Persistent hard work, not publicity makes for excellence in music: L Subramaniam

Kasauli, Oct 24 (IANS) He says that it is a long journey and only those truly passionate about music can think of surviving and aim at excellence — something which takes years.

L. Subramaniam, India’s best-known violinist, composer and conductor, trained in both classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, who started taking music lessons before the age of five, tells IANS, “Those who think they will become famous and a force to reckon with in a few months are highly mistaken. You have to have passion to sustain yourself for years, and through word-of-mouth, one starts gaining recognition. Despite this being the digital age where the Internet and social media have become buzzwords, nothing can replace good old-fashioned work and persistence. There are just no shortcuts.”

Talking about his latest book ‘Raga Harmony: Harmonic Structures and Tonalities in Indian Classical Music’, the musician who for long has been getting commissioned by major orchestras to write pieces, remembers that when he went to Moscow, the head of a major music conservatory asked him to write his doctoral thesis there.

“I could not even think of doing that considering the extreme cold there. I used to live in Los Angeles at that time and several people would comment that what I wrote was very different but powerful. I finally decided to write the book. And I wanted a PhD thesis that could be checked by people and scrutinised. So, after submitting the thesis, I got the book published,” says the maestro who was invited to perform at the United Nations and composed the scores for films ‘Salaam Bombay’, ‘Mississippi Masala’, in addition to being the featured violin soloist in Bernardo Bertolucci’s ‘Little Buddha’.

A doctor by education who has over two hundred recordings to his credit, he says that even after decades of exploring the art form, every day poses a new challenge. “I still consider myself a student who wants to absorb every new experience rhythms offer. For me, it is very simple — I love what I do, it is not a job for me,” says Subramaniam who also has a Master’s degree in Western classical music from the California Institute of the Arts and has collaborated with major musicians including Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grappelli, Ruggiero and Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Getting back to the book that explains how he integrated the Indian raga system with the harmonic structure of Western classical music, the musician, who attended the Kasauli Literary Festival (KLF) in Himachal Pradesh, says that the Western orchestras have their own strong repertoire and excellent composers.

“So they will not play our kind of music unless they are fascinated. Thus, we must offer excellence and originality each time.”

Talk to him about his process, and the maestro says that he is a strong believer in taking references from around. “For example, if I am working with a Western orchestra, that country and the instruments from there matter. With ‘Salaam Bombay’, I paid attention to the character. And sometimes, there are very small things that precipitate a sound inside you,” he concludes.

–IANS

sukant/kvd