Review of the production at the 2012 Witness Hilton Art
Festival by Keith Millar.
One of
South Africa’s leading concert pianists, Christopher Duigan, provided the
warmth on a chilly Saturday morning at The Witness Hilton Arts Festival with a
pleasing selection classical masterpieces entitled Concert Classics.
The concert
was presented in the attractive stone chapel at Hilton College which was the
home for all events presented by Christopher Duigan’s Music Revival initiative.
This venue with its vaulted ceiling has a very pleasing acoustic for classical
music.
As usual, Duigan
introduced each piece in his charming and urbane fashion. His down-to-earth
explanations, interesting analogies and occasional anecdotes certainly add
another dimension to one’s understanding and enjoyment of the music.
The concert
started with three Scarlatti Sonatas. Domenico Scarlatti composed over 500
Sonatas for keyboard in his life and from these, the K380, K87 and K125 were
chosen. They were effortlessly played and Duigan showed that he has the “nimble
fingers” required to deal with the technical difficulties of the pieces.
Beethoven
was next. The Sonata Pathétique Op. 13 has
three movements and is full of emotion and drama.
This was
followed by Impromptus by Franz Schubert and selections from French
composer Claude Debussy’s Images. The later fitted in perfectly to the Music Revival’s “Green”
theme for the Festival as it is a descriptive piece depicting the tinkling
sounds of running water.
Duigan
brought the concert to its conclusion with three Argentinean Dances by Alberto
Ginastera. These items were filled with Latin passion, and the final Danza del gaucho mattrero offered
wonderful imagery of the Argentinean cowboys galloping their horses over the
pampas.
Throughout
the concert, Duigan played with his usual mastery of his instrument, accuracy,
and passion. The highly appreciative audience was captivated by his playing.
That is, all except for a baby who chose the quietest passage of music to voice
its displeasure.
Duigan is
to be congratulated for his ongoing efforts to promote classical music, make it
more accessible to the public in general, and to show that this type of music
is cool. – Keith Millar
Posts
