M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, (10 June 1931 – 3 January 2013) was a violinist in the field of

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

. He is commonly grouped with

Lalgudi Jayaraman Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman (17 September 1930 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin trinity of Carnatic mu ...

and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1997. He was a recipient of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

, Sangeetha Kalanidhi and

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

awards.

Life and career

Gopalakrishnan was born in

Mylapore Mylapore (also spelt Mayilapur), or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, India, and was taught violin by his father, Parur Sundaram Iyer, who was well versed in both Carnatic and Hindustani systems of

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

. He learned both systems from his father, with whom he gave his first performance when he was 8 years old. He also drew great inspiration from the legendary violinist Sri Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu. He played the violin for over fifty years as a soloist and

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in di ...

, having accompanied Omkarnath Thakur and D. V. Paluskar, and toured Australia, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, South Africa, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. His daughter, Dr M. Narmadha, is also a violinist. His elder brother M. S. Anantharaman (1924-2018) was a well-known violinist. The family's violin playing style, known as ''‘Parur bani’'', is being kept alive by the third generation, the children of Anantharaman and of MSG.

Death

Gopalakrishnan died in

, India, at 2:00 am on 3 January 2013, at the age of 81. He was survived by his wife Meenakshi, his daughters M. Narmadha and Latha, and son Suresh.

Technique

Gopalakrishnan had researched playing technique, and developed particular fingering and

bowing Bowing (also called stooping) is the act of lowering the torso and Human head, head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many E ...

discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

s of the ''"Parur style"'' to produce a clarity of sound and speed of delivery. His style includes one-finger playing and a thematic development on single-string

octaves In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

. Violinist

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

said of Gopalakrishnan's playing: ''"I have not heard such violin in all my travels! How superbly this young Indian is playing our instrument"''. When receiving the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award from the Music Academy of Madras, Gopalakrishnan said: "My practice is the only secret of my success and then the other secret is my father. The practice that I was used to was nearly 15–16 hours a day and that was a very tough one where I used to jump suddenly from Carnatic to Hindustani styles while playing. Anything, any award I receive is just the fruit of my practice".

Awards

Year Title *1960 Violin Vadhya Samrat — Bombay Sivananda Ashram, India. *1975

Padmashri The Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 Janu ...

–

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

*1976 Violin Vadhya Chakravarthy — New York, U.S.A. *1978

– Govt. of Tamil Nadu, India. *1979 Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award, India. *1980 T.Chowdiah award — Karnataka, India. *1982

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

, India. *1997 Sapathagiri Sangeetha Vidwanmani — Thirupathi Devasthanam, India. *1998 Sangeetha Kalanidhi – Madras Music Academy,

, India. *2007 Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, India. *2012

– Government of India *2012 Sangeetha Kalasikhamani – The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. *2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalkrishnan, M. S. 1931 births 2013 deaths Carnatic violinists Hindustani violinists Real World Records artists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Musicians from Chennai Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients 20th-century Indian violinists Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship