(Pic by Val Adamson: Bronwen Forbay)Cream of local talent in sophisticated and highly rewarding classical musical feast.
The Pietermaritzburg-based Music Revival presents three concerts in the last week of August featuring top KZN and visiting artists. This series brings together the cream of local talent in a sophisticated and highly rewarding classical musical feast for those who wish to engage in some of the world’s most enchanting music.
August 24: Celebrating Chopin II - With accolades and brilliant reviews for Celebrating Chopin from the recent Grahamstown National Festival, Christopher Duigan brings his Celebrating Chopin II to the opening concert of this August Series. The careful balance between poetry and classical design, rustic impulse and sophisticated elegance, virtuosity and restraint, Chopin's music, an enigmatic and wistful combination of contrasting elements, always speaks directly. Chopin holds a unique position amongst classical composers in his ability to appeal to a popular audience and music connoisseurs simultaneously. Included in this selection is the Military Polonaise in A major, Etudes including the Black Key, Mazurka in F op 7, Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Ballade No 4 and the Barcarolle. Christopher Duigan was recently named a Steinway Artist by the world’s premier piano makers Steinway and Sons and Celebrating Chopin performances have been presented in over 40 performances across South Africa since February 2010. The concert is free, with donations collected after the performance.
August 25: Double Bill: Music for Oboe Viola and Piano & The Two Pianists. This special concert in two parts begins with music for the seldom-heard combination of oboe, piano and viola. In an engaging yet gently melodic concert performance hear Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro along with rarely performed compositions by Schumann’s wife, Clara Wieck. The three instruments combine in an evocative music from seldom performed 19th century German composers that continue Schumann’s imaginative legacy; Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) - Two Rhapsodies and August Klughardt (1847-1902) - Schilflieder. The performers are outstanding soloists from the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra: Durban-born Magrit Deppe (oboe) and British-born Principal Viola, David Snaith, with Christopher Duigan (piano).
The second part of the evening features a thrilling and exhilarating performance featuring two outstanding pianists in concert. KZN’s resident concert-pianists Andrew Warburton and Christopher Duigan join forces for a much-anticipated collaboration. Established concert soloists in their own right, and used to having the entire stage to themselves, they combine their musical prowess at two pianos (one each), on one stage, and for one evening only. Their well-balanced programme of music includes excerpts from three gems from the two piano repertoire; WA Mozart’s Sonata in D major, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Fantasie-Tableaux (Two Piano Suite No. 1), and a lively tailpiece by jazz-classic crossover genius, George Gershwin.
August 27: Opera Evening - The Unsuitable Woman. For this very special occasion, and the final concert of the week, Music Revival presents leading South African soprano Bronwen Forbay (soprano) and Johannesburg-based baritone Federico Freschi in a engaging operatic selection. With anything more than a brief opera selection being a rare occurrence on local stages, this selection of arias, scenes, and duets from four operas encompassing a central dramatic theme is not to be missed. Forbay and Freschi perform a well-constructed selection The Unsuitable Woman, gleaning from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, The Merry Widow and a breathtaking sequence from Act II of Verdi’s La Traviata. Also included is music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Puccini’s La Bohème and Gounod’s Faust. Much-admired local soprano Bronwen Forbay is due to appear in the lead role in Cape Town Opera’s Lucia de Lammermoor in October this year while Federico Freschi, much in demand on stages around South Africa, is a very suitable singing partner for this performance. Christopher Duigan accompanies at the piano.
All concerts take place at the Howard College Theatre on the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban campus. Performance times are 19h30 and tickets are R60 (R30 concession) except Celebrating Chopin II which is free with donations collected. Bookings through Mandy on 031 260 3353 (office hours) or email: wilkenm@ukzn.ac.za
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