MUSIC MATTERS
M.S. in Moscow
Among the audio releases this music season, one is a gem. Saregama has issued a CD of M.S. Subbulakshmi's concert at Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow. It has a vintage Kharaharapriya and Sankarabharanam, soaring into ethereal realms as only the M.S. voice can, but with the maturity of the mellow years.
The concert was a special one. It was arranged for an august gathering of western classical musicians, musicologists and music teachers, some of them world famous, in a hall named after an eminent Russian composer. Subbulakshmi offered them a high classical fare, before ending with songs from bhakti poets like Kabirdas and Rabindranath Tagore.
The response was unforgettable. At the end of the recital, the audience refused to leave the hall before the artiste did. The standing ovation continued as M.S. walked down the aisle and went down the staircase.
Siesta time
The philosophy behind the noon and next-to-noon concerts must have been to encourage talent, but look at reality. On working days, the audience is a mere handful, nothing more. To boot, even those present cannot help slipping into their customary siesta, in spite of themselves. What, one wonders, would be the mental disposition of the performer at this hour?
If there is a problem, there must be a solution. These noon concerts could be restricted to weekends, and as for working days, could commence after Christmas when vacation begins.
Cell bane
The cell really kills. No, not communication. There seems to be no respect for sensibilities here. No one, save the artistes on stage, either switches it off or converts them to the silent mode. The women safely put it into their handbags and allow it to ring and ring until you want to scream. The men are slightly better. They realise that it is their cell in action and rush out or, depending on their `assumed' importance have the temerity to answer it from inside the hall. S. Balachander is said to have stopped playing as he was disturbed by the talk going on in the VIP first row and he won. But these days feedback is not respected (read expected).
(Contributed by Gowri Ramnarayan, S. Sivakumar, V. Balasubramaniam, Ranjani Govind)
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