He lived in Jaffna during his younger years, taking up music studies before the age of five.[4] He began training in violin under the tutelage of his father, Professor V. Lakshminarayana. "Mani", as he is fondly known by fellow musicians and his family, gave his first public performance at the age of six.
Subramaniam developed a passion for music as well as science from a young age, studying Medicine and acquiring his M.B.B.S. at Madras Medical College. He registered as a General Practitioner, before deciding to pursue music full-time.[4] He has a master's degree in Western classical music, which he acquired at the California Institute of the Arts.[4]
Subramaniam has written works for orchestras, ballets and Hollywood film scores, and written books on music – such as Euphony – in addition to composing symphonies and Carnatic pieces.[8][9]
The release of his albums, including Global Fusion in 1999 have brought Subramaniam widespread critical acclaim, and popularity for his advanced playing. He founded and directs the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, a festival based in India. In 2004, he completed a world tour with the festival, including concerts in the US (Lincoln Center, New York), the Asian Pacific region including in Perth, Australia, at the Esplanade, Singapore, the Sri Dewan Penang Hall in Penang and the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Performing with Subramaniam at the festival in January 2005 were violin maestro Arve Tellefsen, the Oslo Camerata, jazz legends Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh and Ravi Coltrane.
In September 2007, Subramaniam premiered and played "The Freedom Symphony" with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Warrenton Chorale and Carnatic percussionists, which led to a strongly favourable ovation and an encore piece "Flight of the Humble Bee". Subramaniam is on the advisory board of composer A. R. Rahman's KM Music Conservatory in Kodambakkam, Chennai.
In 2011, he was invited to perform at the United Nations. On 24 October 2012, he performed as a Special Guest Artist with Stevie Wonder at the latter's message of peace concert at the UN. Yehudi Menuhin said of Subramaniam:
I find nothing more inspiring than the music making of my very great colleague Subramaniam. Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment."[8]
When asked about his musical accomplishments, Subramaniam has always said,
Music is a vast ocean and no one can claim to know it all. The more you know, the more you realise how little you know. It is an eternal quest.
The Lakshminarayana World Music Festival concert was first initiated by his brother, L. Shankar in 1991 in memory of their father V. Lakshminarayana, who passed away in 1990.[10] The BBC film ‘Bombay and All That Jazz’(1992) was based on the tribute concert that took place in Bombay on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1992, which featured Don Cherry, L. Shankar, TH Vinayakram, Trilok Gurtu and many others.[10]
In 2007, the Subramaniam Foundation, a charity run by Subramaniam and his wife set up a music school called the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts (SAPA), in Bangalore, India.[15]
Personal life
Performance with his son Ambi Subramaniam at Bharat Bhavan Bhopal
He continues to perform pieces with his daughter singer/songwriter Bindu Subramaniam,[16] violin duets with his son, Ambi Subramaniam,[17]” and has further recorded and given several concerts with Krishnamurthy. Their collaborations have earned them the nickname Subramaniam Gharana.[18] He also performs with his eldest son Dr. Narayana Subramaniam.[19]
Awards and recognition
PhD in music (Thesis on Raga Harmony for Orchestral compositions), Jain University (2017)
^Violinist L. Subramaniam Quit from the project, first he was selected to work as the music composer and completed recording songs for the project. However, before finishing his entire commitment for the film, he left the project fearing that his association with the film may offend Hindu people due to its contentious storyline. Ilayaraaja was subsequently selected to replace him and helped score music over the version recorded by Subramaniam and the songs of Subramaniam which are already shot/filmed. illayaraja had composed the music according to the lip movements in songs
