Despite the arrival of Western classical music in the 19th Century to India — when soloists used to perform in Bombay — it, for a long time, was away from the reach of the masses. The historical pieces of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach and several others were confined to a few. Gradually, it became highbrow music.
“It is not that people are resistant to this music, they just don’t know about it,” Leanne Pereira of Symphony Orchestra of India had told BBC in 2011.
The Internet, of course, has broken the barriers. Western classical is no more a niche genre. Mozart and Bach can be summoned with a few taps.
But when it comes to live shows, certain musical genres are still distant from the majority. This is slowly changing. And, Jagriti theatre group’s ‘Gimme a Key’ wishes to contribute to this movement of making music more accessible.
It will present for three days, three genres — Western classical, jazz and blues rock — involving several artists.
“The focus is to create a level of intimacy with the audience,” says Rebecca Spurgeon, the curator of the music fest and Jagriti’s Artistic Director.
This intimacy, the musical event attempts to achieve in literal and abstract ways. “It is about where the performers stand. How close they are to the audience. It is also about the feeling of intimacy they create,” she says.
Bengaluru-based pianist Aman Mahajan, who will perform his composition -- a solo titled ‘refuge.1’, says, he ensures his themes are simple. “I tell my audience in a line or two about what I am going to play. When there are no lyrics in a composition, it kind of helps them to travel in a certain direction,” he says.
Aman is also excited about playing in his home town -- Bengaluru. His ‘refuge.1’ was born out of the idea of seeking home. It lends itself to be viewed in two perspectives: one, of geography, “going away from your native place”, and two, of the journey of the composition.
He explains the second perspective: “‘refuge.1 was composed as a solo piano piece in 2004 because, well, I was a pianist. But it was supposed to be played with other artists. So, based on the inputs and suggestions from the other artistes, I collaborated with, the composition evolved and was played with more instruments.”
But ‘refuge.1’ will return home in its original form — as a solo piano piece — on Saturday.
Tickets are available at Jagriti Box Office and on BookMyShow
