When that music breathed and sighed

By Lalanath de Silva

The Inchon Youth Symphony Orchestra from South Korea performed at the BMICH on January 20. The orchestra of about 50 young players between 9 and 20 years has performed some 90 concerts in Korea and around the world since its inception in 1985. They selected excerpts from works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Britten and Korean composers for their inspiring performance.

Most of the orchestra consisted of strings sporting some five desks each of 1st and 2nd violins, 3rd violins and Celli and one Double Bass. They opened their programme with the two national anthems. The Conductor was Jong Wook Lee and the Director was Hyung-Tae Kim.

"Winter" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons was executed with excellent speed and sensitivity in style. The three lead 1st violins, Min. Gi Kim, Sang Kuem Kim, and Yoo Jung Kwak took turns in the solo parts of the three movements. The orchestra played with good intonation and the soloists excelled themselves. The florid passages were performed with great accuracy and good tone. Above all, the performance was spirited.

This was followed by two movements from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major KV 414 and the first movement from the Flute Concerto No. I in G KV 313.

The speeds in both works were excellent and both were played with spirit. I would have preferred if the orchestra worked at improving the dynamic range - or perhaps this was a problem that was created by the amplification that was evident and at times quite irritating. The young pianist showed good technique and despite a small memory slip captured the lightness of Mozart. Perhaps a grand piano might have helped, but the BMICH does not have one! The wind intonation suffered a little towards the end of the piano concerto but this did not detract from the performance.

The young flautist also played with spirit and with good clean tone and excellent execution. Yet the orchestra drowned her from time to time largely because the balance was upset by the amplification. The cadenza was quite impressive with ample demonstration of the soloist's technique. The speeds and styles were captured with accuracy. The French horn player was a treat to hear. He played the opening passages in the flute concerto confidently and with a lovely sound. The second half of the programme was dedicated to Korean composers Young Sub. Choi, Dong Jin Kim and the programme consisted of well-known Korean favourites. All these works were performed beautifully. The overall intonation of the orchestra suffered during the second,half perhaps due to the high air conditioning at the BMICH. These works warmed everyone's hearts and during an encore there was spontaneous rhythmic clapping and even singing by the audience - full of sentimental Korean expatriates reminiscing about their home far away in Korea.

The orchestra finished the programme with the Poco Lento Pesante (slow movement) from Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony. This was unusual, for we Sri Lankans think one must end a programme with a fast piece! To my surprise Britten's slow movement captured the ability of the Inchon Youth to play with depth and breadth. What a lovely string sound they made and the music breathed and sighed.

Why me, asks cinema giant

Relaxing in his Dickman's Road home, Dr. Lester James Peries was still answering congratulatory telephone calls even a week after his return from New Delhi after collecting the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. Many asked him how he came to be selected. "Your guess is as good as mine," was his answer. He didn't know. Neither did his wife Sumitra.

The citation, however, makes it clear why Lester was given this great honour by the Government of India. It's "for outstanding contribution to the field of cinema and for enriching the art of filmmaking." It is thus not confined to Sinhala cinema or Sri Lankan cinema. It's much wider - recognition for his service to the cause of cinema.

The award being the first in the new millennium is even more significant. The 31st International Film Festival was the first of the century. As for the award, this is the second time a great director has been honoured. Under the caption 'The Formidable Genius', the Festival News, in its lead story, introduced Lester as "Sri Lanka's most prolific and celebrated movie director whose films have given Sinhala cinema a distinct identity. Krishna Kant wrote that his creative work over the past half century "has catapulted cinema from this tiny island nation into sharp international focus".

Lester had to say a few words after receiving the award. He did not have a prepared text. "It was off the cuff and judging from the audience reaction, they seemed to appreciate what he was saying," quipped Sumitra. "I thought he would go on and on."

Apparently the Festival organisers had gone through 60 names and the choice was Lester. A proud achievement indeed!

What next?

Lester is ready to get cracking with his next film. He is eagerly waiting for Somawira Senanayake to give him the script based on Anton Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard', described as one of Chekhov's four major works which realistically explores the frustrations and unhappiness of life. It will be Lester's 19th feature film.

Starting with 'Rekava' (1956), his most recent was 'Avaragira' (1996).

Early films

Film fans have a rare chance of seeing some of the early Sinhala films at the special screenings arranged by the National Film Corporation (NFC) at the BMICH cinema hall prior to the presentation of Presidential Awards on February 11. They will also be able to study the influence of Indian cinema on the Sinhala film and the gradual transformation into a truly indigenous product.

The screenings started with the second Sinhala film 'Asokamala' (1947) directed by Shanti Kumar and T. R. Gopu, 'Puduma Leli' (1953: A. S. Nagarajan) and 'Ahankara Sthree' (1954 : A B Raj). Today, 'Seda Sulang' (1955 :T. Somasekeran), 'Prema Tarangaya' (1953: A. B. Raj), and 'Ramyalatha' (1956: A. B. Raj) will be shown. 'Deiyange Rate' (1958 :L. S. Ramachandran), 'Purusha Ratnaya' (1959: A. S. Nagarajan) and 'Kurulubedda' (1961: L. S. Ramachandran) are scheduled for tomorrow. On Tuesday, the films will be 'Sikuru Tharuwa' (1963:L. S. Ramachandran), 'Sama' (1965: G.D.L. Perera) and 'Vesaturu Sirita' (1966: Lionel Amarasinghe). 'Parasathu Mal' (1966: Gamini Fonseka), 'Sorungeth Soru' (1967: Mike Wilson) and 'Amathikama' (1968: Nihal Jayasinghe) are scheduled for screening next. The last day's films are 'Dahasak Sithuvili' (1968: G. D. L. Perera), 'Lasanda' (1974: K. A. W. Perera) & 'Kavuda Raja' (1976:J. Selvaratnam and J. Rasaratnam).

Not many of the early films are available for screening. The NFC has done well to collect at least this lot for screening.

Two more books

The writing duo - Professor J. B. and wife Kusum Disanayaka - launched their latest creations at two simple ceremonies at the National Library Services Board auditorium recently.

J. B.'s was the revised and enlarged edition of that interesting little book, 'Let's Read and Write Sinhala' . Kusum's was another translation - 'Wind in the Willows' (1908), the famous children's story by British writer, Kenneth Grahame. The Godage publication is titled ' Vilo Turu Sevana'. Renowned artist Sybil Wettasinghe has illustrated the book.

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