M. Balamuralikrishna | |
|---|---|
 Balamuralikrishna at Rajarani Music Festival, Bhubaneswar, Odisha | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna |
| Born | 6 July 1930 Sankaraguptam, East Godavari District, Madras Presidency, British India (now part of Andhra Pradesh, India) |
| Died | 22 November 2016 (aged 86) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Genres | Carnatic music |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Viola Mridangam Kanjira |
| Years active | 1938–2016 |
| Labels | Lahari Music, Sangeetha, PM Audios & Entertainments, Aditya Music |
| Awards: Padma Vibhushan 1991 | |
Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor.[1][2] He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1978. He has garnered two National Film Awards (1976, 1987), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975, the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor in 1991, for his contribution towards arts, the Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal from UNESCO in 1995, the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy, and the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani in 1991, by the Fine Arts Society, Chennai to name a few.[3]
Balamuralikrishna started his career at the age of six. In his life-time, he gave over 25,000 concerts worldwide.[4] Apart from Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, he presented jugalbandi concerts (duets) with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and Kishori Amonkar, among others. He is also known for popularizing the compositions of Sri Bhadrachala Ramadasu, Sri Annamacharya, and others.
Balamuralikrishna's concerts combined sophisticated vocal skills and rhythmic patterns of classical music with the popular demand for entertainment value. Balamuralikrishna presented concerts in many countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Russia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, countries in the Middle East, and elsewhere. Apart from his native tongue, Telugu, he has also composed in other languages including Kannada, Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi.[5]
He appeared as a featured soloist with an award-winning British choir, performing the "Gitanjali Suite" with words from Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize-winning poetry and music by "Dr. Joel", the noted UK-based Goan composer. His clear diction in several languages prompted an invitation to record Tagore's entire Rabindra Sangeet compositions in Bengali, preserving them for posterity. He had sung in French, and even ventured into jazz fusion, collaborating with the top Carnatic percussion teacher, Sri T.H. Subash Chandran, in a concert for Malaysian royalty.
- ^ "Carnatic musician Balamuralikrishna passes away". The Hindu. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ Subrahmanyam, Velcheti (2 February 2012). "Master holds in hypnotic spell". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ "French honour for Balamuralikrishna". The Hindu. 3 May 2005. Archived from the original on 6 May 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Balamuralikrishna deserves Bharat Ratna: Jayalalithaa". The Hindu. 26 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 July 2005. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ Kolappan, B (22 November 2016). "Carnatic musician Balamuralikrishna passes away". The Hindu.