(Boris Kerimov)
Review of the concert
at the 2012 Witness Hilton Art Festival by Keith Millar
One thing that can be
relied on from Boris Kerimov, principal cellist for the KwaZulu-Natal
Philharmonic Orchestra, is that he will always push the envelope, be innovative,
try something new. As a result, he often produces music which is creative,
fresh and exciting.
And once again he has
come up with winner. The ensemble of six cellos, with occasional percussion,
which performed at this concert at the Witness Hilton Art Festival was an
absolute delight.
Boris was joined on
stage by Ralista Todorova, Marguerite Spies, Cecelia Di Cecco, Fiona Grayer and
Nina Watson who are all colleagues from the KZNPO. The occasional percussion
was provided by Stephane Pechoux also from the KZNPO.
Titled Celli-bration, the concert took place in
the Hilton Chapel and was another offering from Christopher Duigan’s Music
Revival Concert Series. As is the norm at Music Revival concerts, each item was
introduced to the audience. Providing the insights and anecdotes on this
occasion was the charming, and ever-smiling Fiona Grayer. She explained that
there were five different home languages among the members of the ensemble, but
this did not matter as music was universal and they had no problem
communicating. As if to prove this, the
musicians produced dazzling and memorable performances while seeming to
thoroughly enjoy what they were doing.
The programme was
eclectic, to say the least. It included classical compositions from Vivaldi and
Handel, while Bach’s Air on a G String,
as expected, went down very well with the audience. It then moved to Latin
America and all the passion and intensity of compositions by Villa Lobos and Francini.
On the lighter side we
heard Errol Garner’s Misty, a
traditional Irish jig called Toss the
Feathers and an item by South African composer Alan Stephenson entitled Souvenir de Seville. The later being the
only item on the programme which was composed specifically for this
combination. The arrangements of several of the other pieces were by Boris
Kerimov.
The concert was
brought to a rousing end with Astor Piazolla’s Libertango during which Stephane Pechoux played some amazing
percussion on a strange flying saucer shaped drum.
The most majestic of
all string instruments, the cello has a tone of exceptional richness and
warmth. Six of them playing together produced sound of breathtaking beauty. The
audience loved it, and all I can say is … I want more! - Keith Millar
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