Violinist Subramaniam’s Energy Stirs Soul

To the casual listener, classical Indian music may not seem to be all that complicated: a solo instrument--sitar, violin, etc.--playing exotic-sounding scales over a recurrent drone, accompanied by small bursts of percussion.

But it’s a mistaken impression. And as violinist L. Subramaniam demonstrated in his stirring concert at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater on Saturday, the devil is in the details, which can become exceedingly intricate while remaining irresistibly appealing.

Subramaniam, whose serene demeanor belies the passionate energy that charges his playing, introduced each of his extended works with descriptions of the musical form, the raag (or modal scale melody) and the taal (or rhythmic pattern) that was to be employed.

The karnatak, or South Indian, music that was performed by Subramaniam differs slightly from the more familiar Hindustani music--think Ravi Shankar--of North India. But the methods and the goals are very similar: the improvisational exploration of thousands of raags, played in tandem with sometimes blindingly complex taals.

Subramaniam’s dark-toned violin slipped easily from one note to another, sometimes venturing into semitones unfamiliar to Western ears. Rhythms were never explicit, with percussionist Mahesh Krishnamurthy’s accompaniment (playing the double-headed mridangam drum) frequently erupting into torrents of sound offset by sudden, powerful moments of silence.

Perhaps aware that the packed audience included many listeners unfamiliar with Indian music, Subramaniam chose fairly accessible material: two raags--one pentatonic, the other somewhat similar to a diatonic scale--and taals based on eight and seven beats. As with all great artists, however, the details quickly seemed less significant than the total experience of hearing a superb and articulate virtuoso, at the top of his form.