Dates 8-Nov-1893 to 25-Nov-1964 Genre Carnatic Instrument Violin   Profile   Related Artists   Discography   Links

Profile

Dr. Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was one of the most important carntic violinists of the 20th century.

Venkataswamy Naidu was born into a family of musicians. His father Vankata Rayudu was an army officer and played in the military band. Since Venkataswamy's eye sight was not good, he had to give up his traditional education very early. His brother Venkatakrishnaiah first introduced Venkataswamy to violin. Intensive training was under Sangameswara Sastry.

Venkataswamy Naidu was a child prodigy. He quickly became an expert in violin. At the age of 14, Marepalli Ramachandra Rao a critic, was so impressed by him that he named him Fiddle Naidu. His profound scholarship in the science of both Indian and Western styles was formed when he was at the Vizianagaram Music College. He later served as its principal.

Though a traditionalist, Venkataswamy Naidu was an innovator. He was known for his extremely well developed soft bowing technique combined with a firm fingering technique. He was probably the first to show that violin can be used to play Carnatic music as well as other traditional instruments like Veena. The sweetness of his violin bowled over every great Carnatic vocalist and even Yehudi Menuhin and Rabindranath Tagore. He became a household name in Andhra Pradesh.

Dr. Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was awarded many titles including the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy in 1941 and Padma Shree in 1959. Well known poets penned down poems on his music. A statue of Venkataswamy Naidu stands in Vishakhapatnam.

Related Composers

Teachers & Influences	Dwaram Venkatakrishnaiah Naidu (brother), Sangameswara Sastry
Disciples & Followers	Dwaram Mangatharayu (daughter), T R Mahalingam, Ammula Satyavathi
Similar Artists	Mysore T Chowdaiah, Papa Venkatramaiah, Rajamanickam Pillai, Govindaraja Pillai, Tiruvalangadu Sundaresa Iyer
Worked With	Kolanka Venkataraju (mridangam), Guruvayur Dorai, Palghat Rama Bhagavatar

Links

• A profile by The Hindu