Without cultural roots to stand on, without an indigenous tradition to draw from and without an audience to call its own, Western classical music in India is carving out its own free path, as are its performers.
Elvina Fernandes, a young viola player from Goa, and a music teacher at Goa's Kala Academy, vouches for the beneficial aspect of Goa's folk music with its Portuguese influence. The local rhythms have added to her skill as a western classical musician playing with the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI). “Western music is used in a folk way in Goa. That has helped me in my phrasing,” she says.
Raised on similar other local influences, a group of Western classical musicians from various parts of India seem to have found in SOI a classroom to hone their art in and a stage to showcase their talent.
“So far the only good job at an orchestra for a musician is here at the SOI,” says Elvina.
The orchestra has just returned from its maiden tour of Moscow where they were invited to perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the finale of the festival of World's Symphony Orchestras in Russia on Russia Day.
“Ninth was a landmark symphony. It is an intense piece and it is an honour to perform it,” says Anna Amy Philips, a violinist from Kochi. She and her fellow musicians, Carol George from Kochi and Dominic Y. from Bangalore are part of the core group of the orchestra's string players. The brass and the woodwind players keep changing.
Fully professional
The 100-musician orchestra comprises players from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Japan, and 18 from India. It was created in 2006 by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) “as India's first fully professional symphony orchestra, offering Indian audiences an international quality of Western classical music,” says Kushroo Suntook, Chairman, NCPA.
Criticism has it that for an Indian orchestra to have such a small number of Indian musicians is ironic in itself and that much of the NCPA's assistance thus goes towards supporting more musicians from abroad.
On the other hand, the SOI is ready to welcome Indian talent “with open arms,” says its music director Marat Bisengaliev, himself an award-winning Kazakh violinist. “The difference between this orchestra and say the London Symphony Orchestra is that the latter might be more professional and better equipped, but it does not have the same sort of energy and enthusiasm or the same musical thought. Because we think about every note, every phrase and musical nuance. So we actually go deeper. We might not be as perfect, but there is always thought and depth. Most of the time, we work on individual technique. Everything which the musicians did not do when they were young because they did not know,” says Mr.Bisengaliev. “The difficult thing has been to bring everyone to the same musical standard. We are not a 150-year old orchestra like the Vienna Philharmonic. This orchestra has young members; they are all in their twenties. This is a young orchestra, with not much experience. But the advantage I have is that I could work on basic kitchen stuff. Working on the individual technique of each musician makes a very big difference,” Mr. Bisengaliev says.
For a four-year-old orchestra to earn praise from a foreign delegation and an invitation to a prestigious international festival on the basis of its performance of none other than Beethoven's 9th is indeed a big leap.
Future shines
For Russian conductor Alexander Anissimov, SOI's musical form holds much promise. “Each orchestra has its own formula, its rough and smooth edges. The Symphony Orchestra of India projects a completely new face of India. I had conducted the SOI during its first season. This is the third time I am meeting them and I find a remarkable change. Last time, the orchestra was really good, but the size was really small. Also, the choice of the repertoire was very small, probably because you needed more instruments, percussion, brass etc. and all those players were not a part of the SOI. Now it's a full orchestra; the choice of repertoire is very big, from Beethoven to Ravel to Richard Strauss. I see a very good future.”
In India, SOI has given concerts in Mumbai and Bangalore with plans of “having a presence in the South,” says Mr. Suntook.
Despite all the enthusiasm, Mr. Bisengaliev feels “finance” always remains a key concern. “Sponsorship is from friends of the orchestra. It's all private. This is a big orchestra and funds are never enough. The government could contribute to the educational process. Bringing high quality full-time players is an incredibly difficult task,” says Mr.Besengaliev.
If SOI has seen successful seasons, it is mainly due to the audience at the NCPA. Mr. Suntook points out that “Western classical music has a long-standing tradition in Mumbai since the 1920s.”
Elsewhere, assembling a dedicated body of listeners could be a challenge.
Elvina knows better. “The audience is very small and it consists mostly of old people,” she remarks. Mr. Bisengaliev agrees that it is “difficult to woo popular taste.” At the same time, he holds that this music is “not for everybody, although a majority of listeners do enjoy it.”
This situation could well apply to the reception of Indian classical music too, given the profusion of Bollywood numbers and a general waning of attention to the classical fine arts. Mumbai has a much older Bombay Chamber Orchestra giving regular performances. It also has a healthy number of choirs enjoying better popularity. However, at the national level, the SOI seems to be a decisive move by the NCPA “to raise awareness and interest” in the Western classical genre. For the musically inclined, it is the First Movement.
