We are at the end of 2017 that seems to have gone too quickly for some. The year saw some interesting events and trends, not in the least in the political arena worldwide. Here I reflect on some .
Even as the world is reeling from a sudden surge in polarised public opinion and the emergence of ‘wings’ to denote the stances one takes towards policy making, there are certain undercurrents that the art world should be mindful of. For one, spending in the arts is at an all-time low. Contrary to the belief that the arts are what make life worth living, and the famous Churchill quip, (when asked about cutting arts funding during the Second World War, he is known to have said “then what are we fighting for”), mark a further curb in humankind’s need to express itself creatively.
Also, there is a rather peculiar tinge to artistic creation that is beginning to surface. Starting out with those artistes who want to make their work have “more present day relevance” and “contextual significance,” art-based activism is here to stay. A lot of it is welcome, as art mirrors life and underscores the human condition as is. However, there is a lot of it that is disingenuous, and endangers artistic traditions and practice in a way that makes us cringe. I wouldn’t want to prejudice you (the reader) by giving a list of what I thought worked well and what did not. However, the idea that people could come together and perform “Ode To Joy” as an ironic testament against Brexit (when more than a hundred people gathered on the streets in London to perform this piece) would probably be one of those instances where it worked.
Genre bending is in vogue. This is a phenomenal and refreshing idea and one that is best embodied in the work of such musicians as Chris Thile (guitarist and composer). Closer home, recent work of ensembles such as NAFS (consisting of performers curated by A. R. Rahman) embody this spirit. My top pick in this from our context would be guitarist Prasanna, who best embodies the “genre less” spirit.
A recent report by Nielsen estimated that jazz has become the least popular genre in terms of music sales in the United States, a rather alarming notion. Altogether, 2015 and 2016 saw a mere 1.4 per cent of total music industry sales arising out of jazz records and albums. That it has now metamorphosed or completely melded with other genres is a trend worth noting.
The idea that art can bring about behavioural transformation and speed of learning is not new. This year, El Sistema, the movement that was started by Jose Antonio Abreu has reached closer to a million children in some of the poorest parts of the world, now in Kenya as well. El Sistema works with children in slums and poor neighbourhoods, getting them to train in Western classical music and form orchestras, bringing about tremendous transformation and social change.
In the same spirit
Closer home, movements such as Sangeet4all (started by Saskia Rao De Haas) and NalandaWay (founded by Sriram Ayer in Chennai) seek to embody the same spirit. Dr Sudha Raja and I are especially proud of the work we do through the Rhapsody Music Foundation, an initiative that is aiming at behavioural transformation through music in Tamil Nadu.
Questions in the classical world always seem to veer towards relevance, audience sizes and audience composition.
To many of us, the idea of classical music is eternal, and trying to coax it to “become more exciting” seems redundant. It has a unique place and purpose in the journey of our lives — as a bedrock on which most of our learning is based, and as a source to which all our musical ideas return. At a recent discussion forum, I was reminded of how the roots of a plant are seldom questioned for what their purpose is and no one forces them to become more attractive . The list of classical musicians (the world over) who continue to engage audiences and enjoy a large following is too large to pick any single favourite. But if examples should be made, look at the audiences that show up for xxx music festival (Delhi), the ‘peak’ December season concerts in Chennai, or for that matter, the New Year’s Eve concert of the Vienna Philharmonic.
However, there are some artistes whose roots are deep and reflective of years of study, who have yet dared to look beyond and far more progressively. The following artistes have made their art and music accessible and I would urge you to look at their oeuvre. B. C. Manjunath, who has carried forward a breathtaking series on Carnatic percussion on Facebook, Jayanthi Kumaresh with her ‘Cup O’ Carnatic’ series, Luduvico Einaudi on the piano in the West (on YouTube), and of course the inimitable Mahesh Raghavan and Indian Raga Labs are all worth listening to.
Closer home, the world of movie-based music is doing much to keep several idioms and genres alive. This list of course is too large to mention, but I would pay specific attention to Sean Roldan, Santhosh Narayanan, Vedanth Bharadwaj and Bindhumalini, as well as the young guns at Qutb-E-Kripa (again from A R Rahman’s conservatory) as we journey forward into 2018.
Music continues to remain a solitary hope in a world that is obsessed with speedy change and instant validation.
The writer is a well known pianist and music educator based in Chennai
