Rohan de Silva back to perform with the De Lanerolle Brothers
Rohan de Silva, is one of the world’s best known pianists, and it is no wonder than he is constantly globe-hopping for performances. But he continues to make time to perform in Sri Lanka. His next local appearance will be with the De Lanerolle Brothers on June 4 at the Colombo Hilton of classical, semi classical and Broadway music.
The last time De Silva performed in Sri Lanka was in June 2016 at a tribute to his music instructor, Mary Billimoria, in aid of the Sunera Foundation.
“I do enjoy playing in Sri Lanka but only with a very few individuals as the De Lanerolle Brothers and some other musicians,” De Silva wrote, in an email interview. “They are professional, hard-working, honest and (have) integrity.”
He believes these professional and personal qualities characterise the brothers’performances.
The De Lanerolle Brothers are a rare case of Sri Lankan musicians with a classical background who have managed to make a successful career here. Their repertoire is the semi-classical stuff which appeals to a wide audience. Savvy marketing and business strategies thrown into the mix make them two of the best loved performers of Western music, in the country.
Most other Sri Lankan performers of Western music, De Silva feels, are reluctant to collaborate. This hinders the possibility of the western classical music arena in Sri Lanka developing. De Silva believes that if the situation was different, scores of globally successful classical musicians abroad would be able to help put Sri Lanka on the map as a cultural hub.
The world-famous pianist also expresses a concern that we (Sri Lankans) as an audience give preference to foreign artistes over local musicians, regardless of whether they are in fact better or not.
“Most of the foreign artistes are mediocre and do not have illustrious careers,” he points out.
De Silva, on the other hand, most certainly does have an illustrious career. He has performed twice at the White House, first in 2007 for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the invitation of U.S. President George W. Bush, and then in 2012 for Israeli President Shimon Peres at the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama.
He has been on the Tonight Show and CNN’s “Showbiz Today”, and performed with some of the world’s most acclaimed violinists, sharing prestigious stages at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and across the globe. De Silva is also a faculty member on music programmes.
He began his musical career at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and then moved to the prestigious Julliard School, New York. In 1990 he was awarded a special prize as Best Accompanist at the 9th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and accompanied probably the world’s best admired violinist Itzhak Perlman for the first time, in 1999.
De Silva is currently touring the United States with Perlman. Their musical partnership has contributed “tremendously” to De Silva’s growth as a musician. What makes the partnership special and productive, in De Silva’s analysis, is that they respect each other as musicians. He and Perlman do not rehearse together very often, he says, but when they do, it is intense and demanding.
“It brings my performance to another level,” he writes.
Over the 18 years that De Silva has been Perlman’s accompanist, the duo have come to understand each other’s playing deeply. It is second nature for De Silva, to follow Perlman’s “breathing” along the musical phrases.
“It is like a marriage when you know your spouse very well and what they are thinking of,” De Silva says.
In the coming weeks De Silva will be playing at summer festivals in the U.S. where he makes his home. Later in the year, he will tour East Asia with Perlman. It is in between these high-profile engagements that he is making a very, very short trip home to Sri Lanka, to perform with the De Lanerolle Brothers.
The concert on June 4 will feature classical music and songs from Broadway. For tickets and delivery call 0777-996-991.