with world-renowned violinists like Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli and have succeeded in proving that the Indian violin is adaptable as an instrument. I hope, aspire and will continue to work towards the violin becoming popular even at the grassroots level such as street performers.

MI: Since you have evolved the concept of global music over the years, what is your vision of how this concept should serve humanity?

Dr. LS: The 1970s saw a renaissance of jazz and fusion music, which brought musicians and artistes from different continents (Africa, Europe and Carribbean included) to play as a unit. It involved developing an understanding of the different styles and music systems. I wrote music with sponsorship from the United Nations and involved jazz legends like Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Stanley Clarke. Later, I travelled to the Far East to understand the Chinese and Japanese musical creations. The whole purpose of the exercise was to bring people together through the universal medium of music. I hope to bring out a set of 10 DVDs of fusion music with my late wife Viji, who

My father taught us that once the musical sound takes over, the power of every word and every note is such that it creates character and emotions of its own which bring out spiritual aspects also collaborated in this venture. We have MS Subbulakshmi singing the invocation song and Bismillah Khan has played shehnai as well. That should be a good example of how music can provide a platform for unity and understanding in humans.

MI: The violin as an instrument misses out on the lyrical beauty that a vocalist can explore due to the poetic or devotional expressions of a musical composition. How do you make up for this lack of “sahitya bhava”?

Dr. LS: The language (or sahitya) is only an additional ingredient to enjoyment of music by the audience. The legendary flautist TR Mahalingam was able to bring out the emotions of a composition through the raga alaap. Music can be written by composers like Thyagaraja in a language that the audience does not understand, but it does not prevent them from enjoying the essences. It is the same in western music where operas are created in Italian or German whereas the performers and audience do not necessarily understand the language, but the enjoyment is equal throughout. Music has a universal expression and following throughout the world.

MI: The creativity of “manodharma” (improvisations e.g., sangatis, swara kalpana and gamakas) is not available to you when blending your violin playing with western music. How do you prevent the compartmentalisation of the two ?

Dr. LS: The melodic variations and freedom of musical expression is available in the western music “cadenzas” (passage for solo instruments) of orchestral or nonorchestral compositions. Thus, I use the

I have also collaborated with world-renowned violinists like Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli and have succeeded in proving that the Indian violin is adaptable as an instrument in New York and I was full of trepidation. He had never shared his violin playing platform with anyone else before this, but he agreed as this was a United Nations forum and the New York audiences response was anyone’s guess. Yehudi asked me to write a piece for both of us to play. He even sat on the stage cross-legged (like we usually do for carnatic music) and played the violin using what would be a strange posture for him. I was relieved in the end, because of the tremendous ovation that we received for our musical creation.

The other big challenge was when I was part of Zubin Mehta’s New York Philharmonic Orchestra and we had to play for 4 days in a row. I was the soloist and I was asked to write a piece which would have to be played by several western style violinists. I had to create technically complex violin lines for the Concert Master to distribute to all the violinists to play and repeat. It was a first for me, and it worked well in an orchestral situation. It certainly stands out as one of my never-tobe-forgotten situations.

MI: How is your family collectively paying tribute to your illustrious father’s memory?

Dr. LS: We have a family project that is everyone is working towards. It involves my brothers L. Shanker and L.Vaidyanathan and their families, my wife cadenzas to put my own stamp by using carnatic or play to generate a different mood or style. I can also play a variation of my own even in the written lines of an orchestra. All the blending I have thus achieved may be called solo improvisation and are perfectly acceptable.

MI: Your association with music and a musical family must have given you some unparalled values in life. What are those, and how would you explain them?

Dr. LS: Music is known to give inner peace and satisfaction. My father taught us that once the musical sound takes over, the power of every word and every note is such that it creates character and emotions of its own which bring out spiritual aspects. Most of the saints who created the thousands of compositions were inspired by the Gods and spirituality. You cannot segregate carnatic music from spirituality. Every performer is drawn into a different world and transported to a different state of mind. People who may otherwise be very matter of fact, cannot avoid becoming transformed. People who submit themselves to these disciplines are blessed as they enjoy the balance provided by musical training.

MI: How do you feel about the recent trends of changing the structure of a carnatic concert? Are innovations a part and parcel of the evolution process of carnatic music?

Dr. LS: I am not aware that any attempts are afoot to alter the fundamentals, other than performers introducing their own style and substance. Musicians have little opportunity to create new interpretations in the carnatic paddhati, but if they do bring about changes in the tempo, that creativity must have a sustaining power. It should not be change for the sake of change, but must add to the melody as much as it should be welcomed by the audiences. It has to stand the test of time.

MI: What has been the most challenging assignment of your life?

Dr. LS: There have been several challenges although I have stuck by my carnatic music background as much as possible. I had to share the stage with Yehudi Menuhin once state of mind

Kavita Krishnamurthy and our children, are all party to the project. We are putting together a set of 10 DVDs for release later this year. We are also creating an educational institution for carnatic scholars in Bangalore. The Kerala government has just created a street in memory of my father – it is called Violin Laxminarayana Road in Allapuzha, our hometown.

MI: What kind of indelible mark would you like to leave to the world of music?

Dr. LS: I would like to develop further on the spiritual aspects of carnatic music. I have already created A Fantasy of Vedic Chants based on Charukesi Raga. Our proposed Music School in Bangalore will try to make a significant contribution to training and creating fresh musical talent.