‘World music keeps me going all the time’

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Music can never be monotonous. It is an expression of the soul and it never tires me,” said legendary violinist Dr L. Subramaniam, who enthralled the audiences in Mumbai last week with his performance at the Lakshminarayana Global Concert in the city.

The maestro-violinist, who appears calm and composed, gave this correspondent a steady gaze and said that music is what he thinks about all the time. “There’s something about music that keeps me going all the time, especially global music where various genres and styles come together and create a grand ensemble of music,” said Dr Subramaniam. The Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, which brings together some of the finest musicians from different parts of the world, is an annual event which is held every year in the memory of Dr Subraman-iam’s father. This year, the festival brought together music from Africa and Japan. “This year, the line-up was extremely interesting and especially the musical instruments. We had African musician Cissokho, who played the Kora (21-stringed harp from West Africa) and Miya Masaoka, who performed some of my compositions on the Koto, and Dhafer Youssef, who played the Oud (a traditional middle-eastern lute),” said Dr Subramaniam.
For someone who has travelled extensively and had the pleasure of understanding world music, he said that it is a humbling and enriching experience.
His wife Kavita Krishnamurthy, a renowned playback singer herself, shared on a lighter note that her husband couldn’t stop thinking about music. “I wonder how can he keep thinking about beats, taals, rhythms all the time,” she said adding, “But I have to say that I am extremely lucky to be around him and learn so much from him. In fact, with concerts like these, I am able to explore the experimental side of music and keep challenging myself,” said Kavita. “I love the way life is treating me now. I’ve always been thankful, but performing for concerts is far more special. In the end, when all of us came together, we improvised on our individual parts, and the end result was simply magical,” she said.
Dr Subramaniam went on to add that it was the spiritual and divine aspect of music that kept him going. Even after so many concerts, he said in all humility that there’s a lot to be achieved. “In fact, I am waiting to finish the pending projects, and start new ones. Just the fact that I am doing something related to music drives me,” he concluded.