The Composer
The well-known violin trio
L.Vaidhyanathan, Dr. L.Subramaniam and Dr. L.Shankar, who
are eqally reputed in the international music scene . . .
He is considered to be one of the rarest multi-faceted geniuses
from India - not only is he the most outstanding Indian classical
violinist, but also an exceptional composer who has established
himself as the foremost Indian composer in the realm of East-West
Orchestral composition. He has achieved this in a remarkably
short time through the sheer merit of his unique works.
A growing passion for European classical music brought Subramaniam
to the United States with the intent of studying and acquiring
a deep understanding of the intellectual intricacies of this
music. He received his Master's Degree in Western Classical
Music from the California Institute of Arts. With his vast
and profound knowledge of both Western and the Indian Classical
traditions, he has been able to draw on the best of both worlds
in all the different aspects, blending the melodic and the
rhythmic richness of his native idiom with the contrapuntal
and harmonic progressions of European Classical music creating
music that is unique and original. The results speak volumes
on his contribution to world music.
A leading critic of the Los Angeles Times has said, "He
is a master soloist... his writing has succeeded in ignoring
and transcending whatever boundary lines exist between Eastern
and Western composition. "In 1985, at the request of
Maestro Zubin Mehta, the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic,
he wrote a major symphonic work entitled, "Fantasy on
Vedic Chants" which he premiered with the New York Philharmonic
for the opening of its 1985 Season to celebrate the "Festival
of India in the US. All four performances received standing
ovations and great acclaim. This piece was dedicated to his
late mother, L.Seethalakshmi. Since then, this Master work
has been performed widely including a performance at the Tchaikovsky
Hall in Moscow with the USSR TV-Radio Symphony conducted by
Maestro Vladimir Fedoseyev. The National Television in Norway
presented his Concerto for Two Violins with Arve Tellefsen
and the Oslo Philharmonic in a special annual event which
was performed and televised at the prestigious Oslo Concert
Hall.
In 1987, he premiered a new orchestral work, "Turbulence"
with the Swiss Romande Orchestra in Geneva. This was commissioned
by the City of Geneva and was part of the closing events of
the "India Summer in Geneva." On the occasion of
the closing of the "Festival of India" in the USSR,
an entire evening was dedicated to performances of Subramaniam's
orchestral works at the Tchaikovsky Hall in the presence of
His Excellency Mr. R. Venkataraman, the President of India.
Later that year, for the closing of the "USSR Festival"
in India, he premiered a new symphonic work, "Shanti
Priya" with the Kirov Symphony Orchestra during their
Indian tour. A special set of four commemorative albums celebrating
the Soviet and Indian Festivals was released featuring compositions
of Tchaikovsky and Subramaniam.
In 1990, for the "Days of GDR Culture in India"
two of his pieces, "Spring Rhapsody" and "Naada
Priya" were performed by the Halle Chamber Orchestra
on their National tour with Subramaniam himself conducting
the first piece. This was later repeated with members of the
London Philharmonic. In 1991 , the Contrechamps Swiss Ensemble
premiered and toured nationally with his new work, "Beyond"
dedicated to his late father , Professor V.Lakshminarayana.
In October 1993, his symphonic work, "Shanti Priya"
waschoreographed by Donald Mc Kayle and it was premiered by
the San Jose Cleveland Ballet ("Mysteries and Raptures")
both in San Jose and Cleveland. He was also a featured soloist
in "All the world's violins" held in Belgium along
with Sir Yehudi Menuhin and Mr.Stephane Grappelli.
For the very first time, a new work entitled, "Reflections",
a symphony which uses different instruments, elements and
traditions from different parts of the world (which the composer
calls "Global Fusion") was premiered in Singapore
with the Singapore Symphony, Singapore Indian Orchestra with
Chinese and Malay musicians all performing together on the
same stage. This was the Gala event for the "Festival
of Asian Performing Arts", where the composer himself
conducted two entire evenings of his own work. In January,
1994 he conducted and performed his works with the Gewandhaus
Chamber Orchestra in Leipzig.
In September 1994, his historical concert tour of South Africa
featuring his orchestral composition, "Fantasy on Vedic
Chants", with the Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra and
Natal Philharmonic Orchestra has created an unprecedented
impact for Indian music. His compositions have also been used
in various stage presentations by leading ballet companies
including the San Jose Cleveland Ballet Company and Alvin
Ailey Company.
He has been an artistic director and a musical advisor for
several international music festivals, including the World
Music Festival in August of 1995, at the Madison Square Garden,
New York. The festival was organized by the Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan as a tribute to the celebration of the 50th year of
the United Nations. The highlight of the festival was the
"Global Symphony", an orchestral composition composed
by Dr.Subramaniam. This symphonic composition involved a Global
Orchestra consisting of eminent soloists representing differing
musical traditions from around the world and a choir including
singers from the Metropolitan Opera. The concept of Global
Fusion was conceptualized by Viji Subramaniam and, and the
Global Symphony piece which was premiered in New York was
dedicated to her loving memory. Most recently, the Global
Symphony, was performed in India in February of 1996, with
musicians from fourteen different countries. The performance
was the grand finale of the East West Cultural Music and Dance
encounter, and received rave reviews.
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