What could happen when 13 brilliant musicians get together on stage? A magical rendezvous. Nah! A rather musically magical rendezvous. Now get ready for one such evening of soulful renditions as musician TM Krishna and his friends bring Friends in Concert, a testament to the enduring relationships forged amongst musicians, transcending generations and ideologies, reflecting in the soul-stirring melodies that will be presented on stage. Swaying away from a typical Carnatic kutcheri format, Krishna and his friends have conceptualised an unprecedented musical experience that celebrates Carnatic music with all its diversity. Ahead of the show, we spoke to Krishna to know more about Friends in Concert.
Musically yours...
Krishna informs us, “Through this concert, we are hoping to convey to the audience the spirit of what music making is, which is sharing, friendship, musical friendship, and personal friendship. Many a time we forget that musical journeys are long — from our formative years when we start performing, to travel our own journeys, and then we mature and become artistes of repute. But right through this entire process to eventually becoming who we are, it only happens because we have partnerships. And therefore, Friends in Concert is a celebration of these various partnerships.”
Banter, fights and learnings
Krishna tells us that the 12 artistes are musicians who he has shared music with for over three decades, right from the late 1980s till today. “They are from so many different generations, and the music banter, the fights, the learnings, the changes, the evolution of every one of us as both musicians and people has been wonderful,” he says. The artistes in Friends in Concert, in no particular order, include TM Krishna, Akkarai S Subhalakshmi, Anirudh Athreya V, Arun Prakash K, Bhaskar HN, Chandrasekara Sharma G, Guruprasad N, Dr R Hemalatha, Poongulam Subramanian, Praveen Sparsh, Sangeetha Sivakumar, Shriramkumar RK and Sivaraman B.
Challenging hierarchies
The musician points out that there are many hierarchies in the Carnatic performance, but Friends in Concert “will challenge a lot of those hierarchical positions.” He adds, “We are 13 of us — equal, and making music together. There is no main singer, or main violinist; we’re just trying to share space together as musicians.”
Nuances of Carnatic music
“What you can expect in this live performance is some of what you would call the old, some new, some pushing the boundaries a bit, some just fun, and something even quirky. Most importantly, a celebration of Carnatic music,” Krishna concludes.
Tickets start at Rs 350.
January 19, 6.30 pm
At The Music Academy, Royapettah.
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
X: @rupsjain
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