Two accomplished performers in a programme of outstanding
music. (Review by Michael Green)
For their first concert of the year the Friends of Music
presented, at the Durban Jewish Centre, two accomplished performers in a
programme of outstanding music that was much appreciated by a big audience.
Philippe Raskin, a 33-year-old Belgian pianist, and Johannes
Fleischmann, a 32-year-old Austrian violinist, formed their duo partnership six
years ago, and since then have achieved significant international success,
including a visit to South Africa in 2011.
They opened their Durban programme with one of the finest of
Mozart’s 16 mature violin sonatas, the two-movement work in E minor, K. 304.
This dates from 1778, when the composer was 22, and it is an extraordinary
combination of vigour and sorrow, the sadness probably caused by the then recent
death of Mozart’s mother.
The bold opening phrases immediately established the
authority and insight of the players, and the entire work was played with great
strength and, where required, delicacy.
As one would expect, there was complete understanding
between the performers, with well-judged tonal balance.
This was followed by a great favourite, Beethoven’s Spring Sonata
in F major, Op. 24. Beethoven didn’t give the work that name, but it is
entirely appropriate; the music has an enchanting freshness and zest.
This spirit was admirably captured by the players, who were
rewarded with prolonged applause at the end.
The programme ended in less familiar territory with Richard
Strauss’s Sonata in E flat, Op. 18. Strauss is of course best known for his big
orchestral tone poems. This sonata, completed in 1888 when he was 24, shows his
great gifts in the very different field of chamber music.
It was written at a time when the composer had fallen in
love with a soprano named Pauline de Ahna, whom he later married. It is a
romantic, melodious work, with a particularly beautiful slow movement.
Raskin and Fleischmann extracted full value from it, giving
great pleasure to the audience, many of whom were probably hearing this music
for the first time.
The players brought a highly successful recital to a close
with an improvised, or semi-improvised, encore.
The prelude performer of the evening , supported by the
National Lotteries Commission, was Tumelo Zondi, a 17-year-old soprano who has
just matriculated from Eden College, Durban.
Accompanied at the piano by her teacher, Amina Carini, she
showed an accurate, full-toned voice and a good stage presence in songs by
Handel, Giovanni Paisiello (this item best known for Beethoven’s piano
variations on it), Massenet, Hugo Wolf and Michael Head. - Michael Green
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