Symphony of a Billion

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BBC Radio 4 - Symphony of a Billion

An investigation into an unexpected barometer of Indian culture - classical music exams.

Pianist Karl Lutchmayer visits Chennai in South India, to discover why thousands of people are taking Classical music exams there, and asks how Indian classical music is affected.

Chennai is one of the most musically examined cities in the world, with 10,000 music exams taken each year. Concert pianist Karl Lutchmayer explores why this boom in music education is happening in the city, and investigates how the history of colonialism goes hand in hand with Western classical music in India. What explains this sudden flourishing of interest in a Western art form? 

But Indian classical music is also seeing a resurgence. The Indian classical tradition is taught and performed very differently to studying Mozart or Beethoven. This sits alongside Indian pop music and music for Indian cinema, one of the most popular types of music across the country that makes stars out of film musicians. Karl asks what this all means for the musical identity of students in India. 

And it's a personal journey for Karl, who visited family in India as a child, and went against the grain to become a musician. Now he's meeting today's young musicians to find out about their aspirations, and discovering how the possibilities are changing for them in India, a country that until now has only one professional orchestra, which is mostly made up of non-Indian musicians. He also meets teachers to find out how the landscape has changed, and how music is opening up to all communities. How can teachers keep up in one of the only places in the world where demand for classical music education outstrips supply?

Produced by Sofie Vilcins
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4

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