Mangaluru: Renowned Saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Karnatak music on Saxophone, Kadri Gopalnath passed away in the wee hours of today at a private hospital   in Mangaluru. He was 69 and his name was synonymous with Saxophone in India.

Padma Shri awardee Gopalnath was admitted to A.J. Hospital following illness a few days back and he stopped responding to treatment last evening. The end came early in the morning. He is survived by his wife and sons Guru, who is working in Dubai and Manikanth Kadri, a music director. 

The last rites are expected to be initiated after his eldest son Guru returns to his home at Padavinangadi in Mangaluru this evening. A regular performer at various venues in Mysuru, Gopalnath was scheduled to perform at Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple at Vijayanagar as part of Dasara on Sept. 28 but could not make it. 

Born at Mithakere in Sajipamooda village of Mangaluru (now Dakshina Kannada) district in 1950, Gopalnath’s father Taniyappa was a Naadaswara exponent. He learnt playing Karnatak music through saxophone from N. Gopalakrishna Iyer.  

As a child, Gopalnath once saw the saxophone being played in the Mysore Palace band set. Upon hearing the tone of the saxophone, Gopalnath decided to master it and he subsequently did too and emerged as the true saxophone master. His first concert was held at Chembai Memorial Trust. The 1980 Bombay Jazz Festival was a turning point for Gopalnath. He was an ‘A Grade’ artiste in Akashwani. Many titles and honours had come his way, the most cherished being the Padma Shri in 2004, Asthana Vidwan of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetam, Sri Ahobila Mutt and Sri Pillayarpatti Temple. 

His other awards and titles are, ‘Saxophone Chakravarthy’, ‘Saxophone Samrat’, ‘Gaanakala Shree’, ‘Nadapasana Brahma’, ‘Sunada Prakashika’, ‘Nada Kalaratna’, ‘Nada Kalanidhi’, ‘Sangeetha Vadya Rathna’, ‘Karnataka Kalashree’ in 1996, and Vocational Excellency Award from Rotary Madras, Tamil Nadu State Award ‘Kalaimamani’ and Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 1998.

He was also the recipient of ‘Sangeetha Kalasikhamani’ Award in 2013 given by Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai and ‘Kamban Pugazh’ award in 2018 given by All Ceylon Kamban Society, Sri Lanka. Mangalore and Bangalore Universities had conferred on him Hon. Doctorates. Gopalnath had the distinction of being the first Karnatak musician to be invited in the BBC Promenade concert in 1994, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.