By - 17 Mar 2011
"Rajendra Prasanna comes from generations of Indian master musicians. On Tuesday, thanks to him and his three colleagues, a rapt audience fell under the spell of a music in which time itself seemed almost to stand still."
By William Dart
Read this review on NZHerald.co.nz
"The first half of the concert featured Prasanna and his son
Rishab on flutes, playing with a sighing delicacy not so far from
what we might expect for Corelli or Vivaldi.
Long-breathed phrases took our breath away but not that of the
players and the occasional admission of a very Western third in the
men's harmonies provoked a smile, later enchantment came from
playful musical duelling between father and son, and an
exhilarating final rush when piccolo-sized flute piped up over a
veritable storm of tabla.
23-year-old Shubh Maharaj, a musician with his own impressive
lineage, effortlessly laid out complex tabla rhythms. Timbres
seemed to dance under his fingers; here was a master of illusion
who almost had toes tapping to music that, because of intricate
rhythms, was hardly intended for such a response.
All this fitted in with the sometimes sly humour of Prasanna
senior, whether through his witty turn of musical phrase or,
introducing the final offering, describing the voluptuousness of a
piece inspired by Krishna.
After interval, Prasanna drew vociferous applause for a
powerfully sustained note on the shehnai, a raw, blisteringly
beautiful relative of the oboe. In brilliant solo flights, he
reminded me of the inspired outpourings of jazzman, John
Coltrane.
Prasanna was now joined by Vikas Babu, a low-key presence on
tambura to this point, but adding his shehnai for some ecstatic
duetting.
This enterprising presentation deserved more of an audience and
we were told so, good-humouredly, by Mohindar Dhillon of the
Nataraj Cultural Centre, who also lamented the Indian community's
obsession with the titillation of Bollywood.
It was a certainly a superb introduction for the Auckand Arts
Festival's ongoing series of exotic concerts this week. Thursday's
O Cambodia, with the music of Jack Body, Gillian Whitehead, Chinary
Ung and Him Sophy, played by the NZTrio and the Cambodian
Tray So ensemble should be high priority."