Born
in Rising Star, Texas, USA, in 1935 David Reck began his musical
studies at the age of five. A child prodigy in Western music
and focussing on composition, he earned a BA at the University
of Houston and a MM at the University of Texas, followed by
graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1958
& '59 he was a Fellow at the Princeton Seminars in Advanced
Musical Studies.
Moving to New York he pursued a successful career as a composer
with performances at Carnigie Hall, Lincoln Center, Town Hall,
and Tanglewood.
He also became entranced with Indian classical music and dance
through hearing performances by Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan,
K.V. Narayanaswamy, Palghat Raghu, and others. It was an artistic
involvement which was to become a life-long endeavor.
He plunged into study of Indian philosophy, yoga, and Sanskrit.
The expatriate author Raja Rao encouraged him to travel to India,
an event made possible in 1968 through a grant from the Rockefeller
Arts Foundation.
After a short stay at Rishi Valley School in Andhra, David
and his wife, photographer Carol Reck, moved to Chennai. Immersion
in the rich cultural heritage of South India was an experience
which would change their lives.
David began studies at The Central College of Carnatic Music
specializing on veena with Thirugokarnam Ramachandra Iyer,
Kalpakam Swaminathan, Vedavalli Srinivasan, and Rajalakshmi
Narayan, theory with B. Rajam Iyer, and Tamizh with Chellam
Iyer.
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In
the late 1960's and early '70's many of the legendary
stalwarts of Carnatic music were performing in their prime,
and the young Americans were fortunate to meet giants such
as Semmungudi, K.V. N., M. S. Subbulakshmi, Chitoor Subramanya
Pillai, and Devakottai Narayana Iyengar.
Travels
to Kerala and south Tamil Nadu to observe music, dance, and
ritual, and pilgrimages to the great temples of the south
were also awe-inspiring.
David Reck returned to the United States in 1971, earning
a Ph.D. in World Muic from Wesleyan University, and joining
the faculty of Amherst College as professor of Music and Asian
Studies.
He continued to return to Chennai as
often as possible for further study of veena, while studying
in the U.S. with Karaikudi S. Subramanian. Author of Music
of the Whole Earth and co-author of Worlds of Music, he has
also published numerous scholarly
articles on South India's musical traditions.
His
scholarship has focussed on the veena tradition emanating
from the Karaikudi Brothers, particularly Karaikudi Sambasiva
Iyer, the guru of many of his teachers. He has transcribed
more than a hundred varnams, kritis, and tillanas as played
by this tradition, including a dozen with Sambasiva Iyer's
remarkable original chitta svaras. He plans to publish a series
of these transcriptions in sargam notation with commentary
in the near future.
In 1991 under a grant from the American Institute of Indian
Studies David Reck began study with his principle guru, Smt.
Ranganayaki Rajagopalan. All the compositions which she learned
from her guru Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer were videotaped, studied,
transcribed, and analysed. Besides tutoring David
in the correct playing of Karaikudi Bani kritis, many of them
rare, this great vidwan has conveyed the unique techniques
of playing alapana, svara kalpana, and tanam in her style.
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As
Reck had noted: "I give obeisance to all my gurus, but
especially to Ms. Ranganayaki. This intensive study has been"post-graduate"
work on veena, and a transforming spiritual quest as well."
Successfully recovering from cancer and a serious heart attack,
Reck is convinced of the mystical healing qualities of Carnatic
music and the powerful nada of the veena.
As a veena player Dr. Reck has played several hundred concerts
in the U.S. at venues such as Sri Venkateswara Temple in Pittsburgh,
Hindu temples in New York and Washington, cultural organizations
such as MIT Mithas in Boston, and at numerous colleges and
universities. In 1975 he played at the East /West Festival
in Rome, Italy.
In India he has given lecture demonstrations at the Music
Academy, and veena recitals at venues such as the Tyaga Brahma
Sabha, Asthika Samajam, Brihaddhvani, Tyagaraja Vidwath Samajam,
and the Ramani Maharishi Ashram in Thiruvanamalai.
In the 2001-2002 Madras Festival of Music and Dance he was
invited to play four veena concerts, several with Umayalpuram
Mali, his friend and usual mridangist.
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