When the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi converge at a point, the confluence is the beautiful Prayag. Similarly, The Confluence of Styles concert at The Music Academy saw Viji Krishnan, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi and Narmada perform for the first time together on stage.
These three torchbearers from different schools of Carnatic violin music, namely TN Krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and MS Gopalakrishnan, together presented a musical treat for Carnatic enthusiasts, quite a few of whom came in as early as an hour in advance for the concert.
The curtain unveiled to a beautiful and popular composition by Dikshithar on Ganapathy Vandana - Mahaganapathim. Narmada played a Pantuvarali, while Viji played a Thodi and Vijayalakshmi played a Madhyamavathi. The compositions that were rendered were Saadhinchane (a Thyagarajar composition) a Thillana (Swathi Thirunal composition) and a popular English note.
This was followed by individual performances and finally a jugalbandi. The synchronisation was amazing, the timing perfect and the music heavenly, giving each of the artistes ample time to perform the solos. It was interesting to watch Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi sing while performing on the violin.
The musicians were supported by TVG on the mridangam and Tripunithura Radhakrishnan on the ghatam. The event was part of the nine-day silver jubilee celebrations of the Youth Association of Classical Music (YACM).