A captivating performance which left the
audience exhilarated and satisfied. (Review by Keith Millar)
One of the musical highlights at the
National Arts Festival very year is the Symphony Concert which takes place at
the Guy Butler Theatre at the 1820 settlers Monument in Grahamstown. This
substantial and comfortable venue seats 940 and always attracts a full-house
for this flagship event.
This year, for the first time in six years,
South Africa’s oldest Orchestra, the Cape Town Philharmonic, was back at the
festival.
To celebrate the occasion, they put in a
captivating performance which left the audience exhilarated and satisfied.
The concert opened with a spirited
performance of the popular and charming overture to the opera, Marriage of Figaro, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The soloist for the concert was Portuguese
born South African pianist, Luis Magalhães. He performed Beethoven’s Piano
Concerto No. 3 in C Minor The concerto was composed in 1800 and first performed
in 1803 with the composer as soloist.
It is a dynamic work with plenty of
emotional depth, urgency and with a sense of reserved power. Luis Magalhães’
translation showed character and elegance. He has, however, a fairly light
touch on the piano and some may have preferred a little more drama and muscle
in his performance.
The second half of the programme featured
Belgium born composer César-Franck’s Symphony in D Minor. This composer’s fame
and reputation rests largely upon a small number of compositions, most of them
composed toward the end of his life. Of these, the Symphony in D minor was one
of his last and best-known works. It was first performed only a year before
Franck died.
The richly textured work was excellently
performed by the orchestra which responded well to conductor Bernhard Gueller’s
passionate and inspirational guidance.
Gueller is the principal guest conductor of
the CPO and has been the music director of the Symphony Nova Scotia since 2002.
He has travelled the world widely as a guest conductor.
The Eastern Cape is starved of top quality orchestral
music and this much is apparent from the enthusiastic response from the full-house
audience. Long may the Symphony Concert remain a tradition at the National Arts
Festival and go some way to addressing this shortage. – Keith Millar
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