ALEXANDER LUBYANTSEV FOR FOM

The prize-winning virtuoso Russian pianist Alexander Lubyantsev will perform for Friends of Music on March 13 at the Durban Jewish Centre.

Durban concert-goers who were thrilled by the masterly account of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1, given last week by the 25-year-old prize-winner Alex Lubyantsev with the KZN Philharmonic under the baton of Yasuo Shinozaki, will be delighted to hear they can hear this extraordinary artist in a Friends of Music recital in the city on Tuesday.

Lubyantsev, a laureate of a string of major international competitions, will perform a hugely demanding programme featuring Haydn’s Piano Sonata No 52 in E flat; Rachmaninoff’s Etude-tableau Opus 39 no 7, Chopin’s Nocturne No 13 in C minor, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz Opus 48, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Opus 110 and Ravel’s Gapard de la Nuit. A red-letter event for music lovers, this promises to be a richly rewarding experience.

The evening’s Prelude Performer is Emily Bishai, a gifted young viola player currently studying with KZNPO principal violist David Snaith. She is in her matric year at St Henry’s Marist College in Glenwood.

By way of a double whammy for classical keyboard enthusiasts this month, Friends of Music presents another internationally-lauded pianist in the same venue the following Tuesday, March 20 at 19h45, when Lobor Novacek from Czechoslovakia will perform works by Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt and Janacek.

The concerts take place at the Durban Jewish Centre at 19h45. Tickets R70 (R60 FOM members / R20 orchestral and student members). Booking is through Computicket on 0861 915 8000 or online at www.computicket.com. The Durban Jewish Centre is at 44 KE Masinga Road (formerly Old Fort) and safe parking is provided.