Rajeev Taranath

Career

Rajeev Taranath was born in Bangalore on 17 October 1932. He received his initial training in vocal music from his father Pandit Taranath. He gave his first public vocal performance when he was nine years old. Rajeev was singing for the All India Radio before he was twenty.

Although Rajeev held a PhD in literature, he decided to give up his career as a Professor of English Literature and moved to Calcutta, where he began his musical training under the tutelage of Ali Akbar Khan. Rajeev continued to learn from his Guru till Khan's demise in 2009. He has also had guidance from Ravi Shankar, Annapurna Devi, Nikhil Banerjee and Aashish Khan. In 1999–2000 he received the Indian's government's highest award in the arts from the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He researched and published the Teaching Techniques of the Maihar-Allauddin Gharana, as a Ford Foundation scholar (1989 to 1992).

He is respected for his in-depth understanding as he unfolds the raga, the tonal quality and power of his strokes. His distinctive style shows technical excellence, imaginative power and emotional range. According to the New York Times, "RAJEEV TARANATH'S sarod improvisations Sunday at Soundscape mixed the spiritual and the spirited". Rajeev performs extensively in India and the world. He has toured Australia, Europe, Yemen, the United States, and Canada. He has composed the music for many internationally acclaimed Indian films including Samskara, Kanchana Sita and Kadavu. He has also served as the head of the Indian music program at the World Music Department of the California Institute of the Arts from 1995 to 2005. He currently lives and teaches in Mysore, Karnataka. Rajeev Taranth taught English literature at the University of Aden in 1980s. He was the subject of a documentary made for the television in Aden entitled "Fannan Min-Al-Hind" (Artist from India).

Discography

Taranath has several recordings published:

Awards and recognitions