Night of subtle virtuosity
The Age
Thursday March 24, 2011
PANDIT RAJENDRA PRASANNA Rating: 3.5/5Melbourne Recital Centre, March 22THE Spirit of India program has been presenting classical Indian musicians in Australia for three decades and this year's concert offered audiences a close encounter with an instrument rarely heard outside India: the shehnai.Pandit Rajendra Prasanna is a fifth-generation shehnai player from Delhi, and his artistry on the instrument was on riveting display at the Recital Centre on Tuesday.Pandit Prasanna is also a virtuosic flute player, and the first half saw him interpret a Hindustani raga on bansuri (bamboo flute), accompanied by his son Rishab (also on flute) and Shubh Maharaj on tabla. The meditative effect of the twin bansuri conjured an almost dreamlike state, amplified by the occasional shimmer from Prasanna's surmandal harp.The second set paired Prasanna with Vikas Babu, both playing shehnai. This oboe-like instrument has a pungent, even piercing sound, yet in these musicians' hands it sounded hypnotic.In the introductory alaap, Prasanna's shehnai slid from note to note in undulating, beautifully sculpted phrases. Then, when the tabla entered and the energy built, he responded with staccato passages and searing calls, his shehnai sounding remarkably like a Hindustani singer the ultimate compliment in Indian music, where the aim of every instrumentalist is to approximate the beauty of the human voice.The evening lacked the visceral thrills and dynamic percussion often found in classical Indian concerts; instead, the focus was on subtlety and interpretative skill.
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