A new video, that gives a glimpse into the making of Ilaiyaraaja’s first English classical symphony, Valiant, has now been released, much to the joy of Ilaiyaraaja’s fans.

The symphony has been recorded at the Royal Scottish National orchestra. The video shows Ilaiyaraaja speaking to the musicians of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

He is seen saying, “Everyday, I used to record a song or a film score. I am film composer as he introduced. Suddenly, I thought of writing a symphony. When I started writing, I never thought I would record with you all. I never imagined. There is no good and bad in music. Each and every note is perfect – on its own.”

Talking about working with Ilaiyaraaja, Mikel Toms of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra says, “It is a really interesting, colourful, rich piece of music. It is very interesting because he is an Indian composer who is very embedded in the whole world of Indian film music but he has come here and is composing for a western classical orchestra. What is remarkable is that he has synthesised all those different elements into this really colourful, texturally brilliant piece of music. It is a great discovery for us. Many of us know the name but we didn’t know this voice.”

Mercuri Group CEO Sriram Bakthisaran said, “Today is truly a historic day for Maestro and his millions and millions of fans throughout the world. It has taken 49 years, 1500 films. This has been his dream for many years. We are glad we did what we did today.”

Ilaiyaraaja, who shared the link to the glimpse video of the recording on his X timeline, wrote, “Music is an emotion and Valiant is my tribute to you all. witness the journey behind Symphony No. 1.”