T.M. Abdul Azeez and Mihir Rajeev’s violin concert was rooted in classicism

The violin duet by T.M. Abdul Azeez and his disciple Mihir Rajeev was both gentle and powerful. The two violinists performed in harmony, presenting an enjoyable concert, that honoured the legacy of violin maestro Prof. T.N. Krishnan.

The concert commenced with the popular Saveri varnam ‘Sarasuda’, followed by ‘Siddhivinayakam’, a Dikshitar composition set in raga Shanmukhapriya. The duo presented a brief niraval at the charanam line ‘Bhadrapadamaasa chaturtyam’ with brisk swaras that brought out Mihir Rajeev’s grip over manodharma. ‘Hariharaputram’ another Dikshitar kriti in Vasantha set to Khanda Eka tala came up next. The Raga alapana in Kosalam, a vivadi raga, was elaborated in all its grandeur by Mihir Rajeev, ably supported by his guru. They chose Koteeswara Iyer kriti ‘Ka guha shanmukha’, a Tamil composition , and presented intricate kalpanaswaras at the charanam segment.

T.M. Abdul Azeez and his disciple Mihir Rajeev are accompanied by Vijay Natesan on the mridangam and S. Karthick on the ghatam.
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Special Arrangement

The duo seamlessly complemented each other during the concluding kalpanaswara segment, skillfully balancing on the Gandhara and Panchama scales. A brief alapana in Ritigowla led to ‘Janani ninnuvina’ in Misra Chapu tala, composed by Subbaraya Sastri. ‘Sadamadim’ in Gambhiravani, a brisk Tyagaraja kriti, came as a surprise.

The Kapi raga alapana was elegantly elaborated, with both the artistes weaving exquisite phrases. They chose ‘Neevala gunadoshamemi’, a Tyagaraja composition in Khanda Chapu, that came with a refined niraval and kalpanaswaras..

The mridangam and ghatam accompaniment by Vijay Natesan and S. Karthick was excellent through out the concert, particularly the tani avarthanam in Khanda Chapu tala.

The concert concluded with ‘Krishna nee begana’ in raga Yamunakalyani, ‘Visveswara’ in Sindhubhairavi, the Swathi Tirunal thillana in Dhanashri, ending with a final phrase in raga Surutti.