Sh. M.S.Gopalakrishnan deserves a very very special place in Carnatic Music world. A True pioneer, mastered the instrument at a very tender age went on to become one of the best, perhaps, even best. What makes him different from his contemporaries is his imaginative mind and the sound of his music. Besides being a master musician, MSG had knowledge and curiosity of western music which was not so common in those days. I read that he once played a note of Beethoven and just stunned the audience in Holland. He also started all the ’’Tricks’’ that are now made popular by Sh. Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, like playing the Kalyani raga using only one string.
I haven’t heard any violinist whose violin sounds quite similar. MSG as he was popularly called, was one of the most respected and loved ’’Accompanist’’ in the Carnatic world. He set the bar so high that today’s violinists can only hope to achieve half of what MSG did years ago.
He received many many awards for his countless contributions to Carnatic Music. There are so many favorites of his that I am into, but I am not going to list down everything, but if you get a chance try to listen to his version of ’’Anuragamule’’ based on Saraswati ragaam, haven’t heard that raagam played like that ever since. It’s a treat in every sense.
Later folks.