Powerful & moving
Curtains downed on the Musicians 38th Conference, on Sunday, at the Karnataka Ganakala Parishat with a grand vocal recital. Vidwan L Bheemachar and Vidwan . Krishna were conferred with the titles of "Ganakala Bhushana" and "Ganakalashree", respectively. The Varna gave Dr R K Srikantan a bright start. He invested the compositions - 'Gajanana Rahitam' and 'Palayamam' - with the right amount of melodic fervour. The lovely Krithi of Tyagaraja - "Enthamuddu Entha Sogasu" was redolent with an old world charm. What a graceful impact he made in the Bhairavi Raga Alapana of the time tested raga in a steady and unhurried pace, provided a spring board for the Krithi "Thaniyunibrova", which evoked a blissful feeling. R S  Ramakantha (Vocal support), C N Chandrasekhar (Violin), T A S  Mani (Mridanga) and L Bhimachar (Morching) - gave spirited support.

Melodious flute
L V Mukund, who gave a flute recital in the conference hails from a reputed music family of Mysore. His concert was as reassuring as ever. The Pallavi set to Khanda Triputa Thala saw him in an ebullient mood.
The measured swaraprashthara enriched the raga's modal felicity  Kamavardhini was also a study in melodic exactitude. B K Raghu on Violin, G S Ramanujam on Mridanga and G. Guruprasanna on Khanjari accompanied him on their respective instruments.

In fine fettle
M Raghavendra, of "Bellary Brothers" family and a staff artiste of Bhadrawathi Akashavani, who gave a vocal recital on Friday was in fine fettle. The Kanakangi piece was of M. Seshagiri Achar and the "Elara" was impressive, while "Vanchathonu" was presented with lilting melody. "Parama Pavana" revealed his firm hold on the idiom, the Krithi itself decorated with a flurry of sweet phrases. T. S. Krishna Murthy (Violin), B.K. Chandramouli (Mridanga) and A.S.N. Swamy (Khanjari) - supported the vocalist.

Vintage touch
S Soumya is a seasoned vocalist and a familiar artiste to music lovers. Some of her selection of compositions and ragas brought back nostalgic memories of a glorious tradition. For instance the Keerthana "Eavasudhani" and the elaboration of Hari Kambodhi raga. The "Brovamma" at a leisurely pace was soulful. A cascading variety of nerval and swara in fast tempo enhanced the aural elegance of the composition "Varanarada". The alapana of Harikambodhi had a vintage touch and the Keethane "Dinamanivamsha" had a touch of grace to it. Charulatha Ramanujam on Violin, V. Krishna on Mridanga and M.A. Krishnamurthy on Ghata - gave whole hearted support.

Not that great

Revathi Sadashivam is a scion of a great "Sangeetha Parampara". She gave a sober Veena recital in the conference, and was accompanied by H S Sudhindra (Mridanga) and Sukunya Ramgopal (Ghata). She gave a soulful picture of Devagandhari and Purvi Kalyani was reposeful. The Alapana and Thana for "Srikrishnam Bhaja" was pleasing and in traditional mould, though the total impression could not rise to expected heights.

Educative music
Parishat celebrated the birth centenary of R.K. Venkatarama Sastry, during the conference. R K  Srikantan, N S  Krishna Murthy and R K Sriramakumar - spoke on the life and works of Sastry. Prof  B S  Vijayaraghavan demonstrated few Suladees in different Thalas. L. Bhimachar demonstrated Morching (Jew's Harp) of different countries - Vietnam, Austria, Germany, Russia. They (L. Bhimachar, B. Rajashekhar and Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna) also performed Morching Tarang, in the raga Mohana, set to Adithala. Srikantham Nagendra Sastry spoke on different "Mela Pradathi". Karthik Hebbar, in his multi media production, explained salient features of western music. Two experienced percussionists V  Krishna and Rajendra Nakod demonstrated on Mridanga and Tabala, "Laya Vaividhya" - in Karnatic and Hindustani Styles. The academic session concluded on Saturday, with a demonstration of "Sri Viswanatham Bajeham" of Dikshitar, by S Soumya.