Lauding Karnataka and Bengaluru for promoting classical music, particularly for keeping alive the Mysore traditional school of stylistics in Carnatic music for future generations, N. Murali, president of the Music Academy, Chennai, has said that if Chennai is hosting a big December fare with classical melody, Bengaluru equally scores with its several festivals connected to classical music throughout the year.
Mr. Murali, Co-chairman of Kasturi and Sons Ltd., publishers of The Hindu , was taking part in the 12th edition of ‘Veeneya Bedagu’ at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja on Saturday. The annual music festival is held in memory of Veena Sheshanna. The festival also coincided with the centenary celebrations of V.N. Rao, the vainika who took forward the time-honoured Sheshanna school of play. “Sheshanna was a musician, teacher and a significant post-trinity composer. We at the Music Academy in Chennai have also had the privilege to release his compositions in Tamil,” said Mr. Murali.
The occasion saw the Swaramurthy V.N. Rao Memorial Trust confer two national awards — Veena Sheshanna Memorial National Award on violinist M. Chandrasekaran and Swaramurthy V.N. Rao Memorial National Award on vocalist M.S. Sheela.
“Both Mr. Chandrasekaran and Ms. Sheela, who have held the flag of Carnatic music aloft in their career spanning a few decades, richly deserve the awards,” said Mr. Murali. Mysore V. Subramanya, managing trustee of the trust, said several CDs of Veena Sheshanna’s compositions by renowned musicians have been released by the trust.
