We are in the golden age of classical music: Godkhindi

Renowned flautist Pravin Godkhindi and his son Shadaj Godkhindi will be performing at Guruvandana today.

‘Guruvandana’ is an annual concert that Pravin organises, dedicating it to his late father and guru Venkatesh Godkhindi. The show features performances by students of Sanjog Bansuri Mahavidyalaya, a Hindustani music school they started in 2002.

In a chat with Metrolife, Pravin talks about the programme, the classical music scene and more.

“For this year’s show, I have composed a special flute symphony using Indian ragas and western harmony; it will be performed by 30 flautists,” he shares.

The concert will have 17-year-old Shadaj presenting a vocal concert for the first time. The father-son duo will also showcase a jugalbandhi flute recital for the finale. Also a Hindustani music teacher, Pravin observes that classical music is growing like never before. He says, “I think it is the golden age of classical music despite what most musicians say. There a lot of avenues that young musicians can explore. People can access all kinds of songs after the Internet boom.”

He adds, “We have a lot of talented young artistes, they are quick at learning and grasping every aspect of the art. The only thing I feel is that their dedication should last longer; some go behind stardom which negates the purpose of music.”

The flautist opines that classical music is not for everyone. He says, “Classical is for particular classes of people, unlike popular music which caters to everyone. There is talent, but what the genre need is promotion and a proper platform.”

Pravin also mentioned that he is learning the arithmetic part of Carnatic music from Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma. “I took it up as I am trying to bridge the gap between the Carnatic and Hindustani genres; I have always tried to experiment,” he says.

Currently, Pravin and Shadaj are working on an album featuring a mix of contemporary and classical music.

Event details

‘Guruvandana’ is scheduled on July 20 at 4 pm at JSS Shivarathreeswara Auditorium, Jayanagar 7th Block.

Schedule

- Flute ensemble

- Tabla ensemble

- Vocal performance

- Guruvandana

- Flute symphony, composed by Pravin.

- Vocal recital by Shadaj

- Jugalbandhi concert by Pravin and Shadaj, accompanied by B C Manjunath (mrindangam), Giridhar Udupa (ghatam), Shivraj Natraj (kunnakol) and Kiran Godkhindi (Tabla).