Who is Ilayaraja?
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesigan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, mainly in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of the most prolific composer, in a career spanning over forty-eight years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. He is nicknamed "Isaignani" (the musical sage) and is often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred to him by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Ilaiyaraaja was also one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music, and the first South Asian to compose a full symphony. In 1986, he became the first Indian composer to record a soundtrack with computer for the film Vikram. He also composed Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006), the first Indian oratorio. In 20...
