Rajeev Taranath (born 17 October 1932) is an Indian classical musician who plays the

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the swe ...

. Taranath is a disciple of

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...

Career

Rajeev Taranath was born in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

on 17 October 1932. He received his initial training in vocal music from his father Pandit Taranath. He gave his first public vocal performance when he was nine years old. Rajeev was singing for the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

before he was twenty. Although Rajeev held a PhD in literature, he decided to give up his career as a Professor and Head of English Literature at

Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli (NIT Tiruchirappalli or NIT Trichy) is a public technical and research university near the city of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded as Regional Engineering College Tiruchirapp ...

(REC-T), which was later renamed as National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT-T), and then went to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

, where he began his musical training under the tutelage of

. Rajeev continued to learn from his Guru till Khan's demise in 2009. He has also had guidance from

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

Annapurna Devi (1927 – 13 October 2018) was an Indian surbahar (bass sitar) player of Hindustani classical music. She was given the name 'Annapurna' by former Maharaja Brijnath Singh of the former Maihar Estate (M.P.), and it was by this name that she wa ...

Nikhil Banerjee Pandit Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee (14 October 1931 – 27 January 1986) was an Indian classical sitarist of the Maihar Gharana. Along with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan, he emerged as one of the leading exponents of the sitar. ...

and

Aashish Khan Aashish Khan Debsharma (born 5 December 1939) is an Indian classical musician, a player of the sarod. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006 in the 'Best World Music' category for his album "Golden Strings of the Sarode". He is also a recip ...

. He has received some of India's highest national honors including the 2019

Padma Sri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), 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 January 1954, the award is conferre ...

award and the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

in 1999-2000. He researched and published the Teaching Techniques of the Maihar-Allauddin Gharana, as a Ford Foundation scholar (1989 to 1992). He is respected for his in-depth understanding as he unfolds the raga, the tonal quality and power of his strokes. His distinctive style shows technical excellence, imaginative power and emotional range. According to the New York Times, "RAJEEV TARANATH'S sarod improvisations Sunday at Soundscape mixed the spiritual and the spirited". Rajeev performs extensively in India and the world. He has toured Australia, Europe, Yemen, the United States, and Canada. He has composed the music for many internationally acclaimed Indian films including

Samskara Samskara, saṃskāra, saṅskāra or sanskara may refer to: * Sanskara (rite of passage), Hindu and Jain rites of passage * Samskara (ayurvedic), a technique in ayurvedic medicine * Samskara (Indian philosophy), the concept of imprints or impressi ...

, Kanchana Sita and

Kadavu Kadavu may refer to: * Kadavu Island Kadavu (pronounced ), with an area of , is the fourth largest island in Fiji, and the largest island in the '' Kadavu Group'', a volcanic archipelago consisting of Kadavu, Ono, Galoa and a number of smaller i ...

. He has also served as the head of the Indian music program at the World Music Department of the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...

from 1995 to 2005. He currently lives and teaches in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, Karnataka. Rajeev Taranth taught English literature at the

University of Aden The University of Aden is the first Yemeni university beside Sana'a university at the same year founded in the Republic of Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It ...

in 1980s. He was the subject of a documentary made for the television in Aden entitled "Fannan Min-Al-Hind" (Artist from India).

Discography

Taranath has several recordings published: * In concert: Raga Bageshri Kanada, Manj Khammaj and Bhairavi (IMPU 2020) * Hamdard - Puriya Dhanshri, Chandrandan(Bihaan Records 2015) * Prism - Gaur Sarang, Madhuvanti, Bhairavi(Bihaan Records 2014) * Swar Kalyan (Navras Records 2011) * Sandhya (Bihaan Records2011) *Manan "Meditation": Ragas Bihag and Bhairavi (Navras Records 2008) *Harmony: Sindhu Bhairavi Raagmala (2007) *Raga Kafi: Some Facets (2007) *Rasarang (2004) *Reflections Around Noon : Ragas Todi and Kafi (2003) *The Call of Love, The Art of Persian and Indian Improvisations (2002) *Daybreak and a Candle End (2002) *Indian Classical Music (2001) *Rag Nat Bhairo, Rag Kaushi Bhairavi, Bhairavi (1995

*Over the Moon : Raga Chandranandan (1993) *Raga Ahir Bhairav/Raga Charukeshi (1991) *The Magnificence of Yaman Kalyan (1987) *In the Master's Tradition : Rag Basant Mukhari, Rag Kirwani (1987) *Rag Kafi *Rag Komal Durga *Rag Puriya Dhanashri

Awards and recognitions

* Basavashree Award, 2021 * S.V. Narayanarao Memorial National Award, 2020 *

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), 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 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, 2019 *

Nadoja Award The Nadoja Award ( kn, ನಾಡೋಜ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ) is a prestigious award presented annually by Kannada University, Hampi, India to eminent personalities for their contribution in various fields. The word "Nadoja" belongs to Adikavi ...

from

Kannada University Kannada University, also called Hampi Kannada University or Hampi University or Kannada University, Hampi, is a research-oriented public university in Hampi, Karnataka, founded in 1991 by the Government of Karnataka through the Kannada Universit ...

, 2018 * Sangeet Vidhwan Award,2018 *The

Award, 1999–2000 *Sangeetha Rathna Mysore T. Chowdiah Memorial Award 1998 (Government of Karnataka, India) *Sangeet Nritya Akademi Award, 1993 * Karnataka Rajya Prashasti, 1996 *Kempe Gowda Award, 2006 *Sangeet Kalaratna from the

Gayana Samaja ''Gayana'' is a biannual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the University of Concepción. It covers zoology and oceanology works on taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, environmental biology, biotechnology, limnology, hydrolo ...

*Jyothi Subramanya Award *Brahmaramba N Nagaraja Rao Gold Medal *V T Srinivasan Memorial Award

References

External links

*
True to A Lineage - Friday Review of The Hindu 2013
* *
Interview in India Currents Magazine 2018Interview by Kavita Chhibber
*
Concert review Los Angeles TimesInterview in Deccan Herald Newspaper 2005Article in The Hindu – Strings of Success 2011Press release on University of Mysore Honorary Doctorate 2010Article – Book on Rajeev Taranath's life on bestseller list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taranath, Rajeev 1932 births Hindustani instrumentalists Indian film score composers Living people Maihar gharana Musicians from Bangalore Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sarod players 20th-century Indian musicians Indian male musicians Indian male film score composers 20th-century male musicians Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts