# Nedunuri Krishnamurthy

Nedunuri Krishnamurthy (Telugu: నేదునూరి కృష్ణమూర్తి;10 October 1927 – 8 December 2014) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1991.

## Early life

Krishnamurthy was born in 1927 at Kothapalli, Pithapuram Taluka, Godavari dt, Andhra Pradesh in what was then British India to Rama Murthy Panthulu and Vijayalakshmi.
His father held a minor job at the estate of the Raja of Pithapuram. He was under influence of his mother who sang Ashtapadis, Tarangas and the Adhyatma Ramayana kritis. She had a great influence on him while growing up.
Krishnamurthy joined the Maharaja's Music College at Vizianagaram in the year 1940 and received initial training in Violin and Vocal from the Dwaram Narasinga Rao Naidu. In 1949, he was influenced by carnatic vocalist, Sripada Pinakapani, and under his guidance developed his style of music.

## Performing career

Krishnamurthy worked as Principal of S. V. College of Music and Dance, Tirupati; M. R. Government College of Music and Dance, Vizianagaram; Government College of Music and Dance, Secunderabad; and retired as Principal of G. V. R. Government College of Music and Dance, Vijayawada in 1985. Nedunuri's performances are characterised by adherence to tradition and his alapanas are renowned for capturing the essence of important Carnatic ragas. He formed a popular partnership with the renowned violinist, Lalgudi Jayaraman, and the performances of the duo are much admired by listeners.
He was Dean of Faculty of the Fine Arts and Chairman of Board of Studies in Music of Sri Venkateswara University and Nagarjuna University. He contributed to Annamacharya Project of the TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) in tuning most of the Annamacharya kritis as we know them today.
Krishna Gana Sabha, Madras, conferred on Nedunuri the title 'Sangeetha Choodamani' in 1976. The Music Academy, Madras conferred on him the most prestigious title of 'Sangeeta Kalanidhi' in 1991.
He was named 'Asthana Vidwan' of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and also of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.

### Prominent disciples

* Domada Chittabbayi
* Garimella Balakrishna Prasad
* Shobha Raju
* Saraswati Vidyardhi
* Malladi Brothers
* Sarada Subramanyam
* Seshulatha Viswanath
* N Ch Pardhasaradhi
* T. Sreenidhi
* Sattiraju Venumadhav
* Chaitanya Brothers ( Venkateswara Sharma & Krishnamacharyulu)
* Neetha Chandrasekhar
* Lalitha Chandrasekhar
* Lahari Kolachela

## Death

Nedunuri Krishnamurthy died on 8 December 2014 at Visakhapatnam, aged 87, while undergoing treatment for lung cancer.

## Albums & Songs

| Year | Album | Language | Song | Co-Singer(s) | Lyrics | Music Composer | Record Label |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Tirumantramu Jeevanamu" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Edigo Tirupati Kaashi" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Jeeva Neevidhi Kaanava" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Daasa Dasaanu Daasulaka" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Mohamelaputane" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Yogi Gunamulu Raajayogike Telusu" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |
| 2019 | Hari Samarpana | Telugu | "Devudu Thanalo Dandiguntudu" | Malladi Brothers | Kaiwara Sri Yogi Nareyana | Nedunuri Krishnamurthy | PM Audios & Entertainments |

## Discography

* Annamayya Antaranga Tharangam
* Annamayya Pada Kadambam
* Annamayya Pada Kamalam
* Annamayya Pada Neerajanam
* Annamayya Pada Ravali
* Annamayya Pada Sammohanam
* Annamayya Pada Vasantham
* Pahi Nareyana by PM Audios & Entertainments
* Guru Upadesham by PM Audios & Entertainments
* Srihari Rasakrithi (TTD Release)
* Bhadrachala Ramadasu Keerthanalu (with Dasarathi Sataka Poems) (Alivelumanga Sarvayya Charitable Trust)
* Raga Sudha Rasam
* Rare Krithis of Tyagaraja
* Classical Treat by Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
* Raga Madhur (Audio) by Swathi Soft Solutions Company release
* Raga Ranjani (DVD) by Swathi Soft Solutions Company release

## Awards and honours

| Item No | Organization | Award |
| 01. | Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai | SANGEETHA CHOODAMANI, 1976 |
| 02. | Visakha Music Academy, Visakhapatham | SANGEETA KALASAGARA, 1980 |
| 03. | Sur Singar Samsad of Bombay | SWAR VILAS, 1981 |
| 04. | Sri Yagnavalka Cultural Association, Hyderabad | NADA SUDHA NIDHI, 1981 |
| 05. | Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha, Kakinada | GANA KALA NIDHI, 1982 |
| 06. | Sri Tulasivanam Sangeetha Parishad, Trivendrum | GAYAKA CHOODAMANI, 1982 |
| 07. | Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, Govt. of India | Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1986 |
| 08. | Sri Tyagaraja Swamy Trust, Tirupati | SAPTAGIRI SANGEETHA VIDWANMANI, 1987 |
| 09. | Sri Tyagaraja Kala Samithi | SANGEETHA VIDWANMANI, 1989 |
| 10. | Sriram Music Academy, Srinagar | SANGEETHA VIDYA BHASKARA, 1989 |
| 11. | Kalasagaram, Secunderabad | SANGEETHA KALA SAGARA, 1989 |
| 12. | Sangeetha Rasika Samakhya, Tirupati | NADA YOGI, 1989 |
| 13. | Santhi Renaissance International Foundation (SRI Foundation, USA) | SRI KALA PRAPURNA, 1991 |
| 14. | Madras Music Academy, Chennai | SANGITA KALANIDHI, 1991 |
| 15. | Bharathi Gana Sabha, Amalapuram | GANA KALA BHARATHI, 1993 |
| 16. | Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad | KALA NEERAJANA PURASKARAM, 1995 |
| 17. | Sri Annamacharya Project of North America, (SAPNA). Chicago, USA | ANNAMACHARYA VIDWANMANI, 1995 |
| 18. | Sri Sivanandaguru Educational and Cultural Trust, Bheemunipatham | GANGADEVI EMINENT CITIZEN AWARD, 1997 |
| 19. | World Teachers Trust, Visakhapatnam | MASTER M.N. AWARD, 1997 |
| 20. | Datta Peetham, Mysore | NADA NIDHI, 1998 |
| 21. | State Cultural Council, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad | Hamsa Award, 1999 |
| 22. | Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha, Kakinada | ANNAMACHARYA BHARATHI, 1999 |
| 23. | Bhairavi, Indian Fine Arts Society, USA | SANGEETHA RATNAMARA, 2000 |
| 24. | Sri Venkateswara Annamacharya Society of America, California, USA | ANNAMACHARYA SANKEERTHANA KIREETI, 2000 |
| 25. | World Telugu Federation | TEULGU TALLI AWARD, 2000 |
| 26. | Bharatiya Vidyabhavan, Coimbatore Kendra | SANGEETH SAMRAT, 2001 |
| 27. | Fine Arts Cultural Themes, Sydney (FACTS) Australia | SWARA NIDHI, 2001 |
| 28. | Badam Apparao Memorial Trust, Pithapuram | BADAM APPARAO MEMORIAL TRUST AWARD, 2002 |
| 29. | Raja – Lakshmi Foundation, Chennai | RAJA LAKSHMI AWARD, 2002 |
| 30. | Telugu Fine Arts Society, New Jersey, USA | DR.K.V.RAO & JYOTHI RAO AWARD, 2002 |
| 31. | Andhra Music Academy | SANGITA VIDYANIDHI |
| 32. | Prasara Bharati, New Delhi | NATIONAL ARTISTE AWARD, 2004 |
| 33. | South Indian Education Society, Mumbai | NATIONAL EMINENCE AWARD, 2006 |
| 34. | Visakha Music and Dance Academy | NADAVIDYA BHARATHI, |
| 35. | Government of Andhra Pradesh | PRATIBHA RAJIV PURASKAR, 2006 |
| 36. | South Indian Cultural Association, Hyderabad | SANGITHA CHAKRAVARTHI, |
| 37. | Academy of Music, Bangalore | K.K. MURTHY MEMORIAL CHOWEDIAH AWARD, 2008 |
| 38. | Shanmukhananda Sahba, Mumbai | NATIONAL EMINENCE AWARD, 2010 |
| 39. | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | HONORARY DOCTORATE, 2010 |
| 40. | Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam, Tirupati | ‘ASTHANA VIDWAN’ of TTD, 2010. |
| 42. | Sri Durga Malleswarala Vari Devastanam, Vijayawada. | ‘ASTHANA VIDWAN’, 2010. |
| 43. | Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. | ‘SRI TYAGARAJA SEVA RATNAM’, 2011. |
| 44. | Music Academy, Madras 1998 | Best Raga Rendering |
| 45. | Music Academy, Madras | Best Senior Vocalist (2 times) |
| 46. | Indian Fine Arts Society, Madras, 1989. | Best Senior Vocalist |
| 47. | Indian Fine Arts Society, Madras, 1989. | Sangeetha Kalasikhamani, 2011. |
| 48. | Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi | Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna, 2011. |
| 49. | Raghavendra Swamy Matham, Mantralayam. | ‘SRI PURANDARESHWARA THYAGARAJA', 2012. |
| 50. | Central Sangeeth Natak Academy, New Delhi | ‘TAGORE ACADEMY AWARD’, 2012. |
| 51. | GiTAM University, Visakhapatnam | ‘DOCTORATE’, 2013. |
| 52. | Kopparapu Kavula Kalapeetham, Visakhapatnam | ‘KOPPARAPU KAVULA PRATHIBHA PURASKARAM’, 2013. |
| 53. | Samagana Mathanga, Bangalore | ‘SAMAGANA MATHANGA NATIONAL AWARD’, 2014. |
| 54. | South Indian Cultural Association Planjery Foundation | ‘SANGEETHA BRIHASPATI AWARD’, 2014. |