Rajeev Taranath

Rajeev Taranath is an internationally acclaimed performer and award-winning composer and one of the world's leading exponents of the sarod, the richly textured Indian classical instrument which is an ancestor of the lute. Taranath's performances masterfully combine the depth and rigor of the tradition of Hindustani (North Indian) classical music with an inspired imagination and emotional intensity. He is a distinguished disciple of the Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, and has also received guidance from Pandit Ravi Shankar, Smt. Annapurna Devi, Pt. Nihkhil Banerjee and Ustad Aashish Khan. Taranath was hailed a prodigy in Hindustani vocal music as a young boy. He had been trained by his father Pandit Taranath and other eminent musicians and was a concert and radio artist before he was twenty. He has toured extensively as a performer in India, Australia, Europe, Yemen and throughout the U.S. In 1980, he was the subject of a documentary made for the television in Eden, Yemen, titled Finnan Min-Al- Hind (Artist from India). Taranath is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Indian government's highest award in the arts, the Sangeet Natak Akademy award in 1999 and the Chowdiah Award in 1998, both given for excellence and outstanding achievement in the field of instrumental music. He has received additional awards from the Indian government for his contribution to music, the Sangeet Nritya Akademi Award in 1993 and the Karnataka Rajya Prashasti in 1996. In 2007, he was honoured with the Sangeet Kalaratna from the Gayana Samaja, the Jyothi Subramanya Award, Brahmaramba N Nagaraja Rao Gold Medal and the V T Srinivasan Memorial Award.

Taranath has also composed music for several nationally and internationally honored Indian films. A Ford Foundation scholar from 1989 to 1992, he did research during this period on the teaching techniques of the Maihar-Allauddinn Gharana.

Taranath's distinctive musicianship demonstrates striking imaginative power, technical excellence and emotional range. He is respected for the clarity of musical understanding which he brings to the unfolding of a raga and the beauty of tone he evokes from the sarod. The New York Times described his music by commenting with great enthusiasm about the exuberance and versatility of his playing, which ranged from the "spiritual to the spirited."A Phd in English literature and a well known intellect, he recites T.S. Eliot with the same ease as he plays the Sarod. A linguist who speaks multiple Indian languages flawlessly, he is also a highly accomplished singer.

"Rajeev Taranath, illustrious disciple of the renowned maestro, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, has evolved a style characterised by the quintessential features of his gharana — depth and profundity in the exploration of raga and the dexterous weaving of sparkling permutations in layakari. The artiste's musical expression is distinguished by an innate sense of dignity..." - The Hindu, Chennai, India (January 20, 2006)

Concert engagements have included performances for major Indian music conferences, internationally for universities, western conservatories and chamber music series, world music festivals, and many concerts for Indian cultural organizations dedicated to the presentation of high caliber Indian classical music.

YouTube Videos of Pt.Taranath here: [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Rajeev+Taranath&search=Search ]

Press Quotes:

"It was a great performance from Rajeev Taranath_the sound picture that emerged was enchanting for its poise and balance." - Mohan Nadkarni, The Times of India, Bombay

"Rajeev Taranath is making music that moves sublimely from brooding introspection to climaxes of breathtaking excitement." - New Classic/Online World Music Magazine, 2003 "Indian music was the focus of CalArts' Spring Music Festival; one high point - a luminous single raga from Rajeev Taranath and Swapan Chaudhuri." Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times

"Rajeev Taranath's evocation of the raga featured fine imagination, aesthetic sense and technical expertise." The Statesman, Calcutta

"What a lovely mind for 'swara' and tone Rajeev Taranath displays! Each note leaves a lovely, languishing trail of tone behind it." The Economic Times, New Delhi

"Taranath's sarod pulls heart strings...the audience was moved by the strength and emotional intensity of the music". - Express, New Delhi (May 2001)

"Rajeev's music comes through as a constant dialectic between deep classical vigor and an irrepressible emotional intensity." Phoenix, Bangalore

External links

* http://www.rajeevtaranath.com
* http://www.insideworldmusic.com/library/weekly/aa052501a.htm
* http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/01/20/stories/2006012002600500.htm
* http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/10/05/stories/2007100551160100.htm
* http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/08/10/stories/2007081050260300.htm
* http://www.littleindia.com/news/123/ARTICLE/1227/2006-08-10.html
* http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2005/07/29/stories/2005072902600500.htm