Saturday Special - On Ilaiyaraaja's second symphony - What you must know

A historic symphony

Dear Reader,

Way back in 1993 to be precise, Ilaiyaraaja came home from Europe to a rousing welcome at the Chennai airport. He was among the first - perhaps the first - Asian to have composed and recorded a symphony.

The who's who of Indian film and even Carnatic music came down to felicitate him, and as a surprising anti-climax to all the celebrations Ilaiyaraaja chose to not release the symphony! It would be years before his fans found out why.

Valiant, Ilaiyaraaja's second symphony, therefore is a more interesting project than you imagined. What exposure to Western music does a man born in the mofussil lands of deep south Tamil Nadu have to be on equal footing with the masters of the Western Classical?

Beyond the simple characterisation as 'Eastern' or 'Western' what is interesting and worthy of knowing is how Ilaiyaraaja masters music.

I don't want to give away too much of the story or the article - I fully recommend you spend 15-20 minutes reading K Balakumar's tasteful chronicle of Ilaiyaraaja's journey over the years.

A note on our March print issue:

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