Subramaniam Lakshminarayana (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer, and conductor trained in the traditions of Carnatic music and Western classical music.
Personal Life
On 23 July 1947, Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India,
He spent his early years in Jaffna, where he began his music studies at the age of five. Under the guidance of his father, Professor V. Lakshminarayana, who is known by fellow musicians and his family as "Mani", he started training in violin. He gave his first public performance at the age of six.
His uncles are Ramnad Raghavan and Ramnad Krishnan. His brothers are the violinist-composers L. Shankar (also known as Shenkar), and the late L. Vaidyanathan. He has released recordings with both.
Subramaniam developed an early interest in both music and science. He pursued medical studies and earned his M.B.B.S. degree from Madras Medical College. After registering as a general practitioner, he chose to focus on music as a full-time career. These musical collaborations have led to them being collectively referred to as the "Subramaniam Gharana." He has also performed with his eldest son, Dr. Narayana Subramaniam.
Performing Career
Since 1973, Subramaniam has amassed over 200 recordings, releasing several solo albums, recording collaborations with musicians Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli, Ruggiero Ricci and Jean-Pierre Rampal. He has also made albums and performed with artists like Ruggiero Ricci, Herbie Hancock, Joe Sample, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke John Handy, George Harrison and several others.
He has accompanied several vocalists in Carnatic music on stage including Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, K. V. Narayanaswamy, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. Balamuralikrishna, M. D. Ramanathan, and Alathur Srinivasa Iyer. He has also performed many concerts with Palghat Mani Iyer on the Mridangam, in addition to collaborating with musicians of North Indian Hindustani music and artists of other music systems.
Subramaniam has written works for orchestras, ballets and Hollywood film scores, and written books on music, such as Euphony, in addition to his compositions.
In 1983, he composed a Double Concerto for violin and flute which combined western scales with micro intervals. In 1985, he composed the popular Fantasy on Vedic Chants which was premiered with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta (in September '85) and later performed with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Djemal Dalgat. Subramaniam's first symphonic piece, Spring–Rhapsody, composed in 1986, was an homage to Bach and Baroque music. He then composed Turbulence which was performed with The Swiss Romande Orchestra, "The Concert of Two Violins" performed with the Oslo Philharmonic, and Global Symphony that the Berlin State Opera performed (broadcast live to 28 nations).
His compositions have been used in stage presentations of dance companies such as the San Jose Ballet company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Subramaniam composed the piece "Shanti Priya" for the Mariinsky Ballet in 1988.
thumb|left|200px|Subramaniam performing at a concert in 2003 The album Global Fusion (1999) contributed significantly to Subramaniam’s international reputation and gave him critical recognition for his works. He founded and directs the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, which he established in 1992 in memory of his father and guru, V. Lakshminarayana. In 2004, the festival toured internationally, with concerts in New York, Perth, Singapore, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur. Performing with Subramaniam at the festival in January 2005 were violin maestro Arve Tellefsen, the Oslo Camerata, jazz legends Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh and Ravi Coltrane.
In September 2007, Subramaniam premiered his "Freedom Symphony" with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra at the George Mason University Center for the Arts. Subramaniam is on the advisory board of composer A. R. Rahman's KM Music Conservatory in Kodambakkam, Chennai.
In 2011, he was invited to perform at the United Nations. On 24 October 2012, he performed as a Special Guest Artist with Stevie Wonder at the latter's Message of Peace concert at the UN. Yehudi Menuhin said of Subramaniam: