Saxophone Recital By Dr. Kadri Gopalnath: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR SAXOPHONE RECITAL BY DR....

Carnatic music on a complex western wind instrument. Dr. Kadri Gopalnath plays with your mind, but not before playing with your pleasure-seeking sense of sound.

The 38th Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh is being organized by the Department of Culture, together with Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj. It is a 3-day music festival, from 29th November to 1st December, and is being conducted at the Chowmahalla Palace. Performers during the festival include Bharatanatyam dancer Shirisha Shashank, sitarist Manju Mehta, flautist Master S Akash, tabla player Pt. Anindo Chatterjee, Saxophonist Kadiri Gopalnath, and vocalists Pt. Sanjeev Anhayankar, Ankita Joshi and Madhup Mudgal.

On the last day, Padmasri Dr. Kadri Gopalnath will perform Carnatic music on the saxophone.

Born in Panemangalore in Dakshina Kannada district, Kadri Gopalnath acquired a taste for music from his father Thaniappa, a nadaswaram Vidwan. Thrilled on hearing the vibrant tone of the saxophone being played in the Mysore palace, Gopalnath decided to master it. It took nearly 20 years for him to conquer the complex Western wind instrument, and he was eventually crowned "Saxophone Chakravarthy".

Gopalnath learnt playing Carnatic music on the saxophone under Gopalkrishna Iyer of Kalaniketana, Mangalore. In Madras, Gopalnath came in contact with the mridangist T V Gopalkrishnan, who went identified the youngster's potential and went on to train him.

His maiden performance was for the Chembai Memorial Trust. Gopalnath has also participated in the Jazz Festival in Prague, the Berlin Jazz Festival, the International Cervantino Festival in Mexico, the Music Halle Festival in Paris, and the BBC Promenade concert in 1994 at London, and has toured extensively all over the world, performing in all prestigious music venues in India and abroad.

He was awarded the Padmasri and the Kendriya Sangeeth Natak Academi Award by the President of India, in the years 2004 & 2003 respectively. He also received the Kalaimamani from the Govt. of Tamil Nadu during 1998, among other distinctions.

About The Festival

In memory of his late father Pandit Motiram and his brother Pandit Maniram, Pandit Jasraj, in association with the Department of Culture, organizes an annual music festival in Hyderabad. It was being held at the Nizam College grounds, which was where his father and his brother taught music to several students. However, since 2009, the venue has been shifted to the Chowmahalla Palace. Started in 1972, this festival is on for the 38th year.

Entry to the samaroh is free. Please contact the Department of Culture at 2324-2482 for further details.