(Andrew Warburton forms part of this year’s starry line-up of musicians)
Enjoy a music bonanza with Music Revival’s Concert Series at the Hilton Arts Festival!
This weekend’s annual Witness Hilton Arts Festival (September 21 to 23) promises a spectacular line-up of live theatre, music-making and art, sure to tempt enthusiasts from all over KZN to indulge themselves in their annual cultural fix….
Not least of the festival’s attractions is Music Revival’s series of eight concerts, to be presented in the Hilton College Chapel. High on the list of priorities here are individual recitals by KZN’s two leading concert pianists, Andrew Warburton and Christopher Duigan.
Warburton’s programme, entitled Virtuoso Piano Music of Spain, weaves together the prolific rhythms and melodies of the Iberian Peninsula, highlighting the dance rhythms for which Spain has long been admired. These will be displayed in well-known works such as Evocacion and Asturias by Albeniz, and the virtuoso showpiece Allegro de concierto by Granados.
Also included will be a discussion of how Spanish music has influenced composers from other countries, an example of this being by Maurice Ravel. Currently acting director of the Opera School and Choral Academy at UKZN, Warburton has enjoyed an extensive career as a soloist, accompanist and sought after chamber musician for many years in South Africa and abroad. His hour-long programme can be heard on September 21 at 20h00.
Duigan’s programme, simply entitled Concert Classics, includes Sonatas by Scarlatti, the Sonata Pathetique op 13 by Beethoven, Impromptus by Franz Schubert, and selections from Claude Debussy's Images together with music by the South American composer, Alberto Ginastera. Widely regarded as one of South Africa’s leading concert pianists, Duigan is a Steinway Artist. His recital takes place at 10h00 on September 22. Tickets R80 for both events.
Another musical highlight, to pick just one at random out of the hat, promises to be an imaginatively dubbed programme aptly billed as Songbirds. Bird song and Pan, Greek god of nature, are the inspiration for this themed recital which explores a wide range of engaging musical styles for soprano, flute and piano.
This includes the heavenly Nightingale Aria from Handel’s L'allergo, il pensieroso ed il moderato, La flûte de Pan by Mouquet, Ravel’s Oiseaux tristes, Olivier Messiaen’s Le Merle Noir (The Black Bird) and songs for flute soprano and piano by Saint-Saëns and Delibes. The enchanting Cape Town diva Beverley Chiat is joined by Sabine Baird, Principal Flute of the KZNPO, and Christopher Duigan in this exotic programme, to be heard on September 23 at 14h00.
Other highlights in the festival concert series in the Hilton College Chapel include among others Celli-bration featuring six cellists from the KZNPO (September 22 at 12h00), Last Night of the Hilton Proms (September 22 at 18h00) and Songs of Praise (September 23 at 10h00), The Trout Quintet (September 23 at 12h00) and Festival Finale (September 23 at 16h00).
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