Ramakrishnan Murthy @ Unnati Centre, 10 Mar 2011

Vocal : Ramakrishnan Murthy

Violin : B U Ganesh Prasad

Mrudangam : K U Jayachandra Rao

List:

01  duDuku gala – gauLa – Thyagaraja ( O )

02  rAmA nI pai – kEdAram – Thyagaraja ( S )

03  manasA eTulO – malayamArutam – Thyagaraj ( A,N,S )

      neraval & swara @’ kaLilO rAjasa tAma sa guNa mulu gala vArichelimi’

04  eTi janmamitihA – varALi – Thyagaraja ( A )

05  tuNai purindaruL – varamu – Papanasam Sivan ( S )

06  kaligiyunTE gada – kIravAni – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

     neraval & swara @ ‘ bAgug srI raghuramuni padamula bhakti jEsina rIti thyagarajunikipatu’

07  iDatu padam tUki ADum – khamAs – Papanasam Sivan

08  dharma SravaNa – durga – Purandara Dasa ( A )

09 viruttam ( UrilE kANavillE) – surutti

    vanga kkaDal kadaindu – surutti – tirupugazh

10  mangaLam – saurAshtram – Thyagaraja

      SLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya) – madhyamAvathi

Beautiful concert by Ramakrishnan Murthy at the Unnati Centre, concluding the week long festival. I am listening to him live for the first time and he impressed one and al with his very traditional, controlled yet poignant concert lasting just over 2.5 hrs.

Started with a pancharatna kriti ( @ the person who spoke during the felicitation –  No Sir, there was no Varnam ) in gauLa and he displayed his skills and capabilities at the very beginning. To me the best of the day was the serene malayamaruta alapana. He was astonishing with some of his well executed phrases. He continued this with a brilliant neraval and some fascinating swaras. Varali alapana that followed was good, but was just that. There was no real catchy moments in the alapana. However, he overcome that with a fabulous rendering of eTi janmamitiha, a krithi, I am not that fond of.  

Tunai purindarul with some brisk swaras came in before the main keeravani. Alapana was the traditional, predictable line but very well built and progressed. It was good to see him staying on to the classical style with out going all over the place with his imagination and energy. Kriti started at the anupallavi, which I thought caused a minor loss of focus (to me) and I thought that wasnt called for. But the neraval was good, so was the swaras at two speeds.

K U Jayachandra Rao was all supportive, especialy after a couple of songs. He shown a lot of anticipation and added to the flair with some brilliant percussion support. His tani-avartanam was also of top class. On the othe side, BU Ganeshprasad did not live upto the expectations. He was good at his turns, in alapana or during neraval or swara playing, but during the singing he left a lot to be desired. Let me hasten to add that he did a phenomenal job during the Durga kriti post the main. Post main were also very interesting. An outstanding durga stood out of the rest. Khamas and surutti were equaly god and emotive.

Ramakrishnan Murthy is one of the youngsters to watchout for. He has the knowledge and skill and is using them the a great effect. Very easy singing without violent gestures or facial contours. He voice is pleasing and diction clear. May be he was a bit fast ( a notch or so) in the early part of the concert, but on the whole he has done a commendable job.

 

Malladi Brothers, Gokulashtami Series, Unnati Centre 15th Aug 2011

Vocal : Malladi Brothers ( Sriram Prasad & Ravikumar)

Violin : V V Ravi

Mrudangam : Lakshminarayana Raju

Ganjira : A S N swamy

Songlist:

01  ninnE kOri Unnada ( varNam) – kAnaDa – Thiruvottiyur Thyagayya  ( O )

02  srI nAthAdi guruguhO – mAyAmALavagauLa – Dikshitar ( A , S )

03  nAda sudhA rasambilanu – Arabhi – Thyagaraja  ( S )

04  pAlintuvO pAlimpavO – kAnthAmaNi – Thyagaraja ( A, N, S )

       neraval & swara @ ‘ paripUrNamaku bhaktimArgamE yani bhAvinchina thyAgarAjanuta’

05  slOkam ( sAndrAnandAvabOdha..) – dwijAvanti – Melpathur Narayana Bhatathiri ( from Narayaneeyam)

        chEtAshrI bAlakrishNam – dwijAvanti – Dikshitar

06  shivAya namamendru – kuntaLa varALi - Papanasam Shivan?  ( O )

07   ninnE nammi nAnu – thODi – Shyama Shastri ( A, N, S, T )

         neraval & swara @ ‘ kAmAkshi kanjadalAyadAkshi’

08  antharangamellA  srI hariki – husEni – Annamacharya  ( O )

09  bhaja bhaja mAnasa rAghavEndram – tilang – Kamalesha Vittala

10  dharma shravaAa – durga – Purandara Dasa

11  Ee vELa nannu brOvarA – khamas – Bhadrachala Ramadas

12  lAli yugavayyA – kEdAra gauLa – Thyagaraja

13 iyam swathanthra bhArati – rAgamAlika – ??

14 mAdhava mAmava – nIlAmbari – Narayana Theerthar

15  sLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndra & guruvAyupurAdhIsham) – madhyamAvati 

A satisfying concert after a long time. Every thing was falling in place. The selection of kritis to the participation of accompanying artists and the crowd. Cant pick one or two highlights of the evening.  Was it the Varnam, the outstanding Arabhi swaras , mesmerising alapana by Ravikumar for kAnthamani, the grand Thodi , the tani avartanam or those post main pieces.

It was set to be a grand concert from the varnam itself. Longish and detailed varnam set the stage for the rest to come. The choice of Mayamalavagaula krithi was interesting and appealing. The real effect started with the Arabhi kriti and what a piece it was. The duo, enthralled with some outstanding swara singing, with some brilliant support from violin and mrudangam vidwans.

Kanthamani was a surprice. Ravikumar presented a brilliant alapana, with equally brilliant support from V V Ravi. The kriti pAlintuvo ( I heard this before by the same team, few years back at Odukathur Mutt – I guess during Gokulashtami series in 2007 or so) was very good with detailed neraval and swara. 61st Melakarta raga, Kanthamani, is very appealing. After a melodious dwijavanti and a fast paced Kuntalavarali, Sriram Prasad started thOdi alapana. I was prepared to listen to ‘Srikrishnam bhaja manasa’, but the choice was Shyama Shastri’s Ninne nammi nAnu. The alapana and violin return were very good through the predictable lines. The neraval and swara were also good. Tani Avartnam by the ‘first time in Bangalore’ Vidwan Lakshminarayana Raju was a continuation of the great work he had been doing through out the concert, with ASN Swamy chipping in with his credentials.

Post main had a stream of kritis, typical of their style. Annamacharya, Purandara Dasa and bhadrachala Ramadasa kritis followed apart from a requested nilAmbari. In all, a fabulous concert by the team.

 

Trichy Pradeepkumar @ Unnati Centre, 1st May 2011

Vocal : Trichy V Pradeepkumar

Violin : B K Raghu

Mrudangam : B C Manjunath

Songlist :

01 jaya jaya jaya jAnaki kAntha – natta – Purandara Dasa ( S )

02 pArvati nAyakanE – shaNmukhapriya – Papanasam Sivan ( A,N )

      neraval @ ‘ nI maravAdeneyAL jagadIshA’

03 sArasa mukhi – gauDa malhAr – Muthaiah Bhagavathar ( S )

04 intha sowkhya mA ninE – kApi – Thyagaraja ( O,S )

05 maru kulavuya  ( thirupugazh) – pUrvi kalyANi – Arunagirinathar

06 sangIta shAstra gnAnamu – mukhAri – Thyagaraja ( S )

07 Sankari nIvE – bEgaDa – Subbaraya Shasthri ( A )

08  bhajarE rE mAnasA – AbhEri – Mysore Vasudevachar  ( A , S , T)

09 viruttam ( ullAsa nirakulayOga) – sindhu bhairavi -

       manadir kugandadu – sindhu bhairavi – Thanjavur Shankara Iyer

10 bArO murArE bAlaka shaUrE – dEsh – Vadiraja Swami ??

Trichy Pradeepkumar gave a beautiful concert at the unnati Center, the SGBS Trust’s monthly music concert. I am hearing this young artist for the first time and what an impression he has created. Very good voice, superb use of modulation, ever flowing ‘manodharma’ in both raga alapana and kalpana swara singing , mark of a talented singer. Such a bhava laden singing, even his facial expressions were matching the lyrical contours.

All three alapanas of the day was top class. The early in the morning shanmukhapriya, shortish begada and the main abheri were brilliant. Equally matching was the violin support by BK Raghu for each of these alapana. Pradeepkumarwas also at ease and in control for the slow paced kApi.  The kritis Abheri and Begada were outstanding. There could have been one more neraval, in the list. Abheri wsa poised to be a stellar, but a lack of neraval made it a notch short of it. And that is my ONLY grudge. Almost every krithi had a kalpana swaras, including few fast paced swaras for mukhari and gauda malhar. Ironically, I was listening to Dinakar Kaikini’s Gauda malhar on my way are retun, and there are no comparisons with the hindustani version.

B C Manjunath supported the main artist tremendously. His anticipation and restraint was commentable, and had to do extra work for not having a percussion companion. His tani avartanam was also very good.

Post main had an couple of short, but very good sindhubhairavi and desh krithis. Very good concert by the young vidwan and one hope to see him more often in Bangalore.

 

O S Thyagarajan @ Unnati Centre, 13 March 2010

Vocal : Sri O S Thyagarajan

Violin : B K Raghu

Mrudangam : H S Sudheendra

Ghatam : Sukanya Ramgopal

Songlist:

01 sAdhinchanE – Arabhi – Thyagaraja

02 gurulEka ytuvanti -  gauri manOhari – Thyagaraja ( O,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘ tatva bOdhana jEsi kApADu tyAgarAjAptuDanu‘

03 sItamma mAyamma – vasantha – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘dharaija bhAgavatA-grEsaru levvarO vArellaru vara tyAgarAjuniki‘

04 srI mAnini manOhara – pUrNashaDjam – Thyagaraja  ( A )

05 bhAgAyanayya – chandrajyOti – Thyagaraja ( A )

06 manasA mana sAmarthyamEmi O – vardhani – Thyagaraja

07 atukA rAda dani balka? – manOranjitham – Thyagaraja

(  OST announced this as manOranjitham.. IS it not manOranjini ? or is there a different krithi ??)

08 O rangashAyi – kAmbOji – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @ ‘ bhUlOka vaikuNTham idiyani‘

09 ArakimpavE – thODi – Thyagaraja

10 challarE rAmachandruni – Ahiri – Thyagaraja

11 lAli yugavE – nIlAmbari – Thyagaraja

12  tirupati venkaTa ramaNa – hamsanandi – Purandara Dasa

13 mangaLam – saurAshtram – Thyagaraja

mangaLam  kOsalEndra – madhyamAvati

A beautifully presented concert by Sri O S Thyagarajan at the Unnati center yesteray. He was in his sublime form and rendered a poised , traditional concert for three hours.  Two early detailing ( with neraval and swara) of gauri manohari and vasantha set the concert up in the tempo. However, he then moved into a series of rare krithi’s and ragams ( poornashadjam, vardhani and mano ranjitham) explaining that these krithi’s are rearely heard at concerts.  Then came a majestic kamboji, presented in a prestine style. What an alapana( which lasted 18 minutes), followed by  O rangashai in its all grandeur,  long and deliberate neraval for 15 minute, 10 odd minutes of swaraprasthana ( In fact, I was hoping for more at this stage);  an hour before he handed over to Sudheendra and Sukanya for their part.

Young B K Raghu, looks very promising, did some good job during chandrajyothi alapana and the initial phrases of kamboji. He did accompany the main artist, decently. Sudheendra and Sukanya were very good through out. A very good concert and a kamboji to remember for along time.

tatva bOdhana jEsi kApADu tyAgarAjAptuDanu

 

Dr.Varadarangan, Unnati Centre, 03 Jan 2010

Vocal : Dr. Varadarangan

Violin : Dr.Jyothsna Srikanth

Mrudangam : Arjunkumar

Songlist:

01 vanajAksha ninnE kOri ( varNam) – mandAri – Mysore Vasudevacharya  ( O )   * edited after the confirmation by Sri Raghavan

02 srI mahAgaNapathE – nAtta – Mayuram Viswanatha Shastri ( A,S )

03 bhajarE rE mAnasa – AbhEri – Mysore Vasudevacharya ( A)

04 vENugAna lOluni – kEdAragauLa – Thyagaraja ( A )

05 nE pogaDakuNTE – shubhapantuvarALi – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S )

       neraval & swara @ ‘nIraja nayana shrI tyAgarAjanuta bAluDagu‘

06 guruguha swAminin bhaktim karOmi – bhAnumati – Muthuswami Dikshitar ??

07 pAlinchu kAmAkshi – madhyamAvathi – Shyama Shastri ( A,N,S,T )

       neraval & swara @ ‘ kAntamagu pEru ponditivi kAruNya mUrti‘

08 enna thavam seidhanai – kApi – Papanasam Sivan

09 thillAna – miyAn ki malhAr – Mysore R Visweswaran

10 slOkam ( kichinoLagE ..??) – hamsAnandi – Purandara Dasa

       kashta pattaru illa – hamsAnandi – Kanaka Dasa

11 srI chakra rAja – rAgamAlika – Agasthyar

12 mangaLam – saurAshtram – Thyagaraja

      mangaLam kOsalEndra – SrI

 What a way to start the new year !!  My expectations were low, as I haven’t heard his name earlier, but this was one superb concert. Dr.Varadarangan, presented a  sans gimmick, pristine concert of high classisism at the Unnati Center, today morning. Everything one could ask for in the concert was delivered. Few outstanding alapana , especially for AbhEri and madhyamAvathi, some brilliant swaraprasthana for the main raga of the day, interesting neraval for Shubha pantuvarali.  Ths is one of the best Abheri alapana , I’ve heard in recent times.

The concert started with a rare varnam, and the surprice continued till the end. I was expecting the popular ‘ennalu urake’ or sri satyanarayanam’ for Shubhapantuvarali, but was treated with another gem of Thyagaraja. A never heard before ‘bhanumati’  raga( he announced the krithi and raga , attributing it to Muthuswami Dikshitar), and another first of its kind ‘miyAn ki malhAr’ thillana of his guru , to complete the list of unheard pieces.

Violin was adequate in accompanying with few brilliant phrases in madhyamavathi and kedaragaula. Arjunkumar was brilliant throughout, with his usual high enery performance. Overall, a good beginning to my 2010 concert attendance.