The book authored by us on our Guru `Violin Maestro V. Lakshminarayana Iyer’ released

The book authored by us on our Guru `Violin Maestro V. Lakshminarayana Iyer – His life and contribution to the World of Music’ was released.

The book is being released by Sri Narayana Viswanath Editor in Chief, SARIGAMAPADANI, the first copy was received by Padmabhushan Dr. K. J. Yesudas in the immediate presence hotelier Shri. K. R. V. Ramani at Nandi Fine Arts, Sri Venugopalaswamy Temple, Chennai.

Nandi Fine Arts honours Yesudas – The Hindu

Nandi Fine Arts honours Yesudas

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Guidance of parents and the blessings of ‘Guru’ are most important for one to become a good Carnatic musician, noted vocalist K.J. Yesudas observed here on Friday.

Speaking at a function organised by Nandi Fine Arts, Mr. Yesudas said the present day youth adopted short-cuts to become good vocalists. They used a tape recorder to learn music, which would never tell aspiring youth whether they were singing properly or not, he said.

Mr. Yesudas was presented with the ‘L. Vaidyanathan award for Achievement,’ which carried a shawl, a citation and a memento.

Narayana Viswanath, Editor-in-Chief, Sarigamapadani, and former Chief General Manager, RITES, recalled his association with violin maestro V. Lakshminarayana Iyer and lauded the efforts taken by his granddaughters M. Lalitha and M. Nandini. A book brought out by the sisters,‘Violin Maestro V. Lakshminarayana Iyer — His Life and Contributions to the World of Music’, was released.

Date:22/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/22/stories/2007122260061200.htm

M. Lalitha’s book on violin techniques

M. Lalitha’s book on violin techniques

Chennai based violinist Dr. M. Lalitha has published her doctoral thesis as a book. Titled ‘Violin Techniques in Western and South Indian Classical Music: A Comparative Study’, the book has been published by New Delhi based publisher Sundeep Prakashan.

The book deals with different violin playing styles in Western and South Indian classical styles, and also features views of legendary musicians and violinists.

Lalitha and her sister M. Nandini, have been performing widely in India and abroad. Lalitha has been awarded the ‘Fulbright Fellowship in Performing Arts’ for the year 2005 and is currently studying World Music and Fusion at the Department of Music, University of Pittsburgh, USA. And Nandini has been awarded the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship from UK. She is now working on World Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

The duo present Kapri, a fusion music concert featuring global music styles at 10 am on Jan.1, 2006 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s auditorium.

For more info on the book, contact M. Lalitha, e-mail: mslalithanandini@yahoo.com

http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/decseason2005/archives.htm#76

Book on `Violin Techniques in Western and South Indian Classical Music – A Comparative Study

Book on `Violin Techniques in Western and South Indian Classical Music – A Comparative Study

My book on Violin techniques in Western and South Indian Classical Music – A Comparative Study was published. Please see the link below.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2005/04/01/stories/2005040101920600.htm


The first of its kind, the book is an encyclopedia on the different techniques in violin playing. As its title suggests, it deals with the different violin playing techniques in both the systems the Western and the South Indian Classical Music. There are many books which study the different techniques of violin playing in Western music whereas in the South Indian system there is no comprehensive identification and enumeration of the various techniques in use.
This book explores and outlines the various techniques in the South Indian system. Different violin playing styles in both the systems are methodically analysed and a lucid comparison of the techniques in both the systems are the main crux of this majestic work. Views of legendary musicians and violinists are also included.The author has brought to light the various techniques in the South Indian Classical system which is a treasure for posterity. This book definitely throws light on the different aspects of violin playing techniques, the different schools and styles. It will surely appeal to both the layman and the connoisseur alike.

Violin maestro’s birth centenary to be celebrated

Violin maestro’s birth centenary to be celebrated

Chennai: The birth centenary of violin maestro Lakshminarayana Iyer will be celebrated in January. Grand-daughters and disciples M. Lalitha and M. Nandini, both violinists, have authored a book ‘ Violin Maestro Lakshminarayana Iyer’, a first of its kind that records the life and achievements of the legend in the world of music.

V. Lakshminarayana Iyer had an insatiable desire for the propagation of the glory of music. He inherited a rich legacy from his family and also learnt from several stalwarts of his times. He belonged to a phenomenal lineage that could be traced even before the Trinity period. V. Lakshminarayana Iyer was a trendsetter who introduced original and new techniques in violin playing evolving a unique tradition of his own. A composer and teacher of eminence, he was a pioneer to elevate the solo status of the Carnatic violin in the global arena. His disciples and children include Brehanayaki, Subbulakshmi, Muthuswamy, Ganasaraswati, L. Vaidyanatan, L. Subramaniam and L. Shankar.

http://www.24dunia.com/english-news/shownews/0/Violin-maestro-s-birth-centenary-to-be-celebrated/8579026.html

http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/29/stories/2010122964680500.htm

Nandi Fine Arts honours Yesudas – The Hindu

Nandi Fine Arts honours Yesudas

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Guidance of parents and the blessings of ‘Guru’ are most important for one to become a good Carnatic musician, noted vocalist K.J. Yesudas observed here on Friday.

Speaking at a function organised by Nandi Fine Arts, Mr. Yesudas said the present day youth adopted short-cuts to become good vocalists. They used a tape recorder to learn music, which would never tell aspiring youth whether they were singing properly or not, he said.

Mr. Yesudas was presented with the ‘L. Vaidyanathan award for Achievement,’ which carried a shawl, a citation and a memento.

Narayana Viswanath, Editor-in-Chief, Sarigamapadani, and former Chief General Manager, RITES, recalled his association with violin maestro V. Lakshminarayana Iyer and lauded the efforts taken by his granddaughters M. Lalitha and M. Nandini. A book brought out by the sisters,‘Violin Maestro V. Lakshminarayana Iyer — His Life and Contributions to the World of Music’, was released.

Date:22/12/2007

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/22/stories/2007122260061200.htm

Bowing styles compared – The Hindu

Bowing styles compared

THEIR SMILES said it all. “After a hectic season of music, it is rewarding to get recognised, and that too from two of the time-honoured sabhas in Chennai,” say violinists M. Lalitha and M. Nandini, after receiving the Best Senior Violinist Award at the Music Academy and Indian Fine Arts this year.

“Given the fact that violin is considered more as an accompanying instrument, the award from the sabhas for the solo slots was indeed a treasure,” say the sisters.

And why not? With Lalitha’s research on the instruments’ versatility offered in terms of handling the instrument in both Western and Carnatic, surely the two musicians would be enthusiastic about showcasing the melody in it, the best way.

Based on Lalitha’s Ph. D. thesis at the University of Madras, her recently released book, `Violin Techniques in Western and South Indian Classical Music – A Comparative Study,’ attempts at demystifying some of the common approaches and their distinct characteristics.

How similar styles executed differently lend themselves to music, forms the crux of the comparative violin study.

Interesting information makes up for the seven chapters of the book (brought out by Sundeep Prakashan) that has a Kamala Vinayakar with a violin conceptualised by Lalitha’s mother on the cover, with a foreword by Dr. David Reck, Ethno Musicologist of Amherst College, U.S.

Painstaking details of various methods in the use of the bow and fingers to achieve a multitude of aural effects and timbres in both Western and Carnatic classical traditions have been brought out by Lalitha.

“It grows beyond the sahitya, swara and tana vil that is too basic, and enumerates a comprehensive study of different schools for mirroring the two systems,” says Lalitha.

It is for only the techniques incorporated in the book that I met top musicians, musicologists and vidwans in both the genres, she says. “In the chapter on styles, for instance, 500 Western violinists, teachers and schools of play are codified.

And for the comparative study of South Indian equivalents, 240 violinists are discussed and detailed in the list. Adds Lalitha, “Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer’s account of the several accompanying artistes and their parampara that he had observed in his long-spanning career provides for some interesting read.

As the violin sisters belong to the illustrious family of V. Lakshminarayana, and the trio-violin maestros L. Vaidyanathan, L. Subramaniam and L. Shankar, Lalitha has traced the sishya parampara in the family tree in the book, which draws its lineage to the respected Trinity.

RANJANI GOVIND

Date:01/04/2005 URL:http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fr/2005/04/01/stories/2005040101920600.htm