Trippunithura Narayana Krishnan (6 October 19282 November 2020) was an Indian
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 ...
violinist. Along 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
M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded the
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...
's
Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1980. He was also the 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 ...
, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1992, and earlier, the
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 ...
, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 1973.
Early life
Krishnan was born on 6 October 1928, in
Tripunithura
Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (Malayalam:തൃപ്പൂണിത്തുറ) is a prominent historical and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura wa ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
to A. Narayana Iyer and Ammini Ammal.
He learnt music from his father and was 11 when he performed at his first violin concert in 1939 in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...
.
His father continued to teach him until his death. Recounting his early years, Krishnan mentioned that he would play the instrument continuously for over three hours at
''katcheris'', or classical music performances, and they would "perform in temples, in landlords’ houses or at weddings."
He was mentored in his early years by Alleppy K.Parthasarathy a ''
sisya'' of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and later joined carnatic vocalist
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.
Career
Krishnan started out as a violinist accompanying musicians
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar,
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (born Vaidyanatha Iyer, 28 August 1896 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian Carnatic music singer from Kerala. He was born in Vatakara, Kerala, and moved to Palakkad along with his family during his childhood.L. R. ...
,
Musiri Subramania Iyer,
Alathur Brothers, M. D. Ramanathan and
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. He performed his first solo concert in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...
in 1939, at the age of 11.
In his early years, the
Cochin royal family
The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...
provided him with royal patronage.
Krishnan first arrived in
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
in 1942.
His tutor, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, placed him in the care of R. Aiyadurai, an industrialist, philanthropist and patron of Carnatic music. Aiyadurai and his wife Thangam Aiyadurai welcomed the young Krishnan in to their home as his own.
Along 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
M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered a part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. Reviews of his performance called out the importance that he gave to expressional restraint. Reviewing one of his performances in 2004, ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' said that in his generation of musicians, he was one of the few instrumentalists who provided a nostalgic experience of a bygone era in the minds of his listeners. He was a regular performer during the annual ''
Margazhi'' music season at the
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...
including a dedicated morning slot on Christmas Day.
He travelled extensively on musical tours all over the world.
Krishnan taught music in the traditional ''
Parampara'' setting and also in the more formal academic environments. Among his students were his daughter Viji Krishnan Natarajan, his son Sriram Krishnan, and
Charumathi Raghuraman.
He was a professor of Music at Chennai Music College and later went on to be the principal at the college. He was also the dean of the School of Music and Fine Arts at the
University of Delhi
The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...
.
He had also served as the vice-chairman of the
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) ...
between 1991 and 1993.
Awards and titles
Krishnan was awarded the
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 ...
in 1974 and was a recipient of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship from the academy in 2006. He received the
Sangeetha Kalanidhi titular award in 1980 from the
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...
. He received the
Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award in1999 from the Indian Fine arts Society, Chennai. He was also the ''Asthana Vidwan'' () at the
Tirupathi Devastanam.
State honours:
*
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 ...
, India's fourth highest civilian honour (1973)
*
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 ...
, India's third highest civilian honour (1992)
Grammy's honoured him with 'In Memoriam' mention of International musicians in March 2021
Personal life
Krishnan was married to Kamala Krishnan and had two children, Viji Krishnan Natarajan, and Sriram Krishnan. Both Viji Krishnan Natarajan and Sriram Krishnan are well-known violinists.
His sister
N. Rajam is a famous violin player in the
Hindustani tradition. He died on 2 November 2020 at his house in
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 ...
.
Discography
*Melodious Strings of the Indian Violin (1985)
*Maestros Choice (1991)
*Music is Music – Jugalbandi (with
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan) (1991)
*The Carnatic Violin (2002)
*Parivaar (with N. Rajam) (2003)
* ''Sruti Sandhya'' (with T S Nandakumar)
* ''Sruti Sandhya 2'' (with T S Nandakumar)
References
External links
Indian Classical Violin Maestro*
A conversation with Violin Maestro T.N.KrishnanT N Krishnan Official BlogT N Krishnan honoured
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnan, T. N.
1928 births
2020 deaths
Carnatic violinists
Musicians from Chennai
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients
Tamil musicians
20th-century Indian male classical singers
21st-century Indian violinists
21st-century Indian male classical singers