From: srini@gip.eecs.umich.edu (Srini Pichumani)
Subject: Brief review of Shashank's Flute concert on 11/13/92 at Detroit,MI
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept., Ann Arbor, MI
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 23:37:49 GMT

The program:

Composition(kriti,uruppidi..)	rAgam		tAlam		composer(vAggeyakAra)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sarasijanAbha(varNam)		kAmbhoji	Ata		Vadivelu
siddhi vinAyakam		ShaNmukhapriyA	rUpakam		dIkShitar
paramAtmudu			vAgadIshvarI	Adi		tyAgarAjA
anupama guNAmbudhi		aTANA		khaNDa cApu	     ..
teliyalEru rAma			dhenukA		Adi		     ..
bhavanuta			mohanam		Adi		     ..
mA ramaNan			hindolam	rUpakam		pApanAsam shivan
sahAnA RTP			tishra tripuTa 
krShNA nI begane bArO		yamunAkalyANI	mishra cApu	vyAsarAya(?)
nAdupai balikEru		madhyamAvati	khanda cApu	tyAgarAjA

Comments:

From the very first phrases of kAmbhoji, it was clear that this
was no ordinary 14-yr old laboring thru music that had been 
painstakingly learned. shashAnk seems to have assimilated the 
grammar/aesthetics of the rAgas that he played long back; and the
instrument (flute) was no impediment to him in expressing his 
musical ideas. The net result was an excellent concert and 
constant wonderment ("bhramippu") on the part of the audience,
at the prodigy's performance.

The varnam was played very well in multiple degrees of speed;
his vocal style of playing & handling of gamakas were striking. 
This was no rat-cat-mat type of playing with the strength coming 
from fast phrases or easy tonguing; all the details -- the 
fluidity/curves/kArvais(elongated phrases) needed to play this
great rAga -- were present in ample measure.

This piece was followed by a delectable, elaborate alApana of 
Shanmukhapriya. shashAnk played the kriti very well and 
went to demonstrate his manodharma with many rounds of brisk 
kalpanAsvaras, some ending on the pallavi siddhi vinAyakam and
some ending on "prasiddha gaNanAyakam", if I remember correctly.

The dhenuka/Mohanam AlApanas were good; while the SahAnA AlApana
was really impressive; the feeling(rakti) "inherent" in this rAga
was very well captured and elaborated on, by shashAnk. I wished
that he had played some glorious composition like "shrI kamalAmbikAyAm"
of dIkShitar or "giripai nelakonna" of tyAgarAjA to top off this AlApana
However, he played tAnam & pallavi which were decent.
He played the rAgamAlika svarams in the pallavi in a "guileless"
manner i.e he did not bother to adhere to the viloma krama (reverse
order of playing) and other such formalities -- he just played whatever
he remembered. The shubhapantuvarAlI was very striking in this bit.

Overall, his absorption/assimilation of the Carnatic idiom and 
pATantaram(the handed-down version)/grasp of the great compositions 
seems to be very good; and reflects his vocal training under vidvAns 
like R.K.Srikantan, KVN, and Sandhyavandanam Srinivasa Rao.

--Srini.

Without sounding like a spoil-sport, I will mention a few shortcomings
on his part; his tAla/laya sense is not perfect/rock-steady and can do
with quite a bit of improvement. So also, the clarity of his blowing
can improve quite a bit. These are points that he can rectify right
away, if he wills it. It was more a case of him not paying enough
attention. 
Here comes the bigger worry: he can carry on business, easily, 
("pozhaippa nadattalAm" in idiomatic Tamil) with just what he has now 
and maybe acquiring a little more; and he will probably make better 
music than most musicians. However, I sincerely hope that he grows 
continuously in musical stature.
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