Emani Sankara Sastry Biography In English Life Story – 1922 – 1987

• Imani Shankar Shastri was a famous veena player of Carnatic music. Imani gave concerts all over India. His participation in East-West Music Festivals, Tansen Utsav, Vishnu Digambar Utsav and other prestigious music conferences brought him glory in the field of music.

Emani Sankara Sastry Biography In English

Birth Details –

Place– Draksharamam, India

Date of Birth – 23 September 1922

Marital Status- Married

Nationality – Indian

Family –

Father – Acharya Imani Achyutram Shastri

Daughter – Imani Kalyani Lakshminarayan

Early Life –

• Imani Shankar Sastri was born on 23 September 1922 in Draksharamam, India. He came from a family of famous classical musicians.
• His father Vainika Bhushan Veena Acharya Imani Achyutrama Sastri, a famous Vainika and Sastri, was a contemporary of Sangameshwara Sastri of Andhra and Veena Venkata Romania Das.
• The prodigious training he received under his father from a young age was reflected in abundance in his melodious, melodious and technique-filled concerts. His beautiful playing on the veena in a completely traditional style inspired reverence.
• After completing his education from Andhra University, he joined the famous Gemini Studios, Madras, where he was the music director for more than ten years.

Career–

• Imani joined All India Radio in 1959 as a music producer in Madras. He soon rose to the position of director and composer of the national orchestra and chief producer of music.
• He presented many classical, thematic orchestral compositions and folk tunes on the broadcast networks, bringing out the special tonal qualities of Indian instruments and synthesizing musical patterns with a distinct Imani touch. Imani was also associated with cultural and educational organizations.
• He was the Asthan Vidwan (court musician) of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, a member of the University Grants Committee advising on music and a member of the expert committee at the Madras Music Academy.
• Imani introduced many emerging young singers to the music world. Prominent among them was playback singer P.B. Srinivas later made his mark as a singer in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films.
• He won the admiration of the world-renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin and at his special invitation he participated in the Festival of the International Music Council in Paris on 8 January 1974.
• His daughter Imani Kalyani Lakshminarayana, who is a regular artiste for Doordarshan and All India Radio, has been performing in India as well as abroad.
• Other disciples of Imani are –

1. V. Saraswati

2. M.Y. Kama Shastri

3. S. N. Satyamurthy

4. S.N. Ramachandran

5. Viswanathan

6. Palagummi Viswanatham

His Major Monumental Works In Orchestration:

1. Adarsha Shikhaarohanam – An orchestral composition based on the theme of the conquest of Everest in which he used six veenas. This force proved to be a unique experience for lovers of creative music and for others it opened new doors to musical expression.

2. Swara Tarangini – An orchestral composition in which he used several sounds which gradually turn into musical notes indicating the origin of sound and music.

3. Ragam Thanam Pallavi – An orchestral composition based on the classical raga Todi. This was the first experiment of its kind in classical music which won the appreciation of musicians and listeners.

4. Indu – A composition based on the first six ragas of the first cycle of the Melakarta scheme of the great Venkatamakhin.

5. Bharat Jyoti – A thematic musical composition on late Pandit Nehru and his achievements.

6. Soumya Purush – A musical composition on the ideals of late Mahatma Gandhi.

7. Bramara Vinyasa – a thematic composition depicting a day in the life of a bee, which won him praise at the Prix Italia.

Award –

• Title of Maha Mahopadhyay
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• Sahitya Kala Parishad Award
• Padma Shri
• Asian Rostrum Awards
• The title of “Vina Virtuoso”

Other Information –

• Date of death-1987

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