Annamayya receives musical honour

The Tallapaka village, birthplace of saint poet Annamacharya, reverberated with his keerthans on Monday, when his 600th birth anniversary was observed.Hundreds of classical singers from across Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring states rendered keerthans in front of his 108-feet tall statue.

For the first time, the processional idols of Lord Venkateswara and his consorts descended the seven hills to take part in the festivities of his ardent devotee, Annamayya, in his native village.

Tallapaka is located 100 km away from Tirupati at Rajampeta mandal in Kadapa district.

A festive atmosphere prevailed in several villages en route to Tallapaka too. Villagers decorated the roads with leaves and plantain trees to welcome the Lord who was trav eling to Tallapaka.

Bhajan mandals took out a procession from Rajampeta to Tallapaka with the Lord of the seven hills in the lead. Caparisoned elephants and horses were part of the procession.

Despite the sweltering heat, majority of the members of the bha jan mandals walked without slippers as a sign of their reverence for the Lord.

Apart from the heads of various mutts, renowned musicians and artistes including Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan, P.B. Srinivas, Padmasri Yella Venkateswara Rao, Dwaram Lakshmi, Padma Subrahmanyam and Chitti Babu attended the celebrations. Classical singers, Dr Shobha Raju, Jyothirmayee Chowdhary, G. Balakrishna Prasad, Dr Seshu Latha, Hyderabad sisters, and hundreds of others were also present. The film director, Mr K.Raghavendra Rao, who portrayed the saint poet in celluloid, joined the celebrations along with other film personalities, Manju Bhargavi and Kanchana.

The singers rendered Annamayya’s sapthagiri samkeerthanalu beginning with Bhavamulona Bhagyamunanduna and also presented his popular numbers.

Classic symphony found anew

It is true that the keys of a piano play into the hearts of its listeners. Since the invention of the Cristofori Grand Piano in 1722, the piano has evolved and gone on to become one of the most popular concert instruments in the world, inspiring generations and striking the right chord with musicians and audience alike.

A young Indian born NRI has been following the Polish composer Frederick Chopin of the romantic period very closely. Chopin is considered one of the finest virtuoso pianist and composers of the 19th century. Seenu Singh, 23, a final year student at the Royal Conservatory of Flanders in Antwerp, Belgium, was recently in the city performing Chopin’s recitals at the NCPA. With the hip hop and jazz culture invading the music scene, Western classical music is on the verge of becoming obsolete. Yet the everlasting music of the maestros still lingers in the hearts of a few passionate music lovers.

Though the music compositions of Western classics by Beethoven and romantics by Liszt seem centuries old, they still strike a chord in the hearts of young Indians. And they did Singh’s performance in Mumbai recently.

Singh, who has been living in Belgium for 16 years, says, “I chose Chopin’s recitals since his music is a union of elegant, expressive melodies and experimental, rich harmonies, all combined with a brilliant piano technique. His works were composed expressly for the instrument and is a synthesis between Polish tradition and the classical elements of Western Europe.” In India, where Western classical music is not very popular, Singh was awestruck by the reception he got. “The reception was very warm in the city. The audience seemed to enjoy Chopin’s compositions. In a country where Indian classical music flourishes, such appreciation for music was unexpected,” says Singh.

Singh, who is currently learning under the guidance of Prof. Levente Kende and Prof. Heidi Henderickx, is also a winner of several international piano competitions in France, including the Alexandre Scriabin held in Paris in 2007.

Singh started playing the piano when he was six.

After high school, he chose to take up music.

“I was planning to pursue a career in medicine or engineering but my piano teacher convinced me to take the entrance examination at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp,” he remarks.

A young talent with a lot to prove, Singh has planned an Indian tour this year where he will be enchanting his audience with music recitals of Chopin. After performing in Mumbai and Pune, he will now be coming back in October to perform in New Delhi at the India International Centre.

Singh will also be performing at discussing concerts in France and Czech Republic between 2008 and 2009.

Seenu intends to get into fulltime music teaching in the future, but for the present, he wishes to concentrate on completing his course at the RC and perform at concerts.

Music award for vocalist Sudha Raghunathan

The 20th music festival of Sruthi Laya Kendra will be held on December 15 and 16 in the city, announced Kendra founder and mridhangam maestro Karaikudi Mani on Tuesday.

Mr Mani said the Guru Surajananda Award would be given to Narada Gana Sabha secretary R. Krishnasamy in recognition of his services to music, art and culture. Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan will get the Sri Gowri Manohari Award, which comprises Rs 10,000 in cash, a memento and a citation.

Mr Mani said that every year two senior vidwans were given financial assistance. This year also the proceeds from the festival would go to two musicians. Mridhangam player Bangalore Nagabooshanamiah is one of the recipients. "We have not yet finalised the other person,"he said