Ambi Subramaniam's ability to tune in to the seemingly different spaces he inhabits is quite amazing. The youngest son of violin maestro L. Subramaniam, Ambi won himself a number of fans as he matched his father, note for note, during a concert in the city. With his disarming smile, tousled hair and cool looks, Ambi could pass off as a star, which he is, albeit, on the music scene.
Talking to MetroPlus after the concert, organised under the auspices of the Lakshminarayana Global Music festival, Ambi says he realised that there is nothing better he enjoys than music and making music. Although he made his debut as a violinist at the age of six, he says it was only in his early teens that he discovered that he wanted to be a musician and keep alive the legacy he has inherited from his father and grandfather, V. Lakshminarayana.
“At each concert, I am a little nervous when I have to play a phrase after my father,” he says. But Ambi is no novice and he has already performed with his father in prestigious festivals such as the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Chicago and so on. He has also performed with the Orchestra Nationale du Lille, Sinfonia Baltica, Filharmonica du Stadt Sibiu, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and the Leipzig Philharmoic Orchestra. For years now, he has been a key player in the Lakshminaraya Global Music Festival that is being organised by Dr. Subramaniam, and has accompanied greats like Jean Luc Ponty.
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Such festivals, says Ambi, is a wonderful opportunity to meet and work with international musicians who work in different genres of music. “Many of them are wonderful human beings and their dedication and motivation have to be admired and emulated,” feels Ambi, who plays both the Carnatic and Western violin.
Is there a difference between playing for an Indian audience and an international audience? Quite a veteran musician even at the age of 20, Ambi says that every audience and each concert is unique. “My father is an expert at striking a chord with the audience. It is experience that helps you do that,” he explains.
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Although his father is his guru, Ambi insists with a smile that he is quite comfortable with the dual roles his father plays. “As a father, he is quite chilled. He is more like a friend. But, as a guru he is very strict. There are no short cuts to practice or perfection. Ma [that is playback singer Kavitha Krishnamoorthy Subramaniam] helps me to perfect certain phrases and smoothen out the corners,” he says.
Jamming sessions
With a family deeply immersed in music, impromptu jamming sessions are a common phenomenon in the Subramaniam household in Bangalore. “That is when my father, ma, my elder brother Raju [Narayan], a vocalist and budding doctor, and elder sister Bindu, are at home.”
Comparisons with his father are inevitable, he agrees, but he emphasises that in the arts, it is wrong to compare as each artist/musician has his/her own style. “If you start comparing your music with anyone else's then it becomes a destination you hope to reach some day and you will not be able to enjoy the journey,” believes Ambi.
The youngster, a great fan of Semmangudi, GNB, M.S. Subbalakshmi and Balamuralikrishna, admits with a shy smile, that, “much to my parents' dislike, I like listening to Eminem.” But Ambi's idol is his father.
Choosing his words with care, Ambi says: “With due respect to other forms of music, I feel that Carnatic music is the highest and most evolved form of music. My aim is to be a good soloist.”
His mother quips: “He is a very good vocalist. But I told him that he must concentrate on the violin. He is also learning the piano. I know he is back from college because as he soon he reaches home, he starts playing the piano.” College is the Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies where Ambi is pursing a postgraduate degree in business management. Passionate about cricket, Ambi says that his hectic schedule, practice and studies leave him with little time to pursue cricket. But he is not complaining.