Balamuralikrishna was born in a
Brahmin family at
Sankaraguptam,
East Godavari District,
Madras Presidency (now a part of
Andhra Pradesh state). His father, Mangalampalli Pattabhiramayya, was a well known musician and his mother, Suryakanthamma, was a veena player. Balamuralikrishna's mother died when he was an infant and he was raised by his father. Observing his interest in music, his father put him under the tutelage of
Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu, a direct descendant of the
shishya parampara (lineage of disciples) of
Tyagaraja. Under his guidance, the young Balamuralikrishna learned
Carnatic music. At the age of eight, he gave his first full-fledged concert at a Thyagaraja Aradhana in
Vijayawada. Musunuri Suryanarayana Murty Bhagavatar, a
Harikatha performer, saw the musical talent in him and gave the prefix "Bala" (
lit. child) to the young Balamuralikrishna. (Prior to this, his name was Muralikrishna; following Bhagavatar's addition of the prefix, he began to be known as Balamuralikrishna.) Having begun his musical career at a very young age, by age fifteen he had mastered all the 72 melakartha ragas and had composed krithis in each of them. His Janaka Raga Manjari was published in 1952 and recorded as Raagaanga Ravali in a nine-volume series by the Sangeeta Recording Company. Not merely content with his fame as a Carnatic vocalist, he also played the
kanjira,
mridangam, viola, and violin. He accompanied various musicians on the violin. He also presented solo viola concerts. He was the person who introduced viola to classical Indian music. ==Experimentation==