There is no denying the fact that Maestro Ilaiyaraaja is the most complete music director ever witnessed in the annals of Indian cinema. He caters to the locals in equal measurability as he delivers to the elites. There is an Ilaiyaraaja song for every mood & emotion and truth be told, I just cannot imagine a life without his musical existence.
There is virtually nothing that has been untouched by the Maestro. There was a point in time when his fecundity was second to a distant none churning out as many as 30-50 soundtracks in a year with the entire albums being replete with gems aplenty. There have been multiple Diwali & Pongal releases with all the musical scores scored solely by him. I'm not even coming into the Background music part of it which is another area where he reigns supreme.
Apart from the plethora of soundtracks that he has composed along with also making heads turn through his non film albums such as 'How to Name it' and 'Nothing But Wind', Ilaiyaraaja started writing a symphony as early as 1993 with it being titled as Symphony #1. He was at that time conferred the title of being the first man from Asia to compose a full fledged symphony. However strangely that particular Symphony never saw the light of the day. Till today it is shrouded in controversy and there are various conspiracy theories at play. Let's not get into that as nobody knows the exact truth as to why it has been concealed to this very day.
With the 1993 Symphony being a closed chapter, Ilaiyaraaja continued his prowess in film music and he has only been growing from strength to strength exploring newer genres and also modifying his style with time. Of course, the general fandom always believes his work in the 80s is singularly the greatest period of musical excellence ever witnessed. When one thought that the Symphony was a done & dusted deal, there was an announcement that the Maestro was going to experiment with a symphony at the ripe old age of 80+ in 2025. Just the mere thought of it felt like defying gravity. Imagine sitting down and writing a full on symphony especially with his initial foray more than 30 years back ending up being a damp squib for whatever reason. There is never a question of 'never' for the Maestro.
A Symphony is an extended form of music written for an orchestra consisting of 4 movements. The first movement is said to be fast, brisk and lively setting the tone of the mood for the rest. The second movement is said to be slower and contrasting to the first. The third movement is said to be more dance-like providing the composer the opportunity to experiment and showcase his forte. The fourth and last movement is again quick like the first providing the high octane energy giving the final flurry to finish the ensemble. This is just from my layman understanding of what a symphony is meant to connote. I personally felt that Symphony music is something where you can rack your brains and play with imagery depicting beautiful things unfolding from a visual perspective. At least that's what I tried to do while listening to the pieces. The technical histrionics were a little way beyond my ken to be honest.
And voila listening to the Symphony unfolding Live was an absolutely wondrous experience. I could literally feel goosebumps as the music was playing along. There were portions where the music was running riot marching along in finesse fashion, some parts where the melody was slow but seeping through gliding movements highlighting the nuances in all its splendour. There were also dance like fast paced movements showing stamps of authority and many a time magical layers interspersed showcasing the crescendo reach it's peak and majestic tail pieces to finish in a grand flurry. It was like a motley of emotions as the music was gushing magnificently like waves across various layers. As a complete greenhorn when it comes to symphony music, all I can say is that I could both feel and sense that there was magic all around as I was absorbed and immersed in the captivating music. That was more than enough to sound a victorious thump for making my day extra special.
What astounds me about Maestro is how could someone at his well way past traditional retirement age be able to conceive and conceptualize ideas & thoughts as mesmerising as this. It just seems to defy logic on all counts. The Maestro mentioned that he had 6 major hurdles while composing the Symphony and it was all pertaining to influence which should never be coming in the way while composing the Symphony. One was his village & folk upbringing, second was his scores for film music, third being his re-recordings for film music, fourth was him being a Tamilian and ensuring that no local elements get touched in the music, fifth being Indian and nativity not being associated in the piece and sixth his influence with western & foreign music making sure that such inspiration does not seep into the writing of the symphony.
It is very easy to take inspiration especially for someone who has himself composed for over 1000 movies along with countless re-recording scores and being active in the industry for half a century. And despite that he wanted none of the influence to creep in and be absolutely unique and solidified to the true nature of a symphonic piece of art. He wrote the entire symphony in a span of 35 days with individual separate pieces for the 87 orchestra ensemble. The result was simply bewilderment at least from my lens. Even from Raaja's own lofty standards, this certainly felt like a gargantuan piece of orchestral brilliance.
The programme was not just about the symphony as we were also treated to sumptuous sweeteners in the form of old Raaja classics such as Amudhe Thamizhe (sung by the man himself), Madai Thirandhu, Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu, Senthoora Poove, Andhi Mazhai, Chinna Thai Aval, Unnai Nanechu, Oru Kili Urugudhu, Raja Kaiya Vacha, Ponvanam Paneer Thoovudhu, Kadhalin Deepam Ondru, Margao Margao, 3 note song, Kanne Kalaimaane and even an exposition on Schubert's symphony with Raaja singing Idhayam Pogudhe. For a change Raaja finished proceedings by singing Janani Janani which has traditionally always been the opening invoker. Raaja's long term allies Rajinikanth & Kamal Hassan were both at the centerstage and were beaming about their musical friends brilliance. It was also gracious of the current CM Stalin who made an appeal to the Central Government to confer Maestro with the highest honour of 'Bharat Ratna'. Raaja himself while speaking was overcome with emotion at the appreciation received and mentioned that he was scrambling for the right words. Maestro did mention that such a symphony music should reach a wider audience and get more people to hear it.
My major grouse with the show was mainly the crowd who were more interested in tinkering around with their phones and moving around aimlessly especially when the symphony music was playing along. I wonder if it was way beyond their league but it generally felt like they were more interested in just listening to the tried & tested Raaja classics than being engaged in the divine orchestral music which was simply spellbinding. Also it appeared that Nehru Indoor Stadium doesn't really have the acoustics in place for a symphony concert of this magnitude. I believe it wasn't well suited and a more closed chamber would have been ideal for listening to this kind of music in all its precision. Nevertheless for me this was a mesmerising experience and I thank my stars for having got this opportunity to attend this history making symphony concert at the last minute. The man, the master, the mystery of Maestro Ilaiyaraaja continues to enthrall and spook beyond imagination. All hail the supernal cyborg octogenarian.
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