Appa Jalgaonkar - Harmonium Master
Obituary By Yogendra
(September 2009)
Harmonium-master Appa Jalgaonkar passed away on september 16th at age 87 in Pune. He was well-known as accompanist of singer Bhimsen Joshi. However, Appa Jalgaonkar also played with singers like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Hirabai Barodekar, Roshanara Begum, Gangubai Hangal, Vasantrao Deshpande, Kumar Gandharva, Kishori Amonkar and Pandit Jasraj. He was also sought-after as accompanist for tabla solo concerts and kathak dance performances by stalwarts like Ahmedjan Thirakwa, Alla Rakha, Kishan Maharaj, Samta Prasad, Zakir Hussain, Rohini Bhate and Birju Maharaj. Since the 1970s he also performed as a soloist. For his achievements in harmonium playing he received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In the last decade he has retired from the concert platform due to his bad health.