By – Deepa Natarajan Lobo
Indian violinist Ambi Subramaniam, son of musician L Subramaniam, has added yet another feather to his cap by winning the coveted BraVo Award—often dubbed as the ‘Russian Grammy’—for Best Artiste from a Foreign Partner Country. The award, presented to him at the legendary Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, recognises his impact on music globally. Excerpts:

‘It was truly humbling to see the respect for the Indian music’
Apart from the regular awards for Russian artistes such as ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Music Producer’, they have an award for the ‘Best Artiste from a Foreign Partner
Country’ which I won. It was not for a particular album or piece – it was for my overall contribution to the industry. It was really humbling to see how they respect the Indian music.
‘To be able to perform at the Bolshoi Theatre was a surreal experience’
Known to be one of the best theatres in the world, the Bolshoi Theatre is nearly 250 years old, and I have always seen it from outside during my prior trips to Moscow. But this time, to be able to go in—it felt like being in a time machine. The 19th Century glory is preserved and maintained along with the latest type of lighting and technology at the same time. To be able to perform there and receive an award and play with their symphony orchestra was surreal.
‘Collaboration has always been a big part of my musical journey’
I have always enjoyed working with different artistes and learning in the process, and consider collaborations a big part of my musical journey. It’s exciting and inspiring to watch other artistes and the new directions they are taking. In fact, there are several collaborations I am working on which I’m very excited about. One of them is a special one with The Thayir Sadam Project with Bindu (Subramaniam), Mahesh (Raghvan) and Akshay (Anantapadmanabhan). The most exciting part about this is that we are working with one of our SaPa (Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts) students Sangeetha Ramanuj—who has been learning with us from the time she was six. As a teacher and someone who has seen her grow, I am extremely proud of the transition, and happy with the stuff that has come out. Apart from that, I am also working on a project with an amazing Polish guitarist, Miguel Czachowski.
‘Indian music is extremely flexible’
I think one of the great things about Indian music is that it’s extremely flexible and adaptable. You see it being used in so many different spaces, while also having its core audiences who are ardent music lovers.