My experience at the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival in Bengaluru has been a series of firsts – my first trip to India and my first collaboration with Vadim Repin (the prodigy violinist and recipient of France’s most prestigious musical award, the Victorie d’Honneur for a lifetime’s dedication to music), Audun Sandvik (Norwegian cellist and teacher at the Norwegian Academy of Music) and Dr L Subramaniam.
I’d say Indian music, like its food, is a wonderfully complicated experience in itself. Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of playing the piano on different platforms around the world and listening to different styles of music. However, this was the first time I heard such richly blended notes, let alone play them! It has been an amazing experience to see how the same notes, when combined the right way, can produce such a unique sound.
The best part of this trip was my collaboration with Dr L Subramaniam. As a newcomer to the world of Indian music, I was a little nervous about performing with a legendary violinist like him, and constantly kept count of the notes while playing. However, his ability to seamlessly lead and unite a diverse set of musicians is so powerful that I soon forgot about keeping count and just went with the flow. He’s more than just a great musician – he’s also an efficient leader.
I can easily say that this festival has been one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences of my career. There was an explosion of different sounds and cultures on stage, and I’m extremely grateful to have been a part of it.
– The writer is a Russian pianist and a frequent player on global stages including the Carnegie Hall, Salzburg Festival, and Hollywood Bowl)
