(Christopher
Duigan pictured in the Tatham. Pic by Val Adamson)
The Tatham Art Gallery, Friends of the
Tatham Art Gallery, in association with Music Revival, present a series of four
piano-focused concerts in Pietermaritzburg to celebrate the arrival and
installation of a new grand piano. The concerts will take place every Sunday in
October 2018 at 15h00.
Commenting on the launch of the series,
Music Revival director and Chairperson of the Friends of the Tatham Art Gallery
Christopher Duigan says: “The Tatham Art Gallery has always offered a wonderful
concert space for small to medium sized concert audiences. The generous acoustics, inspiring artworks and
creative atmosphere coupled with pristine up-keep to world-class art museum
standards is exemplary. The fact that the gallery also now also boasts an ideal
concert instrument in the form of a hand-built Shigeru Kawai piano, supplied
and prepared by leading Cape Town-based concert technicians Ian Burgess-Simpson
Pianos, places it in a unique position ahead of all concert venues locally.”
Mariam
Batsashvili - October 7
At just 25 years old, Mariam Batsashvili
already ranks among the most promising young pianists of her generation. She
gained international recognition at the 10th Franz Liszt Piano Competition in
Utrecht 2014. With the start of the 2017/18 season, she became a BBC New
Generation Artist and will perform at major festivals and concert venues across
the UK as part of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. She has
already made her debuts at the Cheltenham Festival, with the BBC Symphony
Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. In the 2018/19 season, she will return to
the Wigmore Hall in London and make her debut with the BBC National Orchestra
of Wales. Batsashvili plays Haydn’s Sonata by in D Major No. 37, JS Bach’s
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, Franz Schubert’s Impromptu in F min Op 142 No 1, and
two major works by Franz Liszt; the Hungarian Rhapsody No 12 and the stupendous
Marriage of Figaro Fantasy.
Christopher
Duigan - October 14
Widely regarded as one of South Africa's
leading concert pianists, Christopher Duigan has been recognised as a 'South
African piano icon' and 'national musical treasure' (Classic Feel June 2009).
He has performed extensively with all leading South African orchestras in a
repertoire of more than 25 concerti. In recital he has developed a popular following
through his innovative presentation and programming of a broad and eclectic
taste in music. Recent highlights include more than 20 performances of an
all-Chopin programme following a visit to Warsaw, Poland in 2015. He plays
Mozart’s Fantasy in C minor K475, Schubert’s Klavierstuck D. 946 No.1,
Beethoven’s Sonata Les adieux Op 81a, a selection of short works by Frederic Chopin
and Aleksander Scriabin’s Sonata No 4 and Etude Op 42 No 5.
The
Siberian Trio play Beethoven - October 21
Liezl-Maret Jacobs (piano) obtained a D Mus
at the University of Cape Town and is one of South Africa's leading
accompanists. In 2008, she was invited to present master classes, lectures and
chamber music concerts at the University of Charlotte in North Carolina, USA. Together
with the well-known Kerimov couple Boris and Elana playing cello and violin,
the Siberian trio has won many new audiences with performances in Durban in
recent years. Their all-Beethoven programme includes the Kreutzer Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata No. 1 and Trio Op. 11
Lara
Kirsten - The Resonating Pulse - October 28
Midlands-based pianist Lara Kirsten brings
a solo piano recital to the Tatham Art Gallery with music from Germany, Spain
and France. Themes that have fascinated Lara for the last few years have been
the pulse, the breath, freedom, flight, fear, the elements and the creative
impulse. With this recital she brings together all these thoughts and
explorations into one celebration of sound and word. Charming, powerful,
exuberant, intimate, lyrical, hot-tempered, dreamy and buoyant – the pieces
encompass a wide variety of soundscapes and emotional states. Kirsten’s
programme includes music by JS Bach, Debussy, Albeniz and Yann Tiersen. She has
also chosen four pieces from the Eusa
Book of ten piano pieces composed in 2015 by Yann Tiersen (award-winning
composer of the soundtrack of the French film Amélie).
Tickets R100 pp for each concert. There is
secure, guarded parking available on Sundays in the legislature parking
adjacent (on the left of the gallery). Booking is preferred through booking@musicrevival.co.za
or Music Revival 083 417 4473 (sms or WhatsApp only)
Make a day of it and enjoy coffee or lunch
at Cafe Tatham open from 10h00 and for lunch. Booking for lunch is essential -
Call Cafe Tatham 033 342 8327.
The Tatham Art Gallery is situated opposite
the Town Hall in Chief Albert Luthuli Street, Pietermaritzburg. It is open from
Tuesdays to Sundays from 10h00 to 17h00. Café Tatham is open on Saturdays. Safe
parking with a car guard available. More information on 033 392 2801 or visit
www.tatham.org.za