Journey CD

A Journey

I first performed with L. Subramaniam at his Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival in 2014. During this tour across India I had the great honour and pleasure to work with some of the best musicians in the country. The biggest eye-opener though, was Subramaniam’s violin playing. During my thirty years as a professional musician I have never encountered a musician with such an intense presence while playing. This, combined with his mind-blowing technique and pure playfulness, made each concert a revelation. 

The biggest driving force during my career has always been the joy of musical exploration, so during a day off on the tour, aboard a boat on the beautiful Kerala Backwaters, it struck me that this simply had to be explored further. I asked Subramaniam to write us a double concerto for Indian violin, tuba and orchestra. Simultaneously, the idea of a complete disc was born.

The funny thing about small ideas is that they have a tendency to grow. All of a sudden the project included the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, conductor Jaakko Kuusisto, Ambi Subramaniam on violin, singer Kavita Krishnamurti, D S R Murthy on mridangam and Toms Mikāls on keyboard. A few years, concerts and recording sessions later, you are holding the result in your hand. A unique musical journey through classical Indian ragas, epic orchestral landscapes and breath-taking virtuosity.

Øystein Baadsvik