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T. N. Krishnan
Krishnan performing at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, on 19 January 2010
Background information
Born	(1928-10-06)6 October 1928 Tripunithura, Cochin, British India
Died	2 November 2020(2020-11-02) (aged 92) Chennai
Genres	Carnatic music
Occupation	violinist
Instrument	violin

Trippunithura Narayanaiyer Krishnan (6 October 1928 – 2 November 2020) was a Carnatic music violinist. Along with Lalgudi Jayaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1980. He was also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor in 1992, and earlier, the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor in 1973.

Early life

Krishnan was born on 6 October 1928, in Tripunithura, Kerala to A. Narayana Iyer and Ammini Ammal. He learnt music from his father and was 11 when he performed at his first violin concert in 1939 in Trivandrum. His father continued to teach him until his death. Recounting his early years, Krishnan mentioned that he would play the instrument continuously for over three hours at katcheris, or classical music performances, and they would "perform in temples, in landlords’ houses or at weddings."

He was mentored in his early years by Alleppy K.Parthasarathy a sisya of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and later joined carnatic vocalist Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

Career

Krishnan started out as a violinist accompanying musicians Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Alathur Brothers, M D Ramanathan and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. He performed his first solo concert in Trivandrum in 1939, at the age of 11. In his early years, the Cochin royal family provided him with royal patronage.

Krishnan first arrived in Madras in 1942. His tutor, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, placed him in the care of R. Aiyadurai, a prominent industrialist, philanthropist and connoisseur of Carnatic Music. Aiyadurai and his wife Thangam Aiyadurai welcomed the young Krishnan in to their home as their own.

Along with Lalgudi Jayaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered a part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. Reviews of his performance called out the importance that he gave to expressional restraint. Reviewing one of his performances in 2004, The Hindu called out that in his generation of musicians, he was one of the few instrumentalists who provided a nostalgic experience of a bygone era in the minds of his listeners. He was a regular performer during the annual Margazhi music season at the Madras Music Academy including a dedicated morning slot on Christmas Day. He travelled extensively on musical tours all over the world.

Krishnan taught music in the traditional Parampara setting and also in the more formal academic environments. Among his students included, his daughter Viji Krishnan Natarajan, his son Sriram Krishnan, and Charumathi Raghuraman. He was a Professor of Music at Chennai Music College and later went on to be the principal at the college. He was also the Dean of the School of Music and Fine Arts at the University of Delhi. He had also served as the vice-chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi between 1991 and 1993.

Awards and titles

Krishnan was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1974 and was a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship from the academy in 2006. He received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi titular award in 1980 from the Madras Music Academy. He received the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award in1999 from the Indian Fine arts Society, Chennai. He was also the Asthana Vidwan (English: Court Scholar) at the Tirupathi Devastanam.

State Honors:

• Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor (1973)
• Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor (1992)

Personal life

Krishnan was married to Kamala Krishnan and had two children, Viji Krishnan Natarajan, and Sriram Krishnan. Both Viji Krishnan Natarajan and Sriram Krishnan are well-known violinists. His sister N. Rajam is a famous violin player in the Hindustani tradition. He died on November 2, 2020 at his house in Chennai.

Discography

• Melodious Strings of the Indian Violin (1985)
• Maestros Choice (1991)
• Music is Music - Jugalbandi (with Ustad Amjad Ali Khan) (1991)
• A Duet On Strings (with N Rajam and T S Nandakumar) (1995)
• The Carnatic Violin (2002)
• Parivaar (with N Rajam) (2003)

References

1. ^ Kolappan, B. (3 November 2020). "Violinist T.N. Krishnan is no more". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
2. ^ Mahesh, Chitra (6 December 2018). "T.N. Krishnan: Life on a high note". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
3. ^ "TN Krishnan, legendary violinist and Padma Bhushan awardee, passes away aged 92 - Art-and-culture News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
4. Kolappan, B. (3 November 2020). "Violinist T.N. Krishnan is no more". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
5. Nov 3, TNN /; 2020; Ist, 06:21. "TN Krishnan death: Violin great TN Krishnan passes away at 92 in Chennai | Chennai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2020. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. "Magical spell of music". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 August 2004.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 May 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Legendary violinist T N Krishnan passes away at 92". Deccan Herald. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
9. "T. N. KRISHNAN - Indian Classical Violin". www.tnkrishnan.org. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
10. ^ "Sangeet Natak Academy - TN Krishnan". sangeetnatak.gov.in. Retrieved 3 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees — Instrumental — Carnatic Violin". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
12. "SNA: List of Akademi Fellows". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
13. Nov 3, TNN /; 2020; Ist, 03:33. "Violin maestro TN Krishnan dies at 92 | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2020. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. "Violinist Krishnan passes away, Modi says void in music world". Sify. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
15. "TN Krishnan, legendary violinist and Padma Bhushan awardee, passes away aged 92 - Art-and-culture News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
16. "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. ^ "T. N. Krishnan". Discogs. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
19. "Album - A Duet On Strings on Itunes". Mumbai, India.

External links

• Indian Classical Violin Maestro
• A conversation with Violin Maestro T.N.Krishnan
• T N Krishnan Official Blog
• T N Krishnan honoured

• 1928 births
• 2020 deaths
• Carnatic violinists
• Musicians from Chennai
• Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
• Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
• Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
• Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients
• Tamil musicians
• Indian male classical musicians
• 20th-century Indian musicians
• 21st-century violinists
• 20th-century male musicians
• 21st-century male musicians