(Review from the Hilton Arts Festival from
Keith Millar)
Saturday was a cold,
wet day at the Hilton Arts Festival. So there could be few better ways to warm
the soul than to listen to some exquisite piano music played with inspiration
and precision by one of South Africa’s most prolific and versatile concert
pianists, Christopher Duigan.
Despite the
inclement weather, Duigan attracted a reasonable crowd to his Music Revival
concert at the Hilton College Chapel. While this venue can be a little
uncomfortable with its side-on seating it is, with its reverberant stone walls
and high vaulted ceiling, acoustically very pleasing.
Duigan delivered a
varied programme which was much to the liking of the audience.
He started with a
selection of three of the over-500 Sonatas composed by Italian master Domenico
Scarlatti. These proved to be full of vigour and animation as Duigan showed
remarkable finger dexterity despite the chill in the air.
The main work on
the programme was Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, also
known as The Tempest. In three
movements this powerful work, like the storm it is named for, displays a
variety of moods, from peace to turmoil. It is a challenging work for any
pianist but Duigan was more than equal to the task and performed the intense piece
with skill and aplomb.
Duigan recently
returned from a trip to Eastern Europe during which he visited Warsaw, the birthplace
of Frederic Chopin. Chopin is revered in this city and Duigan seems to have
drawn inspiration from this as he gave a wonderfully dramatic performance of the
composer’s robust Polonaise in F Sharp Minor OP. 44.
The final work on
the programme was Ondine from French
composer Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit.
It is based on a poem about a water nymph who sings to bystanders to seduce
them into visiting her kingdom deep at the bottom of a lake.
As is usual at his
Music Revival concerts, Duigan addressed the audience between items and gave
them insight into the composers and their music which was to be performed.This
certainly adds to the enjoyment and understanding of the concert.
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