Music Academy December season schedule (2009)

shyamala3091 · Post by **shyamala3091** » 17 Nov 2009, 13:13

Music Academy is a premier institution fostering quality music for more than 80 years, It has the responsibility to support good music and encourage, promote genuine artists

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 17 Nov 2009, 19:58

shyamala3091 wrote:Music Academy is a premier institution fostering quality music for more than 80 years, It has the responsibility to support good music and encourage, promote genuine artists

You would think!!

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 17 Nov 2009, 22:15

"You would think" etc but its history has been replete with scant respect for great artists, composers & experts to the point I do not spend a penny to attend anything there....Lately with the new President Murali I find things are getting better.....VKV

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 18 Nov 2009, 04:50

I was holding back on commenting on the MA's activities/conduct of the December festival etc. Now that VKV has joined the fray I am emboldened!!
First let me acknowledge---- the task of accomodating all the deserving artists with a finite # of slots,is not an easy one and I think we should all cut the Academy a little "slack" here!! Given this constraint it is always difficult to evaluate the relative merits of two artists the junior ones especially--so some inconsistencies are bound to "creep in". What is lacking is the transparency in the decision-making process(it is an Institution that is accountable to the members and as such should take this obligation seriously). I am a member(gained thro inheritance rather than any merit!!!) and although I live abroad,my chennai address hardly gets any notices except a notice before the season to come and collect the tickets!!).If they communicate with the members as to how these decisions are made--importantly the Sangeetha Kalanidhi,let alone the selection of artistes for various time slots--it will vastly improve matters. But the MA authorities have never felt compelled to explain their decisions-- the attitude seems to be "If you are not happy with the way we run this institution you may cancel your membership so that we can sell the same to persons on the waiting list and get the higher fees".

It is and always has been an elitist body consisting of persons not all of whom have any musical credentials(neither performing nor listeners' credentials!!) and if one cares to 'eavesdrop" on the "buzz' around the Academy,one can collect some info on the various machinations and maneouvres that go around--one will come to the conclusion that there is no logical process that precedes the decisions.

I used to tease Semmangudi Mama about his'serving" on the Experts Commitee for selection of Sangeetha kalanidhi--he used to deftly deflect the question with a mischievous statement, "Nan oru karuveppalai "-meaning it is added for flavor but to be discarded--in other words they put my name to lend legitimacy to the process not to listen to my views !!
If the Pithamahar felt that way,then you can imagine what influence lesser mortals can expect to have!!

Luckily with the proliferation of Institutions in Chennai there are enough opportunities for the talented artists and us the rasikas. Besides the last couple of seasons the MA canteen food quality has slipped and NGS and Parthasarathy Swamy sabha have gained market share!!

gavats · Post by **gavats** » 18 Nov 2009, 06:56

very well written MKR...luckily there are so many sabhas these days for us rasikas to enjoy...thanks to all those sponosors like Nalli, RMKV etc and all the media /channels like Jaya, Vijay etc...

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 18 Nov 2009, 09:05

MKR, Do the members get to vote at all for any of the office positions?

How does one become a member of the Music Academy? Or it is fixed number of slots and as you wrote, you either have to inherit it or someone has to vacate the slot?

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 18 Nov 2009, 14:48

Pitty because the academy is one of the places where the sound is half decent

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 18 Nov 2009, 18:21

Vasanthakokilam: Your post #56.
Answer: The last time when I voted(when the two factions were slugging it out) -I was in India at that time- I recall one had to vote for a slate(I do not know if there were any independent candidates at that time--I did not investigate too much because being an absentee member most of the year,I felt I should not"meddle' with whatever was going on no matter how how I felt--perhaps a dereliction of my musical duty!!! Shall compensate for this at this time!! Every year whenever I was there I never missed the Jan 1 Breakfast which members were entitled to!!! The que for that event was always long and if you are content to be a "fly in the wall" you can catch lots of buzz--mostly from the entrenched crowd--very little to do with music!!!

Rasika911 I understand the membership is closed and there is a waiting list(I intend to find out this time and I SHALL DULY REPORT my findings!!! I recall some NRI's mentioning that they could not get Lifememberships even though they "dangled" attractive Vitamin M!!! Not being very technically savvy the MA has not resorted to matching the Obituary list with its membership file yet!!!

Luckily for me my Mom(91 years old) will start pestering the MA office as soon as the schedule is announced to find out when the tickets would be ready to be picked up lest they be given to someoneelse -- once when I went o pick up my tickets there was chaos in the office--no organised method--I could understand WHY my MOm was so particular--experience!!the first thing she will check with the ticket packet is to see if the coupon for the breakfast event is there--would not bother to check on the schedule--who is left out who is in etc etc!!!
Lastly to your point about the acoustics being half decent,one of the prominent male singers does not think so. He rates the Tamil Isai Sangam hall(Raja Annamalai manram) the BEST that he has sung in!!!!
If I can "nab" some of the artistes I intend to "nudge" them to "rate" the halls in Chennai and elsewhere. I have heard rave reviews from rasikas and artists alike about the T. Chowdiah hall in bangalore.

vr_886 · Post by **vr_886** » 18 Nov 2009, 19:27

It seems Lalgudi GJR Krishnan & Vijayalakshmi duet, Sikkil Sisters (Sangitha Kalanidhis).. too don't find a slot this time!

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 18 Nov 2009, 22:29

Music Academy & NGS are the worst accoustically speaking. Worse than typical thousand dollar home stereo systems in usa. VKV

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 19 Nov 2009, 00:41

Ramasubramanian M.K, you are the first person I've ever encountered to admit to being a member of the MA!

Even my wife, who has lived here most of her life (although not a rasika) asked me, this evening ---we went to one of the November Fest dos--- "Who runs this place?"!

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 19 Nov 2009, 03:09

N,
Thats what is called the sixty four thousand dollar Question in U.S. TV Terminlogy!........In the same vein in MYTHOLOGICAL terminoloy again in us terminology MOST think M.A. is the eight hundred pound Gorilla in the room.....
However in my opinion Cleveland Festival has REPLACED m.a.- as R.M.K. has pointed out even the TIFFIN which used to be praised beyond any logic&taste has deteriorated; I can attest to it- as the GLOBAL Gorilla IN TERMS OF CLOUT, ARTISTRY & INGENUITY- thanks in my opinion solely to Cleveland Sundaram's SINGLE HANDED BRILLIANCE tho' the cast of thousands behind the scene include guys like me- The beauty of M.A. is -to paraphrase your countryman Winston C- is it is a mystery wrapped in a riddle & in Tamilian way of expressing it its more mysterious than the :CHIDAMBARA Rahasyam"...Even the Madras High Court gave up after trying .....! vkv

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 20 Nov 2009, 03:48

>point about the acoustics being half decent,one of the prominent male singers does not think so. He rates the Tamil Isai Sangam hall(Raja Annamalai manram) the BEST that he has sung in!!!!
>If I can "nab" some of the artistes I intend to "nudge" them to "rate" the halls in Chennai and elsewhere.

MKR: Please do ask the artists as typical audience member, but not from a performer's point of view because that opinion hardly matters. Many times, they are the ones to blame for the unusually high volume in concert halls. As I wrote in another thread, the artists, when they do the sound check, should not have a say about the right audio levels. That decision maker should be someone sitting in the audience section of the hall.

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 20 Nov 2009, 06:16

Vasanthakokilam: You are 100% right--the artistes should take the blame-it is the biggest scourge especially the artists visiting the U.S.The worst are the accompaniments--it starts a chain reaction--one trying to outdo the other with an intermittent championing of the Mridangist by the violinist and reciprocated---the audience reaction is hardly taken into account--the artistes really do not care for the audience's sensibilities.Once Palghat Raghu stopped playing and threatened to get off the stage in a NY concert--most of these concerts in NY are held in Public School Auditoriums whose acoustics are not designed for Music programs the custodian is a jack of all trades but ill acquainted with the nuances of acoustics--the organizers try their best to placate the artistes to no avail.

Their complaint is that they do not get adequate feedback--they do not care about feedback from the rasikas!!!

I remember once when MSG was accompanying SSI MSG kept on complaining about the mike--SSI interrupted and said" Nee Pattuku Vasi--Ippidiye yethinde ponal kadu chevudahi vidum( You just keep on playing --if you keep raising the volume levels we will become deaf").

I must say the yesteryear artistes--especially a giant like Ariyakudi would hardly mess with the mike!! Oh for those days when artists went about their business leaving the organizers to go about theirs!!!!!

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 20 Nov 2009, 09:04

I remember a concert of SSI in which the accompanaist pulled the mike towards him whenever SSI turned to check the Tambura-there was only one mike-& he caught the violinist red handed & said: Idhellam Sabha kaara poruppu Namma poruppu OZHUNGA PADARATHU.....
I myself in many concerts in usa have totally swiched the amplification OFF after adjusting base treble& volume to MAXIMUM which is what many artists want!

namkrishna94 · Post by **namkrishna94** » 22 Nov 2009, 23:28

Can i know that Radha viswanathan d/o M S Amma is doing any concerts in this December season?

sivapriya · Post by **sivapriya** » 25 Nov 2009, 07:21

Nick : I am a Life Member of the Academy, I am also a Library member and Digital Tag centre member too !!!! I guess many other forumites too would be !!!

Coming to the point of concert schedules, beyond the committee discussions internally, no organisation would ever reveal to the public the internal intricaies of selection, choices, schedules etc etc. The individual committess are formed with very senior musicians and people on the commmittee roles and I guess its done to the best of judgement given so many other organisational/ institutional/ other parameters.

The acoustics at the Academy has improved leaps and bounds with the inclusion of Bose systems. The mini hall still cries for a lot of attention and I guess, that will also get sorted out effectively.

The Academy was never meant to be another Sabha, but an Institution/ Academy , with stalwarts, erudite musician scholars like Dr.Raghavan, Sangita Kalanidhi Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer , just to name a few, sweating it out to keep up the status.

Things change according to the wheel of time and we only pray that the original vision of the Academy is restored asap.

Yazh · Post by **Yazh** » 26 Nov 2009, 07:00

Totally disagree.

uma1973 · Post by **uma1973** » 28 Nov 2009, 13:54

As vasanthakokilam says decision maker should be someone sitting in the audience section of the hall'
why to blame Academy alone, Most of the sabhas have lost its original glory, not only proliferation of institutions and sabhas but proliferation of artists too.I really get annoyed when i attend some afternoons concerts , artists who perform below par get prominent slots in almost all sabhas?? artists who have good potential dont get accomodation frequently ? why is this so??

Abhimanam · Post by **Abhimanam** » 02 Dec 2009, 18:14

Dear Sudarsam, as I know, Carnatica is conducting their music programme from 18th Dec till 28th at MGR Janaki College in R A Puram and all the morning concerts which begins from 9.00 am are thematic concerts. You may check with their brochures/websites for further details

saianamika · Post by **saianamika** » 03 Dec 2009, 06:11

I think all the evening programs of the Marghazhi Maha Utsavam are thematic. The series is from Dec. 1st to Dec 15th.