Saturday, December 31, 2016

Tribute to CR Vyas


Surtarang pays tribute to the late Chintaman Raghunath Vyas (Marathi: चिंतामण रघुनाथ व्यास; 9 November 1924 – 10 January 2002), popularly known as C. R. Vyas, was an Indian classical singer. He was renowned for singing khayal style.

In this circumstances, it's appropriate to know about his son who is also a well-known Santoor player.

Satish Vyas:

Satish Vyas is one of the best Santoor players of India who is born in a musically enriched 
family, his father being the well-known vocalist, Padmabhushan Pt. C.R. Vyas. His father 

initiated Satish into vocal Music.


In 1978 he took up the Santoor and started learning under Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Satish Vyas is
the senior-most and best-known disciple of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.

Pandit Satish Vyas has been a regular concert artist for the last more than 30 years or so, performing and recording all over the world, more extensively in the USA, UK & Europe, Japan and Australasia. In 1997, he was the only non-Western instrumentalist invited to perform in Venice, Italy at the "Mostra Mozart Festival", organised by the prestigious European Mozart Foundation.

Satish Vyas has been decorated with many awards and few of which are mentioned below.

The Government Of India has honoured Pandit Satish Vyas with Padma Shri in 2003.

He is also bestowed upon with “ Kumar Gandharva Rashtriya Sanman” by Kumar Gandharva Foundation, Mumbai in 2010.

Recently in January 2015 Satish Vyas was honored with the prestigious Award SWARSAGAR SANGEET PURASKAR by Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

On February 28 , 2015 Satish Vyas was presented with the prestigious " GURU MADAN LAL KOSER-GURU SHOBHA KOSER AWARD" by the premier Institution "Pracheen Kala Kendra" of Chandigarh at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh.

MSG - The Unforgettable Violinist

SURTARANG PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE CARNATIC VIOLIN LEGEND M S GOPALAKRISHNAN  8TH JAN 2017 BETWEEN 2 UK TIME







M.S. Gopalakrishnan, aka MSG, (10 June 1931 – 3 January 2013) 
M.S. Gopalakrishnan (popularly known as MSG) was born on 10th June 1931. MSG learnt from his father, late Professor Parur Sundaram Iyer, the famous violinist who was an authority on the two systems of Indian Classical Music i.e. North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) systems. MSG learnt both systems from his father and gave his first performance along with his father at age of eight. A top ranking violinist, outstanding soloist and accompanist, MSG captivated  the audience  in the music arena for over fifty years playing both Hindustani and Carnatic Music. MSG had done vast research on violin playing techniques. He is presiding persona of a new unique style called the "Parur style". He is always been  a versatile violin artist famous for playing melodies, speed, special fingering technique, and bowing technique. His violin tonal quality has always been clear, and audience  could clearly hear the swarams thus making it more melodious. He  won numerous awards including the Padma Sri, Kalaimamani, Sangeetha Kalanidhi and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award.


M.S.Gopalakrishnan,  a legendary artist who broke the frontiers of his acumen and acclaim beyond the confines of Carnatic to wider acceptance by audiences all over the country and won international recognition for themselves. As for M.S. Gopalakrishnan, he gave early evidence of making his bow as a violinist and thus had the benefit of expert guidance from his father who was the Professor of Music at the University of Bombay. This in itself proved a providential circumstance as it helped to build a bridge of understanding between Carnatic and Hindustani sangeet paddhatis during his impressionable years from six to sixteen.


When young M.S. G
opalakrishnan blazed upon the musical horizon like a meteor, his brilliance dazzled even maestros of Hindustani music like Pt  Paluskar who readily accepted the young virtuoso as an accompanist. With a baptism such as this, M.S.G never looked back. With the crystal-clear tonal purity of his Carnatic lineage and the emotional impact of the 'Shruti-Bhaav' insight of the Hindustani gayaki mode, he evolved a unique style of his own which imparts more depth and dimension to ragas than hitherto expressed through instrumental music. Through relentless researches and riyaaz M.S.G innovated newer techniques on his violin such as one-finger playing, thematic development on single-string octaves to make his violin a more expressive medium.


With artistry such as this at his fingertips, no less a violin virtuoso than the internationally acclaimed Yehudi Menuhin exclaimed, 'I have not heard such violin in all my travels!'. How superbly this young Indian is playing our instrument'. Coming from Yehudi Menuhin, this should be construed as the highest compliment. Whether he is playing a 'Kriti' of Shree Thyagaraja for the rasikas of Carnatic music or a Masitkhani gat for lovers of Hindustani music, M.S. Gopalakrishnan and his audiences share a rapport which 
 the key of his popularity the world over. 


The legend astounded an audience in Holland by playing a small piece of Beethoven. To an artist of such boundless genius, all the world is a stage - and the sky is not the limit. Once Yehudi Menuhin heard M.S.G play the Kalyani ata varnam using only one string with so much fervour and impressed by it, mentioned everywhere about "a man who played in the G string '(with one finger)', whose name also starts with the letter G".


M.S.Gopalakrishnan toured all over the world including countries like USA, UK, Holland, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and Hongkong.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

SURTARANG CELEBRATES DHRUPAD FESTIVAL

Dear All,
Surtarang is ready to celebrate the Dhrupad Festival. 







Dagar Tradition

Dagar Gharana is a dhrupad-based stylized singing founded by
 Ustad Behram Khan (1753-1878).
Tracing its history back to nineteen generations, we can say that the Gharana took firm roots under the able supervision of Ustad Behram Khan, who went to Jaipur and founded his gurukul. The greatness of his contribution to Dhrupad is admitted on all hands.

The Dagar family had seven performing members and held an annual Dagar Saptak Festival in different parts of India.

Ustad Nasiruddin Khan had an early premonition of his own death and spent ten years training his two elder sons Moinuddin and Aminuddin so as to impart all his musical knowledge to them. Subsequently, after Ustad Nasiruddin Khan's demise the two brothers trained under Ustad Riyazuddin Khan and Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar.

Ustad Nasiruddin Khan’s two elder sons were known as the Senior Dagar Brothers.
Moinuddin Dagar (1919-1966) and Aminuddin Dagar (1923-2000)

Nasir Moinuddin Dagar (1919-1966)

The eldest son of Nasiruddin Khan and a charismatic performer who together with his younger brother Nasir Aminuddin Dagar attained fame in the 1950s and ‘60s as the Senior Dagar Brothers. His singing came the closest to that of Nasiruddin Khan, according to many who had heard Nasiruddin Khan. He trained under his father till his death in 1936, and subsequently, learnt from his uncles Riyazuddin Khan and Ziauddin Khan. His style was characterized by a certain flamboyance, and there were always surprises in the sudden unexpected turns that his melodic improvisation could take. His concert tour of Europe with his younger brother in the 1960s earned great critical acclaim. He had amazing mastery over the use of the three different kinds of head resonance-nasika, anunasika and nirrannasika, which he used with much flair and artistry on the higher notes like ni and sa. His use of rapid ghamak patterns in the faster part of the alap created some controversy, because this led to the accusation that he had adopted some elements of khayal in his singing. But he defended its use by saying that the patterns, though very rapid, were syllabic and different from the aakar taans of khayal. Like his father Nasiruddin Khan he died in the prime of his career in 1966, probably from the same hereditary ailments that caused his father’s early demise-the progression of his illness no doubt accelerated by his fondness for the rich non-vegetarian cuisine of the Dagar family. Recently, some recordings of his singing have been released from the private archives of the Royal family of Udaipur.

Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar[1] (Indore, 
India 1923 - Kolkata, India 2000) was an Indian dhrupad singer in the dagar-vani style.

He is also remembered as the younger brother in the legendary jugalbandi or duo of Senior Dagar Brothers.[1] He along with his elder brother Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar was responsible in reviving the dhrupad tradition that had fallen to a nadir after the death of their father Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar.

Young Aminuddin gave his first performance at the age of eleven. It was, however, the 1940s that saw the meteoric rise of Moinuddin and Aminuddin as the Senior Dagar Brothers—two of the brightest stars in the Dhrupad firmament. Within themselves they not only transformed the art of Dhrupad singing but also breathed new life to the form of duet or jugalbandi singing. Previously, jugalbandi in the field of classical music had degenerated into a competition between the two singers where each tried to outdo the other in exhibitionism. Moinuddin and Aminuddin on the other hand brought back the concept of a harmonious synchronization between the two singers. In a typical performance by the Senior Dagar Brothers, the honey rich voice of Aminuddin will draw the audience into a deep meditative mood by gradually descending the notes of the lower octaves and Moinuddin would dazzle the listeners with his alankars or ornamentations in the upper octave. After having established Dhrupad in a pedestal of glory in India, they were invited to perform abroad. The two brothers visited Russia and Japan mesmerizing  the audience of both East and West with their divine music. Their music proved to be so charming that 
Alain Danielou the renowned musicologist and the then director of UNESCO invited them to tour Europe and perform under the UNESCO banner in Berlin, Venice and Paris. In 1964 the European audience listened enthralled to their singing and newspaper after news paper declared the glory of Dhrupad and of the Senior Dagar Brothers. A review of their performance published in Le Monde of Paris dated 17 November 1964 perhaps best expresses the mood of the western audience: “... we will remain under the deep impression of an art of such greatness and intensity that... we feel touched and moved to the deepest of our being.” Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar died soon after this concert in 1966. Aminuddin who had regarded his brother as his greatest guru and his father substitute was left completely devastated but he continued his journey as a solo performer.

Younger Dagar Brothers: Zahiruddin Dagar (1933–1994) and Faiyazuddin Dagar (1934–1989)

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (14 March 1929 – 28 September 1990), popularly known as Z. M. Dagar, was a 
North Indian (Hindustani) classical musician, one of the 19th generation of Dagar family dhrupad musicians. He was largely responsible for the revival of the rudra veena as a solo concert instrument.

Mohi Bahauddin Dagar (born 1970) is the rudra veena player and son of famous 
north Indian musician Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.[1][2] He plays rudra veena with the dagarbani style. He represents the 20th generation of Dagar lineage, referring to Nayak Haridas Dagar of the 16th century. However, he traces his ancestry to Baba Gopal Das, who converted to Islam and became Baba Imam Baksh in the 18th century, making him the representative of the 8th generation.

In 2012, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Mohi Bahauddin Dagar started learning the veena from his father when he was 12 years old. After the demise of Zia Dagar in 1990, he continued his training under his uncle 
Zia Fariduddin Dagar.
In the field of contemporary dhrupad singing, the Dagar Brothers are legends. Since there have been a succession of Dagar Brothers, a little chronology may help to prise them apart. The family had been court musicians in Indore. In 1936 Nasiruddin Khan Dagar died at the age of 41. His eldest sons, Moinuddin and Aminuddin, continued the family tradition of singing dhrupad and were responsible for introducing this austere, stately form to western ears. In 1966 Moinuddin died and Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar (1933-1994) and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar (1934-1989) took over. It was their work in particular that made such an enormous mark on Indian music lovers.

Ustaad Sayeeduddin Dagar

Ustaad Sayeeduddin Dagar is the living legend of the Dhrupad style of music. Known for his enchanting voice culture, Ustaadji is the foremost performer of Dhrupad today.

The Illustrious Lineage
Ustaadji belongs to the 19th generation of the renowned Dagar family or Dagar Gharana. He is the youngest of the famous seven “Dagar Bandhus” and has dedicated his life to keep this ancient tradition alive.

Musical Journey
Born in Alwar, Rajasthan on 29th April, 1939, he started his musical journey at the tender age of six. His first guru was his father Ustad Hussainuddin Khan Dagar. After the death of his father in 1963, he trained with his uncle Late Padmabhushan Ustad Rahimuddin Khan Dagar. Later he studied under his brothers. In his humility, he yet considers himself a student of Dhrupad.

The Performer
Ustaadji has performed at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals in India and abroad. These include the Tansen Samaroh, Savai Gandharva, Dhrupad Samaroh, Dhrupad Mela, Dagar Saptak , Dhamar Samaroh to name a few. Since 1999, He travels to Europe and has enthralled audiences with his performances.

His performance usually begins with a Ganesh Stuti and ends with Shiv Tandav.  He also sings traditional Laxmi Stuti and such.

In many of his concerts a unique phenomenon is observed. When he is singing in the lower octave – the Kharaj Saptak; the window panes start vibrating!!! He never decides which raag he is going to sing before the concert, as he shall sing that raag which his 400 year old taanpuras will create in that atmosphere. “My Taanpuras tell me which raag to sing” he says!

The Custodian
He is currently the President of Dhrupad Society Jaipur and Pune. Through these forums and his recordings, he facilitates the spread of this unique art form across the world.
He conducts workshops and interactive lecture demonstrations on Dhrupad in India and twice a year in Holland, Germany, France and Belgium. His students are spread around the world. Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar has groomed his sons into the 20th generation of Dagar Vani performers.

Nafeesuddin and Aneesuddin Dagar
Nafeesuddin and Aneesuddin Dagar are the sons of renowned Dhrupad master Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar. They represent the 20th generation of the Dagar lineage and are worthy heirs of the Dhrupad tradition.

About Dhrupad
Dagarvani Dhrupad can be traced back to the Prabandh and even to the Sam Veda. All the other forms of Classical Indian music are derived from Dhrupad. It essentially means meditation or prayer through music.

The Singing Duo
Born in 1975 and 1976 respectively, the duo began their tutelage under the guidance of their father and their uncles Ustad N. Zahiruddin Dagar & Ustad N. Faiyazuddin Dagar, known all over the world as Dagar Brothers. At present they are learning music under the guidance of their illustrious maternal uncle Ustad R. Fahimuddin Dagar as well as with their cousin Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar.

Accomplished Performers
Keeping to tradition, the duo gave their first performance at their ancestral place in Jaipur.  After the concert, they were proclaimed as today’s “Dagar brothers”.

Subsequently, they have performed at several prestigious venues such as Dhrupad Samroh, Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, Kal ke Kalaakar, Dhrupad Mela and Swar Vilas.

One of the most memorable concerts was preceded by Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi where the brothers were presented with a pair of Tanpuras by the Maestro. They have also toured Europe several times and have dedicated their lives for Dhrupad.






















Friday, November 11, 2016

SURTARANG PAYS BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO LATE PADMA BHUSHAN PT C.R. VYAS

Dear musicians, music connoisseurs, friends, colleagues, partners & patrons,

Re: SURTARANG PAYS BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO LATE PADMA BHUSHAN PT C.R. VYAS - 92ND BIRTH ANNIVERSARY - 9.11. 1924 - 10.1.2002.




Chintaman Raghunath Vyas (Marathi: चिंतामण रघुनाथ व्यास; 9 November 1924 – 10 January 2002), popularly known as C. R. Vyas, was an Indian classical singer. He was renowned for singing khayal style.

Born into a family of keertankars and Sanskrit scholars, C.R. Vyas was born in an obscure village of Thair, near Osmanabad in Maharashtra. He was born in a village that did not have any facilities for formal education. However, that did not stop his determined mother, who wanted her sons to have good education. As such, she went on a hunger strike for days just to convince her husband to provide good education for all the three sons. Eventually, his father gave in and the kids were admitted to a school in the town under the guidance of Vyas' maternal uncle. Though Vyas' uncle was a farmer, he was an excellent sitarist. This helped Vyas to a great extent in his music interest, when his uncle admitted him under the tutelage of his friend Pt. Govindrao Bhatambrekar of Kirana gharana where he learnt music for over a decade. It was the demands and willpower of his guru that Vyas managed to build up his classical base.

However, Vyas neither comes from any old gharana (traditional lineage of khayal singers) nor limits himself to narrowly following any one particular gayaki. "I wanted to learn music not gharanebazi (gharana politics)," he asserts. 

For a person whose first love, first commitment and first passion is music, he is bound to make it big in the industry with a long list of disciples following him. In the music industry, it is C.R. Vyas who is regarded as one of India's leading vocalists. With immense contribution to the world of Hindustani classical music, C.R. Vyas was successful in making it big into his dreams and goals, thereby carving a niche in his related field. Since childhood, he was ambitious and high-powered on learning music and ended up creating his own distinct style with a perfect blend of melodies from various gharanas. He is best remembered for singing the khayal style, a modern genre of classical singing in North India, much similar to the qawwal singing style.

Apart from being a successful vocalist, Vyas ji was also known as a bandishkar.  He wrote about 300 compositions set to various ragas and a book titled raag sarita. Recipient of several awards like the Sangeet Natak Academy and Padma Bhushan, Vyasji's music had shades of the Gwalior, Agra and Kirana gharanas.

"In our time we did not think of earning either fame or money through music," says the ageing yet ebullient and sprightly Vyas, who held a white collar job in ITC for 34 years."

C.R. Vyas composed several ragas and bandishes under the pen name of "Gunijan".  Dhankoni Kalyan, Sanjogiya, Shiv-Abhogi, Sagera and Shuddha Ranjini are some of his celebrated ragas popularly performed in concerts. He gave over 200 bandishes in different ragas. To honour his Guru Gunidas, Vyas began the Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan in 1977 which is still celebrated in Mumbai and in various parts of India. He even penned a book titled "Raag Sarita" which includes a detail about his contributions to the field of music. He was honoured with several prestigious awards throughout his music career.

Legacy C.R. Vyas' disciples include a long list of young talented artists of today. The most prominent  ones are Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, Prabhakar Karekar, Ganapathi Bhat, Suhas Vyas (his son), Kunda Weling, Sanjeev Chimmalgi and Alka Joglekar.  Musicians, like Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Lalit Rao, Shubha Mudgal and the sarod player, Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, who have picked up musical ideas from his compositions. 

Awards & Accolades 
Tansen Sanman by Government of Madhya Pradesh, 1999 
Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Puraskar, 1999 
Marathwada Gaurav Puraskar, 1998 
Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award, 1994 
Padma Bhushan Award, 1992 
Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar, 1990 
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1987.

Message from Surtarang:  

PROPOSED PLAYLIST FOR SUNDAY 13th NOV ‘16 – BETWEEN 2 & 4 PM UK TIME [BET 19:30 hrs & 21:30 hrs IST] LISTEN ONLINE via www.gorgeousfm.com/gold

SURTARANG WILL FEATURE MANY LEGENDs & MAESTROs SUCH AS LATE PADMA BHUSHAN PT C.R. VYAS, PADMA VIBHUSHAN PT HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA, PT RADHIKA MOHAN MOITRA, USTAD AASHISH KHAN, PROFESSOR BASAVI MUKERJI, PT SATISH VYAS, DR PADMA SUGAVANAM, AMBI SUBRAMANIAM, JOSH FEINBERG,  B.V. BALASAI, T.M. KRISHNA, D SRINIVAS & SOHON GHOSH.

WE WILL BE INTRODUCING 3 MUSICIANS: LATE PADMA BHUSHAN PT C R VYAS, D SRINIVAS & SOHON GHOSH. 

SURTARANG WILL BE PRESENTED BY MR SISTACHAR SARCAR & MRSMAITREYEE SARCAR OF WOLVERHAMPTON, UK.

KINDLY NOTE THAT OUR BROADCAST IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE ON MIXCLOUD & YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO IT WHENEVER YOU WISH!!!! SO, PLS SAVE THE FOLLOWING LINK:

It is also available online & on Mobiles.

Surtarang is a unique and a pioneering broadcast in the United Kingdom as it only promotes pure Indian classical & semi classical music at its finest.

KINDLY SPREAD THE NEWS OF SURTARANG BROADCAST GLOBALLY & HELP US WITH PUBLICITY.
If you love Indian classical music and our broadcasts, please click 'Like' from the following link and you’ll be informed about our weekly Surtarang Broadcasts, its podcasts and the video clips:

Please visit our website
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& our own channel http://www.youtube.com/user/surtarang11 & let us have your feedback.

Please see our latest announcement attached.
We look forward to receiving your support.

With warmest regards,

Culturally/musically yours,

Maitreyee,

Maitreyee Sarcar HF FRSA [Mrs],
Co-Producer & Co-Presenter of Surtarang
[Waves of Melody] Broadcast worldwide,
Surtarang taking 'RaGa Music' across the world.
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

SWARA SAMRAT SAROD MAESTRO PADMA VIBHUSHAN LATE DR ALI AKBAR KHAN



Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 1922–18 June 2009) was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, Khan also composed several classical ragas and film scores.  He established a music school in Calcutta in 1956 and the Ali Akbar College of Music in 1967, which moved with him to the USA and is now based in San Rafael, California, with a branch in Basel, Switzerland.

Khan was instrumental in popularising Indian classical music in the West, both as a performer and as a teacher. He first came to America in 1955 on the invitation of violinist Yehudi Menuhin and later settled in California. He was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Khan was accorded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1989. Nominated five times for the Grammy Award, Khan was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship.

Khan has participated in a number of classic jugalbandi pairings, most notably with Ravi ShankarNikhil Banerjee and violinist L. Subramaniam.  A few recordings of duets with Vilayat Khan also exist. He also collaborated with Western musicians. In August 1971, Khan performed at Madison Square Garden for the Concert for Bangladesh, along with Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha and Kamala Chakravarty; other musicians at the concert included George HarrisonBob DylanEric Clapton and Ringo Starr. A live album and a movie of the event were later released.

Of his training on the sarod, Khan Shaheb wrote:
“If you practise for ten years, you may begin to please yourself, after 20 years you may become a performer and please the audience, after 30 years you may please even your guru, but you must practise for many more years before you finally become a true artist—then you may please even God.”

Now, Surtarang has arranged a wonderful show with some of the finest classical music performers and the list is given below for your reference.
Some of the useful links associated with Surtarang:

This will be an unmissable broadcast featuring Swara Samrat Sarod Maestro Padma Vibhushan late Dr Ali Akbar Khan & many maestros of India.

KINDLY NOTE THAT OUR BROADCAST WILL BE AVAILABLE ON MIXCLOUD & YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO IT WHENEVER YOU WISH!!!! SO, PLS SAVE THE FOLLOWING LINK:

https://www.mixcloud.com/Maitreyeehffrsa/,

Surtarang is a unique and a pioneering broadcast in the United Kingdom as it only promotes pure Indian classical & semi-classical music at its finest.

If you love Indian classical music and our broadcasts, please click 'Like' from the following link and you’ll be informed about our weekly Surtarang Broadcasts, its podcasts and the video clips:




We look forward to receiving your support.