To Dr L Subramaniam "Music is a vast ocean and no one can claim to know it all. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. It is an eternal quest."An internationally acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and conductor trained in western Classical Music and classical Carnatic music has scored over 150 recordings. Since 1973, Subramaniam has made historic collaborations and recordings with people like Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grappelli, Ruggiero Ricci and many others. He has established himself as a force that is strongly Indian, but universal in nature and approach.
Dr L Subramaniam was born into a Tamil musical family and gave his first public performance at the tender age of six. Both his father, V. Lakshminarayana and his mother
V. Seethalakshmi were accomplished musicians. Passionate about music, Subramaniam was also dedicated to Science. He studied medicine, finishing his M.B.B.S at Madras Medical College and registered as a General Practitioner. But gave up his medical profession to devote all his attention to music and chose to remain a violinist by profession. He was married to Viji Subramanian, who was a Carnatic music singer but she passed away on February 9, 1995. He is now married to the popular Indian playback singer Kavita Krishnamoorthy (Nov 1999). His brother is also a well known and acclaimed violinist - L. Shankar.
He did his Master`s Degree in Western Classical Music in California. From then on, his artistic activity was to spread in many directions. No one else is as qualified as Dr L Subramaniam to experiment with new concepts and different ideas because of his stable foundation in Carnatic Classical, Western Music, Orchestration and rhythm. He has accompanied some of the most famous names in Carnatic music such as Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, M. D. Ramanathan, among others. He has performed many concerts with the venerable Palghat Mani Iyer on the Mridangam, in addition to collaborating with other South Asian artists. Creations with orchestras include `Fantasy on Vedic Chant` with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, `Turbulence` with the The Swiss Romande Orchestra, `The Concert of Two Violins` with The Oslo Philharmonic, and `Global Symphony with the The Berlin Opera among others. His compositions have also been used in various stage presentations by leading ballet companies, including the Cleveland San Jose Ballet Company and the Alvin Ailey Company. He is the creator of the Global Music concept.
Subramaniam has written works for orchestras and Hollywood film scores, and written books on Carnatic music. To increase understanding of the concepts of South Indian Classical Music, he has released a four-CD set, called "An Anthology of South Indian Music" and written an authoritative book "Euphony". The book was co-authored with his late wife Vijayashree Subramaniam. Subramaniam has also composed the film scores for the films "Salaam Bombay" and "Mississippi Masala" directed by Mira Nair, in addition to being the featured violin soloist in Bernardo Bertolucci`s "Little Buddha" and "Cotton Mary"of Merchant-Ivory productions.
He launched his album titled `Global Fusion` featuring artists from five continents including one of the most popular and successful singers in the film industry, wife Kavita Krishnamurti and his talented and versatile daughter Seetaa Subramaniam, were all critically acclaimed milestone in his careers.
He has received several awards and honors. He received "Sangeet Natak Akademi Award" for "The Most Creative Artist" from the President of India. He has been awarded the "Nada Chakravarti" the Emperor of Sound from H.H Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swami-ji at Trinidad, West Indies. In recognition of his contribution to the World of Music, he has been conferred with Honorary Doctorate (D.Lit) by both Bangalore University and University of Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988 and Padma Bhushan in 2001. To honor the memory of 100 years of the Nobel Peace Prize, an album has been released bringing together the best from music and excerpts from speeches of Nobel laureates. For this project featuring artists from all around the world, Dr Subramaniam and Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam were chosen to represent the Asian continent. He received a Grammy nomination in 1981.
Today, he is the founder and director of the "Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival". It is held annually, primarily in India, but has also been held in different parts of the world. It is the biggest global music festival in India, in which the spirit of confrontation is strongly expressed. The Festival has brought some of the greatest artists from around the globe together on one stage. Dr Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti and Seetaa Subramaniam have just released an album entitled `Athens`, featuring the Olympic Torch Theme Song with lyrics by Gulzar.
"I find nothing more inspiring than the music making of my very great colleague Subramaniam. Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment," said the renowned violinist Lord Yehudi Menuhin.
Dr L Subramaniam is considered as the living legend. India`s violin icon, "The Paganini of Indian Classical music", "the God of Indian Violin" is the little honor of an Indian musician combined with the magnetism of a western "star". This living legend`s concerts are truly marvelous landmarks, which are a real inspiration to the audience. The album, "Conversations" and his orchestral composition "Fantasy on Vedic Chants" have become milestones. These serves as a reference and guide for any composer exploring the concept of fusion. It is hard to believe that such technique and emotive playing can exist.
