Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. N. Krishnan | |
|---|---|
 Krishnan performing at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, on 19 January 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1928-10-06)6 October 1928 |
| Died | 2 November 2020(2020-11-02) (aged 92) |
| Genres | Carnatic music |
| Occupation | violinist |
| Instrument | violin |
Trippunithura Narayana Krishnan (6 October 1928 – 2 November 2020) was an IndianCarnatic music violinist. Along withLalgudi Jayaraman andM. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded theMadras Music Academy'sSangeetha Kalanidhi in 1980. He was also the recipient of thePadma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1992, and earlier, thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 1973.
Krishnan was born on 6 October 1928, inTripunithura,Kerala to A. Narayana Iyer and Ammini Ammal.[1][2] He learnt music from his father and was 11 when he performed at his first violin concert in 1939 inTrivandrum.[3] His father continued to teach him until his death. Recounting his early years, Krishnan mentioned that he would play the instrument continuously for over three hours atkatcheris, or classical music performances, and they would "perform in temples, in landlords’ houses or at weddings."[2]
He was mentored in his early years by Alleppy K.Parthasarathy asisya of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and later joined carnatic vocalistSemmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.[1]
Krishnan started out as a violinist accompanying musiciansAriyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar,Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar,Musiri Subramania Iyer,Alathur Brothers, M. D. Ramanathan andMaharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. He performed his first solo concert inTrivandrum in 1939, at the age of 11.[1] In his early years, theCochin royal family provided him with royal patronage.[2]
Krishnan first arrived inMadras in 1942.[1] His tutor,Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, placed him in the care of R. Aiyadurai, an industrialist, philanthropist and patron of Carnatic music. Aiyadurai and his wife Thangam Aiyadurai welcomed the young Krishnan in to their home as his own.[2]
Along withLalgudi Jayaraman andM. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered a part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music.[4] Reviews of his performance called out the importance that he gave to expressional restraint.[5] Reviewing one of his performances in 2004,The Hindu said that in his generation of musicians, he was one of the few instrumentalists who provided a nostalgic experience of a bygone era in the minds of his listeners.[6] He was a regular performer during the annualMargazhi music season at theMadras Music Academy including a dedicated morning slot on Christmas Day.[7] He travelled extensively on musical tours all over the world.[7]
Krishnan taught music in the traditionalParampara setting and also in the more formal academic environments. Among his students were his daughter Viji Krishnan Natarajan, his son Sriram Krishnan, andCharumathi Raghuraman.[2] He was a professor of Music at Chennai Music College and later went on to be the principal at the college. He was also the dean of the School of Music and Fine Arts at theUniversity of Delhi.[1][3] He had also served as the vice-chairman of theSangeet Natak Akademi between 1991 and 1993.[8]
Krishnan was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1974 and was a recipient of theSangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship from the academy in 2006.[9][10] He received theSangeetha Kalanidhi titular award in 1980 from theMadras Music Academy.[11] He received theSangeetha Kalasikhamani award in1999 from the Indian Fine arts Society, Chennai.[12] He was also theAsthana Vidwan (transl. Court Scholar) at theTirupathi Devastanam.[8]
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour (1973)
Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour (1992)Grammy's honoured him with 'In Memoriam' mention of International musicians in March 2021[14]
Krishnan was married to Kamala Krishnan and had two children, Viji Krishnan Natarajan, and Sriram Krishnan.[15] Both Viji Krishnan Natarajan and Sriram Krishnan are well-known violinists.[2] His sisterN. Rajam is a famous violin player in theHindustani tradition.[2] He died on 2 November 2020 at his house inChennai.[1]
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