(William
Charlton-Perkins. Photo by Clinton Marius)
KZN’s summer classics in full swing
Music lovers in Pietermaritzburg can hear
cellist Aristide du Plessis and pianist Christopher Duigan in recital at the
Tatham Art Gallery this Sunday (February 25) at 11h30. They will perform Sergei
Rachmaninoff’s titanic Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op.19. Tickets
are R80. The musicians’ performance will be reprised at St Agnes Church in
Kloof on Tuesday (February 27) at 19h30 (tickets R150).
(Aristide
du Plessis performs Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano this week with
Christopher Duigan. Photo by Val Adamson)
Completed in November 1901 and published a
year later, the great work is regarded as a lynchpin of the composer’s chamber
music output. It invites both its performers to meet its very considerable
challenges as equal partners. Most of the themes are introduced by the piano,
while they are embellished and expanded in the cello's part.
Performing the work in KZN this month marks
the realisation of a dream for Du Plessis, who is Co-Principal Cellist of the
KZNPO. “My relationship with this sonata goes back to the first time I heard it
live. It was played in Durban 12 or 13 years ago by the fascinating Russian
cellist, the late Alexander Ivashkin. He had the most beautiful, enormous tone
which just made the hall spin! I was very moved, even as a child, by how every
movement of the work had so many beautiful melodies, and of all different types
- pensive, profound, heroic, tragic, desperate, romantic, and joyous. Every
emotion and feeling is in this piece, especially the Third Movement.”
Aristide welcomes the opportunity to
perform this quintessential Russian masterwork. “My teacher in Zürich, Thomas Grossenbacher,
gave me exercises to loosen up my vibrato, and produce sound in a healthy
manner. My playing style became more "Russian School" - which mostly
emphasizes a looser vibrato which is freer and more relaxed, in order to bring
out the vocal qualities of the Cello - under Grossenbacher, because of his
cellistic lineage. He studied with David Geringas who in turn studied with
Rostropovich, the greatest cellist of the 20th century, and perhaps of all
time.”
Presented by Music Revival, the sonata forms
the centrepiece in an intriguing programme that also includes a selection on
instrumental settings of Ave Maria -
by Bach/Gounod, Giulio Caccini, Franz Schubert and the Argentine tango
composer, Astor Piazzolla.
“This unusual coupling can be seen as an
acknowledgment of the lyrical and deeply religious chant-like melodies in
Rachmaninoff's music,” says Duigan. “The Cello Sonata’s piano part is very
similar in many aspects of the piano writing to the second concerto. It is no
surprise since they were written at the same time. The sonata also carries
similar soaring anthem-like melodic lines as the concerto. It almost seems like
Rachmaninoff was writing a major work with a plethora of magnificent melodies
and realizing that the piano could not do justice to them, owing to its lack of
ability to sustain a melody suitable, he converted the work to a cello sonata -
utilizing an instrument that is known for its bold and rich melodic voice.”
One of the composer’s most popular works,
the Cello Sonata was composed at the same time as his celebrated Piano Concerto
No 2 Op 18 and Two Piano Suite, shortly after he had suffered a major breakdown
from depression. The process of composing these works proved to be cathartic
and pivotal in the composer’s recovery. It is widely seen as one of the
greatest compositional outpourings in history of music.”
Booking is on 083 417 4473 (WhatsApp and
SMS only) or at booking@musicrevival.co.za. Tickets are also available at the
door. For more info and additional performances visit www.musicrevival.co.za.
Friends of Music’s next recital takes place
at the Durban Jewish Centre, 44 KE Masinga (Old Fort) Road on March 6 at 19h30.
This will feature the swiftly rising young Viennese Auner Quartet, comprising
Daniel Auner (first violin), Barbara Auner (second violin), Nikita Gerkusov (viola)
and Konstantin Zelenin (cello). The group will perform Beethoven’s String
Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18; Mozart’s String Quartet in D Major KV 136;
Schubert’s Quartettsatz in C Minor, and the String Quartet Nr. 4 “Mattsee” by
Johanna Doderer. Safe parking is assured and tickets are R100 (members), R120
(non-members) and R20 (students) at the door.
A reminder the KZNPO’s Summer Season is running
in the Playhouse Opera Theatre each Thursday until March 15. Performances start
at 19h30. Next Thursday (March 1) sees conductor Kwamé Ryan on the podium, with
flautist Liesl Stoltz as the soloist in an all-French programme. This includes:
Gabriel Faurés Masques et Bergamasques Suite; Cécile Chaminade's Flute
Concertino in D major; Claude Debussy’s Prelude
a L’apres-midi d’un faune; the Bizet/ François Borne Carmen Fantaisie; and César Franck’s Symphony in D minor.
Arjan Tien conducts an all-Beethoven
evening on March 8. His programme opens with the acclaimed young German soloist
Daniel Röhn performing the master’s Violin Concerto in D, and the Symphony No 3
‘Eroica’ concludes the programme after intermission.
Season tickets and bookings for individual
concert tickets are available through Computicket. Call 0861 915 8000 or book
online at www.computicket.com. For more information call 031-369 9438, email
bookings@kznphil.org.za or visit www.kznphil.org.za – William Charlton-Perkins
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