U. Srinivas - the Mozart of Classical Indian Music

Uppalapu Srinivas, often called the "Mandolin Maestro," was a prodigious musician whose Midas touch created an immaculate merge of Eastern tradition with a Western instrument and, thus, transcended cultural and geographical boundaries. The magnificent work in Carnatic music and rediscovery of the mandolin's role within the traditional framework of Indian classical music earned him the moniker the Mozart of classical Indian music. He brought a fluid sound to his instrument that was unexplored by mandolinists working in any genre and became one of the most globally revered South Indian musicians. His extraordinary talent, soulful interpretations, and innovative approach played a key role in elevating stardom on the global stage.  

U. Srinivas was born in 1969, in Palakollu, a small town in Andhra Pradesh, India, in a family that was closely tied to the traditional music of South India. His father, U. Satyanarayana, an accomplished musician, ran a light music ‘orchestra’ called Saraswati Music Party that performed in Nellore and Vijayawada. As a kid, Srinivas showed little interest in music whatsoever except for a chance to discover his father who caught him meddling around with the Mandolin at home and realized the talent of his son. He bought Srinivas a new mandolin and started teaching him as his first guru. It happened when Srinivas was five years old, and at that young age began his journey into music. By the time Srinivas turned nine, had already made his debut public Carnatic concert performance in 1978 during a festival called Thyagaraja Aradhana. 

The remarkable and rare talent he possessed on such an unusual instrument was instantly recognized. The mandolin had existed in folk traditions within the country for many generations, however, the traditional Carnatic instruments like the veena or violin were common choices. But Srinivas was drawn to the mandolin despite being initially introduced to it as a toy. Srinivas soon demonstrated an extraordinary feat of weaving intricate melodies only through listening. His guru, Rudraraju Subbaraju, did not know how to play the mandolin. So, he would just sing pieces from the Carnatic classical repertoire, and U. Srinivas would play them on the mandolin. Thus, developing an unprecedented style of playing entirely his own and on an instrument that had never been played in the rigorous and difficult Carnatic style before. For this reason, Srinivas is credited for its introduction into the Carnatic tradition. 

The raw unrefined emotion in his playing was hard to match and did not take long to captivate both musicians and music enthusiasts. In the early 1980s, Srinivas’s career showed a meteoric rise following his first public concert in Chennai at the Indian Fine Arts Society. Despite playing an unconventional instrument, he won over purists with his sheer brilliance, since you need to hear his interpretations once to realize the emotional depth they have behind the obvious technical virtuosity. 

Srinivas started off playing an acoustic mandolin, but it did not allow him to play lengthy, sustained notes and other core elements that defined classical Indian music. So, he switched to the electric mandolin as he felt free to experiment however he wanted. As an added benefit, it became easier to make what he was playing more audible. He was the first musician to use the electric mandolin in Carnatic music.  He even modified the electric Western instrument, using five single strings instead of the traditional four doubled strings to make it more suitable for the Carnatic pitch, raga system, and especially gamaka which is the Indian classical style of embellishment. 

The modified version of the mandolin produced a sound that was both sharp yet retained the rich timbre and sounded soulful, perfectly complementing the depth of Carnatic compositions. Srinivas’s performances were noted for their flawless execution, emotional depth, and extraordinary command of rhythm and melody.  

Srinivas started performing regularly in the prestigious Madras Music Academy in 1982 where a slot used to be reserved for U. Srinivas every year and it was one of the highest praise an artist could get. International recognition came soon after. In the mid-1980s, Srinivas began touring globally, introducing mandolin and Carnatic music to audiences in Europe, North America, and Australia. At the age of thirteen, he was booked to play a half-hour concert after Miles Davis at the Berlin Jazz Festival. No wonder, Srinivas ended up winning a standing ovation from the audience and had to play for another hour. After recording a fusion album with Michael Brook, Srinivas was asked by John McLaughlin to join “Remember Shakti”, and tour the world with it, along with other Indian musicians Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, and V. Selvaganesh. It was the revival of the legendary jazz fusion band Shakti following a twenty-year hiatus. 

As a youngster, Srinivas had an amazingly natural touch and sensibility which stayed with him till his last performance, the Midas touch. Mandolin Ecstasy, one of the earliest LPs by Srinivas, does not sound like a record featuring a 17-year-old despite the presence of simplicity and childish innocence in numerous instances. In the mid-1990s, he recorded two albums for Peter Gabriel's Real World label. The first was ‘Rama Sreerama’, an entirely traditional album of Carnatic music. The second one was the fusion project with guitarist Michael Brook ‘Dream’ in 1995. In many ways, this album was way different from the previous one as well as his other recordings. He and his brother, U. Rajesh, have extensively worked on the fusion of Carnatic and Western music. Srinivas’s album 'Floating Point' with John Mclaughlin even received a Grammy nomination. 

U. Srinivas was more than a virtuoso musician, since unparalleled artistry expanded the possibilities of the mandolin and, in doing so, redefined the horizons of Carnatic music. His deep respect for tradition and willingness to explore new musical endeavors made him peerless among his contemporaries. Although from a young age, he was internationally viewed as the successor to Pandit Ravi Shankar, he did encounter skepticism from traditionalists who were wary of incorporating a Western instrument into Carnatic music. However, Srinivas won over even the most critics eventually through his talent and sheer dedication to music