Who did you learn from and what were your biggest learnings ?
I learnt from Padmabhushan Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman . Lalgudi sir was of course , in himself , an ocean of learning . Apart from the unbelievable music that he shared , it was passion for the artform that he communicated above all else . An unswerving focus , complete discipline in practise , the quest for perfection , attention to detail .. I remember my first class , I was slouching unknowing to myself , and after reminding me a few times to sit up straight , he simply reached across for my notebook , and wrote Lesson 1 : Sit Straight , and said , ‘ we can learn more in the next class .’ That stayed with me ever since , as did all the other little things that he pointed out , how best to staple two sheets of paper , how to always be on time , how to never show up underprepared whether it was for a class or a concert , and above all else , how all this attention to detail translated directly to the music , be it in some minute fingering , some delicate nuance , a glide , a connection between two notes , aesthetics in improvising , and just about any other aspect .
Could you tell us a bit more about A Carnatic Quartet and the work you do as a part of it ?
A Carnatic Quartet has been conceptualised as an effort to explore the coming together of two distinct instrumental artforms , within the Carnatic tradition . The melodic instruments in this collaboration , Violin and Nagaswaram , come from very different cultural and musical backgrounds , and similar is the case with the Mridangam and Thavil . The intent is to explore each of these instruments , as also the musical traditions from which they come , without restriction , and to witness the magic that happens when they come together .
This outfit is conceptualised and curated by me , and I play the violin in this quartet . The artistes of the quartet are :
Shreya Devnath ( Violin ) Mylai M Karthikeyan ( Nagaswaram ) Praveen Sparsh ( Mridangam ) Adyar G Silambarasan / Gummudipoondi R Jeevanandham ( Thavil )
Through the quartet , we explore very many different kinds of
music , interpreting it through our own musical understanding and our respective instruments . We would like to explore freely , without losing sight of our responsibility in doing so .
In an age of independent music , you being one yourself , how do you stay ahead of the curve to ensure your audiences always get to hear good music ?
I think it ’ s very exciting to be an independent musician , and to be able to share a freely explorative body of work with your audience . I don ’ t think it ’ s as much about staying ahead of the curve , as it is about staying engaged with the music and with the audience . To be listening to a lot of music that ’ s coming out , to be curious to explore new things , and to
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