Rajeev Taranath | |
|---|---|
 Rajeev at a concert inBengaluru | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1932-10-17)17 October 1932 |
| Died | 11 June 2024(2024-06-11) (aged 91) |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Instrument | Sarod |
| Website | Official website |
Rajeev Taranath (17 October 1932 – 11 June 2024) was an Indian classical musician who played thesarod. Taranath was a disciple ofAli Akbar Khan.[1]
Rajeev Taranath was born inBangalore on 17 October 1932. He received his initial training in vocal music from his fatherPandit Taranath. He gave his first public vocal performance when he was nine years old. Rajeev was singing for theAll India Radio before he was twenty.[2]
Although Rajeev held a PhD in literature, he decided to give up his career as a Professor and Head of English Literature atRegional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli (REC-T), which was later renamed as National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT-T), and then went toCalcutta, where he began his musical training under the tutelage ofAli Akbar Khan. Rajeev continued to learn from his Guru till Khan's death in 2009. He also had guidance fromRavi Shankar,Annapurna Devi,Nikhil Banerjee andAashish Khan. He received some of India's highest national honours including the 2019Padma Shri award and theSangeet Natak Akademi in 1999-2000. He researched and published the Teaching Techniques of the Maihar-Allauddin Gharana, as a Ford Foundation scholar (1989 to 1992).[3]
Taranath was respected for his in-depth understanding as he unfolded the raga, the tonal quality and power of his strokes. His distinctive style showed technical excellence, imaginative power and emotional range. According to the New York Times, "RAJEEV TARANATH'S sarod improvisations Sunday at Soundscape mixed the spiritual and the spirited".[4][5]
Taranath performed extensively in India and the world. He toured Australia, Europe, Yemen, the United States, and Canada. He composed the music for many internationally acclaimed Indian films includingSamskara,Kanchana Sita andKadavu. He also served as the head of the Indian music programme at the World Music Department of theCalifornia Institute of the Arts from 1995 to 2005.
Taranath lived and taught inMysore, Karnataka until his death.[6][7] He taught English literature at theUniversity of Aden in the 1980s. Taranath died on 11 June 2024, at the age of 91.[8]
Taranath had several recordings published:[9]
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