Thread by @lyryqz

A R Rahman has been often called the 'Mozart of Madras'. I have always felt that this comparison, between ARR and Mozart, has something amiss. However, there are some similarities (some real, some speculative) that I think are interesting. (MEGA!) THREAD 1/n

Both were born in musically rich families, and they both were child prodigies. Mozart composed his first piece, a Minuet and Trio in G Major (KV 1) when he was merely five years old! 2/n

[Pic courtesy: Wikipedia]

There's some debate around this, but still, he was VERY YOUNG! Here's the composition -- if you haven't heard this before, prepare to be blown away: 3/n

ARR started learning the keyboard at a very young age as well -- probably around when he was four, although there is no clear record of this. 4/n

Both child prodigies used music to provide livelihood to their respective families. Mozart went through a series of concert tours and exhibitions (along with his older sister Nannerl) under the guidance of his father. 5/n

On the other hand, ARR lost his father when he was 9, after which he first started renting out his father's instruments and later picked up the keyboard to work as a session musician. 6/n
[Pic Courtesy: johnyml.blogspot.com/2012/05/our-ch…]

Now let's move on to their musical styles. In my opinion, ARR and Mozart are very different in terms of their musical style, approach, and influence. 7/n

Mozart is easily the *most accessible* musician from not the just the Classical era but probably from all of Western Classical music. Every note in his compositions seem just *perfectly placed*, and if you change even a single note, it would seem askew. 8/n

No matter how complicated his composition is, there's always a melodic hook that is *instantly likeable* even to a layman. Unlike, say the work of JS Bach, which requires some level of understanding of Classical music, Mozart's pieces can be enjoyed by nonexperts. 9/n

For instance, consider that sublime opening theme in Piano Concerto No.40 in G minor (K 550) which became quite popular in India because of Salil Chaudhry's 'Itna na mujh se' (Chhaya, 1961): . 10/n

When you think of ARR, on the other hand, 'instantly likeable' is not the first thing that comes to mind. His songs are like aged wine, they say. You often need to listen to them over and over before you realize how immensely beautiful they are. 11/n

Of course, there are ARR songs that are instantly catchy, most songs from his latest album Dil Bechara is an example of that. But in general, people like me who grew up listening to his songs in the 90's have experienced this you-have-to-give-it-some-time way too often... 12/n

... way too often that critics tend to be extremely careful in dissing his new album because it might just be a treasure trove of songs that they are unable to comprehend at the first blush. 13/n

In terms of the musical style, ARR's approach has more in common with another Western Classical music legend: Beethoven. In a stark contrast with Mozart, Beethoven's signature style is that of *surprise*. 14/n

[Pic Courtesy: Wikipedia]

Beethoven would introduce a leitmotif (in the exposition part of a sonata, for instance) and build on it and build on it, make you bite your nails in anticipation, and then suddenly pull the rug from under your feet when you least expect it. 15/n

Defying expectations and surprising the listener with an unusual twist is his trademark style. Consider his Piano Sonata No 10 in G Major, for instance: (contd.) 16/n

Notice how he builds expectations starting at 4:02, keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, and drops the tune (throws it off a cliff!) in an completely unexpected way at 4:25. This happens again, even more dramatically, at 5:11. That's quintessential Beethoven! 17/n

ARR also marvels at defying the listener's expectations in a similar fashion. A lot of times these tricks come in the shape of an unusual instrument that you don't quite expect... (contd.) 18/n

... at other times it comes as an unusual melodic contour, or a sudden burst of an instrument that comes out of nowhere and delights you with a surprise. 19/n

There are way too many example of this, of course. The one that immediately comes to mind is that sudden burst of drums in (at 1:26 in the following video of) 'Hai rama' (Rangeela, 1995): . 20/n

Or how the way the melody comes to a complete halt at 2:44 after traversing a whole octave (I think) in 'In lamhon ke daaman mein' (Jodha Akbar, 2008): . 21/n

On the other hand, when you hear a piece by Mozart, things seem to fall in the place in just that precisely correct and satisfying way. All melodic contrivances just feel *right*. 22/n

Perhaps this is why Mozart almost never edited his compositions once they were written down! There's no other better way to arrange those notes than what he envisioned in the first place! 23/n

In one of his interviews, the singer Sid Sriram shared an interesting insight. When ARR asked him to sing 'Adiye' from Kadal (2013), they went thought a lot of iterations and ARR asked him to try and come up with different variations for some of the lines. 24/n

On the other hand, when ARR asked him to sign 'Thalli Pogathey' (AYM, 2016), he had a recorded version of this track in his own voice, and Sriram was asked to sing in that *exact same* way. No variations, no experimentations! ARR had the whole thing pinned down! 25/n

One other similarity (both speculative and loose, one may say) is about Mozart's ability to concoct melodies at an unprecedented scale. 26/n

He would cram his symphonies with numerous melodic lines. Mozart would sometimes use a melody *only once* in his symphony and would not even repeat it again or build on it -- melodies that other composers would kill for! 27/n

ARR's songs often contains melodic segments like that -- segments that have a potential to be developed into a full song. Consider the flute and chorus-heavy segment in 'Kismat se tum' (Pukar, 2000); it starts at 1:09 in the following video: . 28/n

Another such example is that heart-wrenching tune played on dilruba/esraj during the first antara of 'Ae ajnabi' (Dil Se, 1998). It starts at 1:56 in the following video: . 29/n

There are numerous other examples where a small section of a song is soo good that you wish he would revisit those sections and let them blossom into full-blown songs. (Has he ever done this?) 30/n

Finally, on a *lighter* note, one of the interesting and a bit unusual piece Mozart wrote is titled 'A Musical Joke' (K 522). (Side note, I am currently working on learning to play this piece on the piano!) 31/n

While Mozart had a peculiar child-like sense of humor and he used to love making fart jokes, this particular piece contained a more nuanced humor. (You can listen to this piece here: .) 32/n

According to one interpretation, this piece was "a jab thrown towards less-educated composers writing music around Mozart’s time." [Source: wqxr.org/story/whats-so…] 33/n

I wondered if our own "Mozart of Madras" has done anything similar to this. Can you think of a song where ARR parodied other, "less-talented", musicians, songs, or style? (Intentionally or otherwise.) 34/n

I can think of one! It's 'Sheher mein' (Rockstar, 2011)! Consider how this song contained two interpretations of the same line. (contd.) 35/n

The first one (rendered by Karthik) is modeled after the 90's way of singing, the era when Nadeem Shravan and Kumar Sanu were at their peaks. While the second one (rendered by Mohit Chauhan) is a more "modern" interpretation of the same line. 36/n

This is one of a kind song by ARR, a delightful pastiche that *parodies* the 90's style of music and singing -- and also shows us how to do it (sing it) right! 37/n

Consider this excerpt from the same article about 'A Musical Joke' and see how it compares with Karthik's lines in 'Sheher mein': "['A Musical Joke'] appears to be almost too perfectly structured; it’s repetitive, elementary and sticks to the book." 38/n

BTW, I could not find the origin of this nickname (Mozart of Madra) anywhere on Google. Where did it come from? Who said it first? I couldn't trace it. My guess is that this originated in a regional newspaper and spread it from there. If anyone knows, pls do share this info! END

Just noticed that the link I posted for Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 10 in G Major is broken. Here’s the correct link: