Died: Homi Rustom Kanga, 82, acclaimed western classical violinist, on December 14, 2004 in London following cancer.
"When he joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra more than 50 years ago he was the first Indian to be a member of a major British orchestra. He went on to become the first Indian to give a recital at the Wigmore Hall and the first to play a solo classical recital on BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) radio,” reported an article by Phillip Knightley in The Guardian of December 28, 2004, describing Kanga as "one of the most remarkable western musicians to have come out of India.”
In Bombay Kanga received his lessons in western classical music from the legendary Mehli Mehta who was then the leader of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. When Mehta migrated to the USA Kanga took over Mehta’s teaching commitments including training his son Zubin for a while. This was acknowledged by Zubin Mehta when the maestro was presented with a "conductor’s baton” at Zoroastrian House in the presence of Kanga, noted a write-up in the January 2005 newsletter of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe.
Kanga: "remarkable musician”
He was the founder of the New Elizabethan Trio, the London Octet, String Quartet and Jupiter String Quartet. His Ruka Orchestra, named after his devoted and talented wife Rutty (or Ruka as the artist was known in art circles), was honored by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester who attended the concert in aid of the Musicians’ Benevolent Charities. This Orchestra was conducted and directed by Kanga. As he had then written, "Music has brought beauty and unity into this harsh and divided world of ours. It has transformed the lives of millions of people.” Dedicating his concert to musicians and music lovers all over the world Kanga hoped "the human race will attribute to our noble profession the dignity and status which it deserves!”
Kanga’s two most memorable performances however were the ones at Wigmore Hall in 1977 where he played all the Bach solo sonatas and partitas from memory which reportedly won him a standing ovation for 10 full minutes.
Having worked with different conductors he had innumerable anecdotes to relate and his most vivid memory concerned Sir Malcolm Sargent. During their world tour, on their first stopover at Bombay airport there was a huge gathering with flower garlands in the arrival hall waiting for the orchestra. Sargent graciously bent his head to be garlanded but everybody apparently rushed past him to reach Kanga for they were all his relatives!
"Music was my hobby. I was very lucky it became my profession,” Kanga had declared. The Bombay born musician had studied at St Xavier’s School and St Xavier’s College. After obtaining his degree in civil engineering from the Bombay University, he was working for a private firm. His passion for music was aroused at the age of five when fascinated by a fiddler at a wedding, on reaching home he pretended to play the violin on two sticks. Later his parents bought him a violin and from the age of 14 he became Mehli Mehta’s pupil. By the age of 16 he qualified as a Fellow of Trinity College, London. His first performance was with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. After earning the highest diploma from the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Boullion in Paris, Kanga joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950 and remained with them for 10 years after which he played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for five years, acting occasionally as guest leader. He was regularly picked by Yehudi Menuhin for his concert tours and had occasions to tour with Frank Sinatra and thus find his niche as a soloist. As a runner-up at the Second International Wieniawsky World Competition in Warsaw, a recital tour of Poland was his prize which brought him many engagements, recalls his sister Avan Shroff. His daughter Skaila, a renowned harpist, is a professor of London University and the head of harp studies at the Royal Academy of Music.
A sports enthusiast who enjoyed his game of tennis at the Queen’s Club in London and the Bombay Gymkhana, he had participated in the Wimbledon matches in the seniors doubles section. He hailed from a family of cricketers: his uncle Pestonji took the second Parsi Cricket Team to England in 1888. His father Rustom captained the cricket team of Elphinstone College to victory in the Northcote Intercollegiate Tournament in the first year of its inception. Homi had later captained the team of the Poona Engineering College in the same tournament. As an undergraduate he had been selected to play in the exhibition matches at the Cricket Club of India in the presence of the table tennis world champions, conveys Shroff.
The talented musician did not retire and on his 80th birthday, nearly a decade after Rutty's demise gave a much acclaimed concert, Homi Kanga and Friends, at the Purcell Room, it was reported in The Times, London.
Barely two months prior to his demise Kanga had sought matrimonial companionship with Margaret Bateson, a long-time musician colleague. As a lasting tribute to him The Homi Kanga Memorial Prize, a new prize in violin, was instituted at the Royal Academy of Music. His friends and colleagues admired him for his professionalism, his outgoing, cheerful and optimistic personality and his deep love for the violin.
The acclaimed violinist is survived by his wife Margaret Bateson, son Rustom, daughter Skaila, brother Adi and sister Avan Shroff.