Lakshyapar's Classical Music Conference held
Like previous years, Lakshyapar's ninth Classical Music Conference was held recently in Narayanganj, with a variety of programmes including classical vocal competition, discussion, conferring lifetime achievement award and a nightlong concert.
Inaugurated at the Preparatory School premises on January 10, Jobaida Bonna stood out amongst 14 contestants to receive Haradhan-Sukhen Scholarship in the vocal competition.
The nightlong musical session took place at the convention centre of Narayanganj Club on the concluding day. It began with a discussion on Music and Literature in the context of Kreutzer Sonata by Tolstoy. Professor Manosh Chowdhury, Jaglul Asad, artist Amal Akash s elaborated on the discourse on a chill Poush afternoon.
The nightlong classical concert started off with a choral performance featuring a composition called “Ashta-Kalyan”, composed by Rezwan Ali. Bengal Parampara Scholar Kaniz Husna Ahammadi Simpy rendered Raga Puriya Dhaneshree.
In the middle, Lakshyapar lifetime achievement award was conferred on veteran composer and musician Azad Rahman, who said with a suppressed sense of emotion that his life would have been incomplete had he not come to Lakshyapar.
Next, Bizon Chandra Mistry performed Raga Shuddh Kalyan at the conference. A sensational trio of Ahmed Brothers -- Sabuj Ahmed (Tabla), Shanta Ahmed (Violin) and Kamrul Ahmed (Flute) -- gave an appealing portrayal of Raga Chandrakauns though their instrumental performance.
The audience also enjoyed a series of beautiful performances by renowned vocalist Pt. Tushar Dutta rendering a captivating khayal set on Raga Gorakh Kalyan and a melancholic dadra on Shivranjani. Noted vocalist Somranjan Chakraborty's musical treats to Raga Kirwani with Pt. Biplab Bhattacharya's accompaniment on the tabla made it a fantastic presentation. Rezwan Ali's performance was evocative of one of his best ones after returning Bangladesh. He was superb with Raga Gujari Todi and Raga Bibhas. The best was yet to come and it came with the sarod recital by Arnab Bhattacharya. It seemed that his offering of Raga Bairagi was dedicated to the goddess of dawn who smiled to drive away the mist and made way for the audience to plod slowly towards home.