(Steinway
Artist Charl du Plessis)
The concert was a remarkable musical Tour
de Force by an artist who has not been seen and heard enough in our neck of the
woods.(Review by Keith Millar)
The popularity of KwaZulu-Natal’s premier
multi-disciplinary festival of the arts, The Hilton Arts Festival which takes
place at Hilton College in the Midlands, was apparent on Saturday with a huge
turnout, despite the rather chilly and damp conditions.
There is a massive variety of events to
choose from at the festival and one can sometimes be spoilt for choice. But for
me there can be no better way of kicking of a day’s entertainment than with a
bit classical piano music.
So my first port of call was the stately
Hilton College Chapel. A stone built building with a high vaulted ceiling, the
Chapel has a pleasing bright acoustic, ideal for classical music and ideal for
a superb performance by leading South African pianist Charl du Plessis.
Du Plessis, who was brought to Hilton by
Christopher Duigan’s Music Revival, is an inspired and virtuosic pianist, he
was after all the youngest ever pianist from Africa to receive the accolade of
being named a Steinway Artist in 2010. But over and above that, he is an
excellent entertainer – presenting his programme with humour and charm.
He played an eclectic choice of pieces
which included the Gluck’s gentle and lyrical Melodie, (Dance of the Blessed Spirits) from his opera Orfeo ed Euridice, two Chopin waltz’s
from his Op. 64 collection, including the Minute Waltz, Bach’s Keyboard
Concerto in F Minor (arranged for solo piano by du Plessis) and a bright and sunny (in contrast to the
weather outside) compilation of Strauss Waltzes by Alfred Grünfeld.
Also included was du Plessis own
arrangement for Steinway’s modern digital version of the Pianola of Piazzolla’s
Lieber Tango, and on the lighter side
George Gershwin’s I’ve Got Rhythm and
as an encore Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
But maybe most impressive was his
improvisations based on suggestions from the audience. He created a remarkable
mash-up (to use the modern term) of diverse pieces such as La Campanella, Finlandia and the theme from the movie The Third Man, then followed this up
with Beethoven’s Für Elise mixed
with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and a Scarlatti piece and finished off
with a mix of The Flight of The
Bumblebee, The Beatles Let It Be
and the theme from the movie Schindler’s
List.
The concert was a remarkable musical Tour
de Force by an artist who has not been seen and heard enough in our neck of the
woods. His only other visit to KZN being a recital for Friends of Music in
Durban a few years ago.
Hopefully, it will not be too long before
Charl du Plessis visits our province again. – Keith Millar
For more information on the Hilton Arts
Festival visit www.hiltonfestival.co.za
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