L. Subramaniam: The Doctor Who Chose the Violin

He had a medical degree and a doctor’s licence to practise. He set both aside for a violin, and became the first Indian to have a symphony premiered by a major Western orchestra.

The Doctor Who Chose the Violin

ArtnCulture0154

1953

First Public Performance

Aged 6, having trained on violin under his father since age 5

AGE 25

Crowned “Violin Chakravarti”

Honoured by the Governor of Madras, having also earned an MBBS

1985

A First for Indian Music

His work premieres with the New York Philharmonic, under Zubin Mehta

2025

Receives the Padma Vibhushan

India’s second-highest civilian award

Two very different diplomas: an MBBS from Madras Medical College, and a master’s in Western classical music from CalArts. Only one became his life’s work.

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📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Must Know
3Good to Know
4Test Yourself
5Great to Know

Timeline

23 July 1947: Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is born in Madras (now Chennai).
Age 5: He begins violin training in Jaffna, under his father, Professor V. Lakshminarayana Iyer.
1953: He gives his first public performance, aged 6.
Age 25: He earns an MBBS from Madras Medical College. The same year, he is honoured with the title “Violin Chakravarti.”
1970s: He earns a master’s degree in Western classical music, from the California Institute of the Arts.
1985: His “Fantasy on Vedic Chants” premieres with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta.
1988: He composes the score for the film “Salaam Bombay!”
1992: He establishes the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, in memory of his father.
25 January 2025: He receives the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award.

Must Know

L. Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist and composer. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of fusion between Indian classical and Western orchestral music.
He began violin training at age 5, under his father, Carnatic musician V. Lakshminarayana Iyer. He gave his first public performance at age 6.
He earned an MBBS from Madras Medical College, and briefly registered as a general practitioner. He chose music as a full-time career instead of practising medicine.
He later earned a master’s degree in Western classical music, from the California Institute of the Arts.
He is credited as the first Indian to compose major symphonic works premiered by Western orchestras. His “Fantasy on Vedic Chants” premiered with the New York Philharmonic in 1985, conducted by Zubin Mehta, then the orchestra’s own Music Director.
He has composed roughly ten symphonies, and recorded and performed with artists including violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and jazz musicians Herbie Hancock and Stanley Clarke.
He received the Padma Shri (1988), the Padma Bhushan (2001), and the Padma Vibhushan (2025), India’s second-highest civilian award.

Good to Know

At age 25, he was honoured with the title “Violin Chakravarti” (“emperor of the violin”). This was given by the Governor of Madras and Carnatic music doyen Chembai Vaidyanathan Bhagavathar.
He composed scores for several films, including “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and “Mississippi Masala” (1991), both directed by Mira Nair.
His first wife, Viji Subramaniam, died in 1995. His current wife is playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, whom he married in 1999.
His children include violinists Ambi Subramaniam and Gingger Shankar, and vocalist Bindu Subramaniam, all of whom perform with him.
He founded the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts in Bangalore in 2007, through the Subramaniam Foundation.

Test Yourself

Great to Know

His 1985 New York Philharmonic premiere was conducted by a fellow Indian-origin musician. That conductor had already built a major Western career of his own. See ArtnCulture0153 — Zubin Mehta.
His path parallels an earlier pioneer of Indian-Western musical fusion, who also collaborated closely with Yehudi Menuhin. See ArtnCulture0131 — Ravi Shankar.
Earning a full medical degree before switching to music full-time is an unusual career path. It suggests his shift wasn’t a fallback choice, but a deliberate one, made after he had another viable profession available.
His body of work sits at an unusual intersection. It draws equally on strict Carnatic technique, Western orchestral composition, and jazz improvisation, rather than treating any one tradition as primary.

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