Subramaniam Lakshminarayana (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music.
Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India, to V. Lakshminarayana Iyer and Seethalakshmi, both accomplished musicians.
He lived in Jaffna during his younger years, taking up music studies by the age of five. He began training in violin under the tutelage of his father, Professor V. Lakshminarayana. "Mani", who is fondly known by fellow musicians and his family, and at the age of six he gave his first public performance.
His uncles are Ramnad Raghavan and Ramnad Krishnan. His brothers are the acclaimed violinist-composers L. Shankar (alias. Shenkar), and the late L. Vaidyanathan. He has released recordings with both.
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. He has a master's degree in Western classical music, which he acquired at the California Institute of the Arts.
Subramaniam was married to Viji Subramaniam (née Vijayashree Shankar), who died on 9 February 1995. Since November 1999 he has been married to the Indian playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy. He has four children with Viji â Gingger Shankar, Bindu Subramaniam, Dr. Narayana Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam.
He continues to perform pieces with his daughter, Bindu Subramaniam, a singer and songwriter, as well as violin duets with his son, Ambi Subramaniam, and has further recorded and given several concerts with Kavita Krishnamurthy. Their collaborations have earned them the nickname Subramaniam Gharana. He has also performed with his eldest son Dr. Narayana Subramaniam.
Since 1973, Subramaniam has amassed over 200 recordings, releasing several solo albums, recording collaborations with musicians Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli, Ruggiero Ricci and Jean-Pierre Rampal, further to making albums and performing with Ruggiero Ricci, Herbie Hancock, Joe Sample, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke John Handy, George Harrison and several others.
He has accompanied highly regarded vocalists in Carnatic music on stage including Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, K. V. Narayanaswamy, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. Balamuralikrishna, M. D. Ramanathan, and Alathur Srinivasa Iyer. He has also performed many concerts with the venerable Palghat Mani Iyer on the Mridangam, in addition to collaborating with musicians of North Indian Hindustani music and artists of other music systems. He was among the early South Indian classical musician to perform a jugalbandhi with a Hindustani musician when he played with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in the late '70s.
Subramaniam has written works for orchestras, ballets and Hollywood film scores, and written books on music â such as Euphony â in addition to composing symphonies and Carnatic pieces.
In 1983, he composed a Double Concerto for violin and flute which combined western scales with micro intervals. In 1985, he composed the popular Fantasy on Vedic Chants which was premiered with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta (in September '85) and later performed with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Djemal Dalgat. Subramaniam's first symphonic piece, Spring â Rhapsody, composed in 1986, was a homage to Bach and Baroque music. He then composed Turbulence which was performed with The Swiss Romande Orchestra, "The Concert of Two Violins" performed with the Oslo Philharmonic, and Global Symphony that the Berlin State Opera performed (broadcast live to 28 nations). He has also performed a concert tour of China, with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in Beijing. Till date, he has composed ten symphonies and most of his orchestral works have been published by Schott Music.
His compositions have been used in stage presentations of leading dance companies such as the San Jose Ballet company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Subramaniam composed the piece "Shanti Priya" for the Mariinsky Ballet in 1988. The album Global Fusion (1999) contributed significantly to SubramaniamâÂÂs international reputation and critical recognition for his innovative fusion of musical traditions. 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 his "Freedom Symphony" with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra at the George Mason University Center for the Arts. 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:
When asked about his musical accomplishments, Subramaniam has always said,
Dr. L. Subramaniam is widely regarded as a pioneer in global symphonic composition and one of the foremost composers of our time. A visionary who seamlessly bridges Indian classical music with Western orchestral traditions, he became the first Indian to compose major symphonies that were premiered by some of the worldâÂÂs greatest orchestras.
Among these landmark works is Fantasy on Vedic Chants, premiered in 1985 by the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta. His symphony Shantipriya was premiered by the Kirov Orchestra in New Delhi in 1988. In 1996, his Global Symphony was presented at Madison Square Garden in New York by the New York String Players with singers from the Metropolitan OperaâÂÂa historic moment that brought Indian symphonic thought to an international stage.
Over the years, Dr. Subramaniam has written close to twenty full orchestral works â a rare achievement in contemporary times. His repertoire includes symphonies, concertos, double concertos, orchestral works with choirs, compositions featuring non-Western soloists, chamber groups with orchestra, and even pioneering works where solo instruments can be replaced â a milestone concept in orchestral writing. He also reintroduced improvisational cadenzas into symphonic form, allowing performers to showcase virtuosity and spontaneity within structured compositions.
His celebrated works include:
Dr. Subramaniam has collaborated with more than fifty orchestras worldwide, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Opera Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, among many others across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
His works have been performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, and the Gewandhaus, while also reaching audiences in smaller cities across the world â a reflection of his commitment to making orchestral music globally accessible.
He has worked with legendary conductors including Maestro Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Tan Lihua and Li Xincao, among others.
On many occasions, entire evenings have been dedicated exclusively to his compositions â a rare honour for a living composer. With over 150 live performances of his orchestral works and numerous audio-video releases, Dr. L. Subramaniam stands among the very few contemporary composers whose symphonic creations continue to be performed around the world.
A true architect of Global Fusion, he has redefined the possibilities of orchestral music while placing Indian musical thought firmly on the global symphonic map.
He composed the film scores for the films Salaam Bombay (1988) and Mississippi Masala (1991) directed by Mira Nair, in addition to being the featured violin soloist in Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha (1993) and Cotton Mary (1999) of Merchant-Ivory productions.
The Lakshminarayana World Music Festival concert was first initiated by his brother, L. Shankar in 1991 in memory of their father V. Lakshminarayana, who died in 1990. The BBC film âÂÂBombay and All That Jazzâ (1992) was based on the tribute concert that took place in Bombay on New YearâÂÂs Day, January 1, 1992, which featured Don Cherry, L. Shankar, TH Vinayakram, Trilok Gurtu and many others.
Subsequently, on January 11, 1992, Vijayashree and Subramaniam launched the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival (LGMF) in Madras (Chennai).
Artists have included the Subramaniam family, Al Jarreau, George Duke, Solo Cissokho, Miya Masaoka, Mark O'Connor, Loyko, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Larry Coryell, Arve Tellefsen, Pandit Jasraj, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and Corky Siegel.
The festival has centred around special concepts such as Violins for Peace, Visions of India and Sounds of India.
Honour Lokmat Sur Jyotsna National Music legends Award 2024.
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.