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Fast Forward
The unsung virtuoso
When India was a cluster of monarchies, the courts boasted
of artists, musicians and myriad creative talents. Some, like
Tansen, attained historical  fame
alongwith their patrons, while others remained unsung. The
reason could be that they may not have resorted to sycophancy
(or in current buzzword, lobbied) enough for their patron’s
munificence.
In the present time and age, recognition comes in the form
of awards and media hype. The recognised state patronage is
vested in the honours bestowed by the President of India each
year on Republic Day, when the awardees of that year’s
Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, etc. awards are made public.
Since that list is overly long, the newspapers resort to publishing
a highly truncated version of the same, and so only the ones
in constant public and media glare are mentioned, and others
(media unsavvy, so to say), who are not among the privileged
group, are given the skip.
People of great merit and talent are overlooked, because they
have not cultivated the media enough or lack the media charisma.
One such victim in this year’s list is none other than
violin virtuoso Dr. L. Subramaniam. Prominent amongst this
year’s Padma Vibhushan recipients are sarod player Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan, santoor maestro Pt. Shivkumar Sharma and others.
All of whom made it as front-page news. But not a mention
of Dr L. Subramaniam, despite being conferred the Padma Bhushan
and his achievements in the world of music stand second to
none.
Acknowledged as one of the finest violinists and musicians
of our time, L. Subramaniam’s repertoire is not confined
to just Indian classical music, but includes jazz, Indo-fusion
and Western classical music. He has played on some of the
world’s most prestigious stages like the Royal Albert
Hall, the Lincoln Center and the Madison Square Garden. His
virtuosity doesn’t just rest with his instrument. He
has had the distinction of writing compositions for and playing
them with legendary musicians like Sir Yehudi Menuhin and
jazz greats, Stephane Grappelli and Herbie Hancock.
Maestro Zubin Mehta, when he was music director of the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra, invited Subramaniam to write
a major symphonic work — Fantasy on Vedic Chants, which
he (Subramaniam) premiered with the New York Philharmonic,
to celebrate the Festival of India in the US. All four performances
were received with standing ovations and acclaim. Dr. Subramaniam
has also recorded and produced over one hundred recordings,
including a five-volume Anthology of Indian Music for the
prestigious Ocora label of Radio France. He hosted the very
first video presentation of Indian Classical Music and Dance
entitled Master Musicians from India. He has also scored the
music for internationally acclaimed films like Mississippi
Masala and Salaam Bombay, and was featured as a soloist in
Bernardo Bertolucci’s Little Buddha. He has also been
awarded a Padmashree, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award.
The world opinion of Dr L. Subramaniam’s virtuosity is
one of profound respect. But the Indian media begs to differ
and continues to overlook this reticent musician of the world.
Ravi Shankar honoured again!
Queen Elizabeth II has conferred the award of ‘Honorary
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire’
on Pandit Ravi Shankar, in recognition of his  services
to music. Sir Rob Young, British High Commissioner, congratulated
the sitar maestro saying, “No one has done more than
Ravi Shankar to promote an understanding and love of Indian
classical music in the West, and in particular in Britain.
This is a most fitting way of honouring an outstanding musician
who is deeply respected in my country and indeed all over
the world.”
India’s 80-year-old sitar legend celebrates his international
concert career of more than 60 years, with a March-end release
of Ravi Shankar Full Circle 2000.
This rare, live recording, a document of a critically acclaimed
concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall on October 6, 2000,
also features Panitji’s daughter Anoushka, assisting
him on the sitar. The album takes its title from Pandit Ravi
Shankar’s ongoing world tour, a summation of his remarkable
international performing and recording career that began in
the 1930s. The album release precedes the opening of a centre
for Indian music in New Delhi, which has been created by the
Pandit Ravi Shankar Foundation and named after him.
Pin-up boy No. 1?
Guess who is now gyrating into the music video starring
credits? Govinda. He wants to stretch himself into other fields
too. So after game show afficionados saw Chi-Chi follow Bachchan
with Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke, he will star in   Adnan
Sami’s video, for his smash-hit album Kabhi To Nazar
Milao. And the guys to wield the megaphone are two well-known
glamour photographers Jagdish Mali and Jayesh Seth. The video
has been shot, and will be on air in the first week of March.
The reason why the actor is starring in the video is not that
Mali and Seth are his best buddies, but he simply loves the
album, and this, goes the grapevine, was the carrot the directors
dangled to net him easily and fast.
Lopez, a rage in the US
Latino star Jennifer Lopez has made history in the US by claiming
the number one spot with her new album J. Lo, and her new
feature film The Wedding Planner, all in the same week. In
the States, the album shot into the top position within days
and has also entered at number one in Germany, Canada, Switzerland,
Spain, Argentina, Greece, Puerto Rico, Central America and
Chile. Her feature film The Wedding Planner opened number
one at the box-office, with a weekend gross of over $10 million.
To top it all, the first single of the new album, My love
don’t cost a thing, is the number one most-played video
on MTV. Let’s hope Jennifer’s chart and box office
success starts to rub off on her love-life too - then she
really would have it all!
Piroj
Wadia
Also see:>>>
 A
romantic debut
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