FOM CONCERT: GERBER & HAMA

Mainly modern music programme turned out to be both impressive and attractive. (Review by Michael Green)

The Pretoria-born cellist Anzel Gerber is one of South Africa’s finest instrumentalists, and this was amply displayed in a recital in Durban with the Japanese pianist Rinko Hama. Playing for the Friends of Music at the Durban Jewish Centre they gave an all-Russian programme of mainly modern music. The works listed may have seemed a little forbidding to some members of the audience, but they turned out to be both impressive and attractive.

The two women performers made an interesting contrast in appearance, Anzel blonde and petite, Rinko dark and tall. As a duo they showed excellent cohesion and understanding. Anzel Gerber has played several times before for the Friends of Music, and her technical and interpretative powers seem to have grown steadily over the years. Rinko Hama is new here, I think, and she showed virtuoso skills at the keyboard.

They began with a Sonata, Op. 12, by Nikolai Miaskovsky (1881-1950). This work, first published in 1956, is quite romantic in style rather than aggressively modern. The quality of the playing was apparent from the first unaccompanied notes of the opening cello recitative. Anzel Gerber plays a cello made in Italy 200 years ago by Antonio Gagliano, and from it she extracted a splendidly resonant tone. She has a calm and poised platform manner, without idiosyncrasies that could interfere with the flow of the music. And at the piano Rinko Hama gave a commanding performance of a difficult part.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was represented by two unusually light-hearted pieces, the Adagio and Spring Waltz from his Ballet Suite No. 2. The waltz was delightful, with plenty of jaunty staccato phrases from the cello.

More of twentieth century Russia came in the form of Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata, Op. 119, composed in 1949. This is an interesting work with varying moods: fierce, harsh, lyrical, and at times almost playful. All the cello’s technical capabilities are explored here, and Anzel Gerber rose to the occasion with another impeccable performance.

In lighter vein came the brilliant Pezzo capriccioso (capricious piece) by Russia’s greatest composer, Tchaikovsky. And there were further beautiful sounds in an encore, the Andante from Rachmaninov’s Sonata Op. 19, written in 1901. It was so well played that I regretted that they had not included the entire work in their programme.

The evening’s Prelude Performerwas 18-year-old Mary-Anne Brouckaert, a violinist and Durban schoolgirl, who showed skill and promise in playing pieces by Vivaldi and Sibelius. She was accompanied by Bobby Mills. - Michael Green

Friends of Music acknowledges the invaluable support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.