Music composer AR Rahman found himself trending on social media after a simple request to legendary maestro Ilaiyaraaja elicited a response that had fans cheering with excitement.
Ilaiyaraaja, who is a legendary composer himself, was in the UAE to perform at Expo 2020 Dubai on March 5 when he took time out to visit Rahman’s music studio in the emirate.
Rahman posted details about their meeting on social media, writing: “Such a pleasure welcoming the Maestro to our Firdaus studio...Hope he composes something amazing for the Firdaus orchestra to play in future!”
The accompanying picture that featured the two music legends in a single frame had fans sharing their excitement on social media. But what had them cheering even further was when Ilaiyaraaja responded to Rahman’s post on Twitter, writing: “Request accepted… will start composing soon.”
Rahman’s all-women Firdaus Orchestra, which has been performing at Expo 2020 Dubai, comprises 50 women musicians from the Middle East who have trained under the ‘Mozart from Madras’ (as called by his fans) especially for the event.
“We wanted to encourage women from this region … Dubai is opening its arms to different philosophies, arts, music. It’s a sign of liberation….,” Rahman told Gulf News last year ahead of the orchestra’s debut performance in October.
The Firdaus Orchestra was born after a nation-wide search for musicians who met Rahman’s superlative standards and he hand-picked them to form his all-women music orchestra.
