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 South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sangeetha Kalanidhi or Sangeeta Kalanidhi (Tamil: சங்கீத கலாநிதி, Sanskrit : संगीत-कला-निधि) (''sangeetha'' = music, ''kala'' = art, ''nidhi'' = treasure or ocean) is the title awarded yearly to ...

in 1997. He was a recipient of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan 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 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

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 conf ...

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 o ...

and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards.

Life and career

Gopalakrishnan was born in

Mylapore Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, 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 classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

. 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 has played the violin for over fifty years as a soloist and accompanist, having accompanied

Omkarnath Thakur Pandit Omkarnath Thakur (24 June 1897 – 29 December 1967), was an Indian music teacher, musicologist and Hindustani classical singer. A disciple of classical singer Vishnu Digambar Paluskar of Gwalior gharana, he became the principal of Gand ...

and D. V. Paluskar, and has 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 Mylapore Sundaram Anantharaman (26 August 1924 – 19 February 2018) was an Indian Carnatic and Hindustani violinist. He was an exponent of Parur style of violin playing. He received several awards including Kalaimamani Award and Sangeet Natak A ...

(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, by children of Anantaraman and MSG himself.

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 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 European cou ...

discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

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 Thematic transformation (also known as thematic metamorphosis or thematic development) is a musical technique in which a leitmotif, or theme, is developed by changing the theme by using permutation ( transposition or modulation, inversion, and re ...

on single-string

octaves In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

. Violinist

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

said of a Gopalakrishnan's playing: ''"I have not heard such violin in all my travels! How superbly this young Indian is playing our instrument"''. Shri Gopalakrishnan said when he was receiving his Sangita Kalanidhi award from the Music Academy of Madras "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 –

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

*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 (IPA: 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

– Madras Music Academy,

, India. *2012

– Government of India *2012 Sangeetha Kalasikhamani – The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. *2012

Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna and Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Puraskar were given at special events organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi in *Kolkata – Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Samman on 25 April 2012 *Chennai – Sangeet Natak Akademi ...

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 violinists 20th-century Indian musicians Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts