Being introduced as a guitarist at a party, is always a positive thing, says Prajeet Bajpai in an e-mail interview, prior to his concert in the city on August 18.
The youngster who is pursuing a Mathematics degree at Dartmouth College in the United States, where he is also studying music, recalls music being a part of his household in Delhi, while growing up.
His father, Sunil, plays the guitar and Prajeet eventually got around strumming it as well. “The more I started playing it the more it grew on me, and so I never found a reason to switch to a different instrument,” says Prajeet, a student of John Muratore at Dartmouth College, and, most recently, he was taught by Gary Ryan at the Royal College of Music in London. He has also taken extended master classes from Johannes Moller and Denis Azabagic.
In 2012, he received the first prize in the open category of the Third All India Classical Guitar Competition in Kolkata.
“One of the best classical guitar festivals in the world takes place every year in Kolkata. They’re doing it again this year and the list of artistes that they’re bringing in is stunning. That being said, the Kolkata festival is an isolated, individual effort, even though it has brought a huge change into the classical guitar scene in India.”
Finding audiences is the biggest challenge, says Prajeet, “and it’s disheartening that musicians who have dedicated their life to the classical guitar rarely get the opportunity to present their music on stage.
“I think the guitarist community needs to get more active in this regard as well and seek out opportunities for performance. Simultaneously, if we can build a culture of going out and listening to new music on a regular basis, that would go a long way in creating performance spaces for guitarists.”
So, why did he choose to follow the path of a classical guitarist? “It was all because of the instrument. It's not the most glamorous genre, and not even the most glamorous instrument in its genre (most people learning classical go with piano) but at some point I started realising just how beautiful the sound of the guitar was, and there was no going back.
“It’s hard to find music that offers a more intense emotional experience or musical journey than Western Classical, and it got me hooked because there was always so much to learn. Once I started playing it I didn't want to stop.”
The guitar is gradually gaining popularity he says, and its growth in the 60's and 70's through the rock music scene has probably given a lot of visibility to the classical version of the instrument as well.
“I try as much as I can to introduce the versatility of guitar to people and win them over with its sound, and showing this versatility is one of the things I keep in mind when designing a concert programme. Most audiences don't know classical guitar music and it's important to show the variety of things it can do. Usually that gets them interested,” says the musician.
He did a recording of his own music this summer. “I've written some classical-inspired music as well in the past but this project, which I started with another guitarist in Delhi, has been a bit different. We both share a love for Radiohead (especially their recent work) and the 70s’ progressive rock. The set of songs we have recorded are more in a part Indie part guitar-centred rock space. We're currently working under the title of 'Strawberry People' and should be putting our songs up online starting some time next week.”
The Internet, he says has had an interesting impact on classical musicians and although it has played a big role on artistes being able to build their image and advertise to audiences around the world, it also has a negative impact.
“Music streaming and not to mention illegal downloading means that classical musicians make hardly anything from records anymore. People just aren't buying albums or even iTunes downloads of classical music now that they can stream them legally.”
And although he hasn’t reached the point where he is certain he is going to pursue a career in music, music he says will always be a part of his life.
Prajeet will be holding a recital in the city on August 18, 7 p.m., at VJT Hall, where he will be performing compositions by artistes such as J.S. Bach and Carlo Domeniconi .
