L Subramaniam: Championing Instrumental Music & Future Talent in Indian Classical

At 78, L Subramaniam is much in demand but says he would prefer to take a step back to provide space for upcoming talent. “When senior artists perform at all the sabhas it closes the door for the next generation,” he says in an interview with Asha Prakash. Excerpts:You received the second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 2025.An award is not the final destination. You must always be learning. You can never say, ‘I played the last two concerts well’ and be complacent. Because if you don’t play well in the next concert, people will judge you. Every concert is an exam for a music performer.To keep Gen Z’s interest in classical music, to make every generation connect the dots, we have to keep things interesting. Otherwise, you lose them and they also lose; it works both ways. At the same time, I was happy that the Indian govt presented me with this award. I was told I was the first violinist to receive this. I think of my father, V Lakshminarayana, who wanted to transform the violin from an accompaniment to a solo instrument. I’m sure he’s smiling somewhere.At Margazhi, the performances end up being very traditional and the crowds are much less than they were 30 years ago.That is one of the reasons they are losing the crowd. But we are not really losing them. We are just not bringing in new people who have different interests. Unless we do that, we will have fewer and fewer people. Even symphony orchestras in the west had the same problem. They used to play traditional music all the time and realized that there is no support from the people. Then they introduced a few pop singers in concerts and millions of people started coming in. These new people were getting introduced to classical and instrumental music and orchestras for the first time. Similarly, people who never came for a South Indian classical concert have attended one saying, “Sir, I listened to ‘Conversations’ (L Subramaniam’s fusion album) and have been your fan since. Whatever you play, I’ll listen.” Innovations need to be done.Tradition is important. But it has to go with innovation so that we don’t lose people.Also, I have stopped playing in festivals. I do one special project or one or two concerts. Most senior artists sing for all the sabhas but that closes the door for the upcoming generation. Instead, we should create opportunities for brilliant youngsters. Initially they might not get crowds but as people listen to them, they will, over time.Do you feel that instrumental music is not given enough importance in Carnatic music?Western music became popular worldwide because of instrumental music, which was flourishing, and supported by royals. From smaller orchestras slowly they formed major orchestras, and later symphony orchestras and choirs. Every city in Europe and the US has one or two orchestras. Here we are limited to vocals.If an opera singer performs in India, there will be a language barrier. But for instrumental music, whether it is a piano, harp or flute, you start enjoying the music even if you don’t know what it is. Instrumental music has a much easier and wider reach. How did instrumentalists such as Ravi Shankar and Allah Rakha Khan spread north Indian music? I was trying to do something similarly innovative with the violin.Our music reached so many countries which had never heard Indian music. It is very important for the music organizations and audience to realise that in order to sustain the interest in our culture and music, they have to keep an open mind and promote instrumental music, it should be 50-50.In international music festivals, they look for instrumental musicians, not vocalists. So it is important to cultivate that habit of promoting instruments or we will end up not being part of global music.Are there any such moves in that direction?I’ve been on the advisory board for the Australian WOMAD Festival (World of Music, Arts and Dance). For the first time in history, we are sending nadaswaram and thavil artists for the festival, this March. They all know of the oboe and the clarinet but they had never seen the nadaswaram and didn’t know of its existence.Do you also feel that there are certain instruments which are getting neglected in India?Not only the instruments, but traditional instrument makers are also disappearing. There aren’t enough people ordering these instruments. After a while, you won’t have ghatam makers or kanjira makers or tanpura makers. They’re making kanjiras abroad now.Is there a possibility for a symphony orchestra in India as well?We have been thinking of a small ensemble to expand slowly. Interested people can dedicate themselves to it. In the west, when you are selected as an orchestra player, you are hired for a year and get a salary. You have many concerts in the season and don’t have to worry about rent. So if corporates and tech companies support, we can also have a similar system. There is so much talent. That is one of the dreams of Sa Pa (Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts).Do you think Indian instruments can go mainstream at one point, like the guitar or the piano?Our sitar is quite popular across the world. We have played south Indian violin in Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and many major international venues. We can get mainstream, but we have to develop the instrument with enough support and talent. We have to spend more time mastering the instrument and become really super players.What is your next collaboration?The next programme is a navagraha or nine planet symphony; selected shlokas in Sanskrit, which we composed for the full symphony orchestra. Kavita Krishnamurthy and Bindu Subramaniam will be singing. In addition to that, they are doing one of the orchestra pieces as a ballet. A choir who are singing in Sanskrit, from Kazakhstan. We start the tour on Jan 16. This is the first time where an orchestra, choir and ballet are performing in one place. It will be held in Lady Andal on Jan 23.