Table of Contents
Hit—The Music Magazine. Site in testing mode.
After a historic world premiere in London, Ilaiyaraaja’s Symphony No. 1, titled Valiant, will be performed live in India for the first time on May 30, 2026, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
The event marks a watershed moment for India, bringing the maestro’s first full-length Western classical symphony to home soil.
The concert will be presented by the London Symphony Orchestra, one of the world’s most respected ensembles, and conducted by Mikel Toms.
This is the same orchestra that premiered Valiant to a sold-out audience at the Eventim Apollo, London, on January 26, 2025.
That performance made Ilaiyaraaja the first Indian composer in history to have an original symphony performed by a major international orchestra in the Western classical tradition.
For Indian audiences and his countless fans, this is a proud milestone. Ilaiyaraaja, 82, is a name synonymous with Indian film music. Over a 47-year career he has scored more than 1,000 films and composed over 7,000 songs across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi cinema.
Valiant represents a different side of his genius: a composer trained in Karnatik and Western music writing for a symphony orchestra without the framework of film narrative.
India has produced legendary classical musicians, but rarely has an Indian composer entered the Western symphonic canon. Valiant is not a fusion piece or an “Indian-inspired” orchestral work. It is a four-movement symphony written in European classical form, adhering to its structural discipline, while at the same time carrying Ilaiyaraaja’s unmistakable melodic stamp.
* Ilaiyaraaja is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra as he sings Idhayam, one of his hit film songs.
Hearing it performed live offers Indian audiences a rare chance to experience the maestro’s art stripped of lyrics, stars, and cinema—pure music, judged by the same standards as Beethoven or Brahms.
Ilaiyaraaja’s journey began in Pannaipuram, Tamil Nadu, where he went around with his brother performing propaganda songs. He then moved to Chennai, where he became an assistant to the Kannada film music composer G K Venkatesh. He made his debut as an independent composer with the Tamil film Annakkili (1976).
He has since delivered blockbuster hits such as Mouna Raagam, Geethanjali, Nayakan, Thalapathy, Geetha, Hey Ram and Sagara Sangamam, His work in Hindi includes Sadma and Cheeni Kum.
Ilaiyaraaja brought the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to Chennai in 1993 to record Thiruvasagam, but that was an oratorio with Tamil verses. Valiant is his first absolute symphony
Since the London premiere, fans have been desperate to hear the symphony, but no recording has been officially released—no audio, no video.
The Chennai event will therefore be the first opportunity for fans in Indian to hear the work.
The London Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1904, and has worked with composers from Elgar to John Williams. Their show in Chennai with Ilaiyaraaja’s score places Indian compositional talent on the world stage in a new way.
For a country where film music dominates, May 30 is both celebration and inspiration. It tells young Indian composers that the symphony hall is not closed to them.
Concert details
Friday, May 30, 2026
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
Gates open 5:30 pm, concert begins 7:00 pm
Tickets: Check Ilaiyaraaja official social media handles for updates.
For HiT readers: We will be covering the concert from Chennai.
Rehearsal time ahead of the first ever performance of Symphony No 1 Valiant in London.
