Thanu Krishna Murthy (born 13 August 1924), better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. Murthy is a Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee.

T. K. Murthy
Hamid Ansari presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship-2010 to the Mridangam vidwan T. K. Murthy, at the investiture ceremony of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards-2010
Background information
Also known asTKM, Chittu, Krishna Murthy
Born (1924-08-13) 13 August 1924 (age 100)
GenresCarnatic music
Instrument(s)mridangam, Konakkol
Years active1934–present
WebsiteT K Murthy

Personal life

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Thanu Krishna Murthy was born on 13 August 1924, to father Thanu Bhagavathar and mother Annapurni.[1] His father, a Carnatic musician, began teaching him music at the age of three, with Murthy showing particular interest towards percussion instruments.[2] He was given a mridangam by his mother Annapurni, and began taking mridanga lessons from his elder brother Gopalakrishnan.[2] Murthy would be trained in the mrdangam by Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, a mridangam virtuoso and the founder of the Thanjavur style of mridangam. Vaidyanatha Iyer took Murthy to Tanjore, where Palghat Mani Iyer and Thambuswami (brother of eminent Carnatic vocalist T. M. Thiagarajan), were also undergoing training.[3]

Murthy's family was full of court musicians and he is the fifth generation of musicians. The family has been present in the music industry continuously for seven generations now. Murthy's son, T.K. Jayaraman, was a music composer at All India Radio and his grandson Karthikeya Murthy is a film score composer.[4][5]

Murthy made his debut at the age of eleven, in Coimbatore, in a concert of Musiri Subramania Iyer with Karur Chinnaswami Iyer on violin and Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer on mridangam. Murthy has performed in more than 15,000 concerts.[citation needed] During his career spanning over 80 years, Murthy has accompanied eminent artists such as Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bagavathar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi, Madurai Somasundaram, D. K. Jayaraman, M. Balamuralikrishna, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, K.J.Yesudas, Lalgudi Jayaraman, T. V. Sankaranarayanan and U. Srinivas. Although Murthy is a staunch follower of the Thanjavur style of mridangam, he was highly influenced by the artistry of the legendary Palani Subramaniam Pillai of the Pudukottai school of mridangam playing. This blend of the Thanjavur and Pudukottai schools has become the hallmark of Murthy's style. His style also incorporates complex patterns.

Murthy has received honors and awards including the following:

References

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  1. ^ "T K Murthy - Classical Musicians". 15 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "നൂറിന്റെ നിറവിലും മൃദംഗതാളമുതിർത്ത് ടി.കെ. മൂർത്തി" (in Malayalam). 19 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  3. ^ K. T. P., Radhika (8 August 2019). "T.K. Murthy looks back at a rhythm-filled life". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  4. ^ Ganesh, Deepa (29 January 2015). "Sparrow's monstrous talent". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  5. ^ Raghavan, Nikhil (24 January 2015). "Tunes from the third generation". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Classical Music". Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. ^ "PadmaAwards-2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2017.
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