The concert overall was good, brilliant in patches and not-so-good in some patches. [Disclaimer: i do not know the technicalities of classical music but i have a good capacity to concentrate, to listen, to follow music and finally to observe my reactions as i am doing above. All reviews are based on my observations on how i felt during the concert. This is no way related to artists' expertise or his abilities both as an artist and as a performer.]
Now that the disclaimer is over, the concert began with a beautiful rendition of Raag Kedar with atleast 30 minute alaap and it was beautiful. It was lovely to hear a 30 minute alaap after such a long time. I was sitting in front of the speaker and every note, every tiny vibration was audible. It was pure ecstasy. Raag kedar was followed by Raag Durga in which table was also there. This composition started off nicely but suddenly, he started playing his sarod like an electrical guitar. It reminded me so much of VishwaMohan Bhatt playing Mohan veena. It was just like that: get as loud as you can, get as fast as you can and people will clap. Somehow, as a performer, i think artists are concerned about their audience so much that they are willing to make a show for them. Then, we had a 15 min break and after the break, Panditji said that he is going to start with a mini Alaap of a raga (whose name i can not remember) followed by 2 compositions.
This alaap again was beautiful and sweet. Less intense than the first alaap but it still had its calmness and a feeling of happiness with it. The first composition that followed carried forward the happiness and then it moved to painting a picture of "ched" (tease). As if someone is teasing someone, playing with someone, like Krishna playing with gopiyan and teasing radha, like Calvin playing with Hobbes by taunting each other, that feeling was conveyed in music. You couldnt sit there without getting that feeling, everyone was smiling. It was music that was teasing us and we were enjoying every second of it. I remembered Pt. Uma Shankar Mishra doing this in NSIT (nostalgia comes in). The second composition was again some electric guitar rock. I think he was trying to tell the audience that you can play both rock and classical on this instrument.
But overall it was a good performance. Sitting close to those speakers and getting those vibrations, eyes closed, head banging, smile all over my face, bliss!
Artist description:
Tejendra Narayan Majumdar is one of the greatest sarod virtuosos in the world, known for the beauty of his tone and his incredible agility. Sarod, a fretless string instrument, is known for both its subtlety and power in expressing the moods of Indian music.
After training with his father and grandfather, he trained rigorously for eighteen years with Pandit Bahadar Khan and continues his training today under one of the great musicians of the 20th century, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
Majumdar has received numerous awards, including the President's gold medal, first place All India Radio competition, and the Pandit D.V. Paluskar award. He has also composed music for film and ballet and has toured extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Anubrata Chatterjee is the son and disciple of Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, who is considered by connoisseurs as one of the greatest tabla players of all time. From his father, he has developed astonishing speed and clarity in his playing. Tabla is one of the most exciting instruments in the world, capable of producing a wide variety of percussive sounds that are combined to create a singing accompaniment. It is a centuries-old improvised tradition that is one of the world's most sophisticated musical systems.
Anubrata has toured extensively both as a soloist and accompanist, including with artists such Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. He has been granted many awards and honors including the President's Gold Medal and the Pandit Nikhil Ghosh Memorial Award.
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