Young pianist to play Brahms Concerto with SOSL
Manahara Virasinha who is a graduate in Piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, USA will play Brahms' monumental 2nd Piano concerto with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka at their Young Soloists' concert on Saturday, July 26.

Brahms B flat Concerto is the largest of all piano concertos in the classical form. It exploits the entire range of the piano forte in pitch and dynamics, and musically and physically is one of the most challenging. Brahms was the soloist in the first performance of the work at the Redoutensaal, Budapest in November 1881 when it was an immediate success.

Lasting memories of the Concerto often include the hauntingly beautiful horn solo of the opening bars, and the lovely melody of the Andante first introduced by a solo cello which moves on to develop an enchanting dialogue with the piano.

Amongst Brahms' innovations in the work is a fourth movement added to the traditional three. It is a stormy Scherzo which Brahms introduced because "he wanted something strong and passionate" between the expansive first movement and the tender, lyrical Andante.

The weight of the first three movements is balanced by the graceful and carefree Rondo of the finale, which is animated by the unmistakable spirit of Hungarian gypsy music. This movement contains some of the most dramatic, virtuoso music for the soloist.

Manahara Virasinha was a prize winner in the Stravinsky International Competiton, Chicago, in 1989 and finalist in the J.S.Bach International Competition, Washington DC in 1991. He was a first prize winner in the Alexandria Symphony competition in 1993, and in the Mid-Texas Symphony Competition in 1994.

Manahara has performed in many cities in the USA, including Philadelphia, San Antonio, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

Shalindri Jayasinghe, the first performer, played Frederic Chopin's Nocturne in G major and Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Op 65. Chopin's Nocturne, like most of his music, has a passionate energy woven into transparent singing melody. Shalindri is a competent player, but the delicate and poetic sensibility of Chopin was not always expressed. Ruvini Kalupahana who played next, chose the graceful many coloured Impromptu in G flat major by Franz Schubert, followed by Johannes Brahms' Rhapsody in G minor Op 79.

Ruvini played with feeling and her phrasing and rhythmic sense was good. It was evident that she understood the music she played with a certain delicacy and depth. Hasinee Halpe Andree, accompanied by her mother and teacher, Bridget, played three violin compositions, first by the 17th century composer Jean Marie Leclair, followed by Max Bruch and Camille Saint-Saens. The Leclair Sonata in E minor resembling a Suite, had six short movements beginning with an Adagio which was rather beautiful.Next was Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei, inspired by the Jewish poetry and music of the atonement, played with feeling and an understanding of the penitence and sorrow in it.

Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens is a description in sound of the Halloween dance of the dead, a dance of skeletons in a graveyard at midnight. It is a cold dark tone poem of dissonances, broken phrases and ambling legato interrupted by flattened passages of harsh entries. Hasinee acquitted herself well, and gave the impression she enjoyed playing especially as it was with her mother.

Nuwan Vithanage, with a background of Indian Classical music, is a young man who has studied Western Classical music with Bridget Halpe. His choice moved from Franz Schubert to George Gershwin. If he was rather wary in interpreting the contemplative Sonata in A minor by Schubert, he certainly enjoyed the two Preludes of contemporary George Gershwin.

Chaturika Rajapakse, perhaps one of Bridget Halpe's brightest students, has been her student from the start. For her recital she had chosen the Hungarian Rhapsody in C sharp minor by Franz Liszt, the Elegie in E flat minor by Rachmaninov and the Etude in D sharp minor by Skryabin - all music interestingly in minor keys, and mostly as virtuoso performance.

Chaturika pleased the audience with her confident and exuberant playing. Liszt, a virtuoso pianist himself wrote extremely difficult and demanding music. He is well known for his Rhapsodies, compositions of great complexity and moods. The Elegie in E flat minor by Sergie Rachmaninov was what I liked best of Chaturika's performance.

The fire and drama of the Etude by Skryabin, rather well known here, was her final piece, and the concert hall resounded with appreciative applause.

-Nalini Jayasuriya

Bringing to light dark room techniques
By Ishani Ranasinghe
"A work of art can never be duplicated. If the artist chooses to paint another the result will be always better or worse than the first…. but never the same." These are the thoughts of D.K. Lanti.

D. K. Lanti, a photographer for the past 20 years is best known for his dark room techniques. Having first got into photography when he did a course as a student at Gampaha Bandaranayake Vidyalaya he went on to join the Arts Society of Sri Lanka and since then has taken part in many national and international competitions. "You get really addicted to this," he says with a grin adding that for the dark room technique a lot of freedom is also necessary.

"After doing this for sometime I wanted to put out my collection." And so his third exhibition will be held next week. "Once I started studying the works of well known artists, I started wondering if I could do the sae," he explains, adding that he did a lot of research and experimentation.

For him photography is a form of art and he feels that the tone of black and white, which is used in all his works aids creativity. "It also helps you to adjust the tones the exact way you want it," he adds. When the photographs are in colour the final outcome is not that effective, he feels. Using chemicals to change the tones of the picture D.K. Lanti's collection comprises portraits, landscapes and nature studies.
He feels the minute the picture is taken it has to register in the mind. " Afterwards when you are developing the picture it is what is stored in the mind that has to be the final outcome."

"The toning of the pictures is done manually," he says adding that otherwise it would never be your own creation. "If you use the computer it would be the computer software's creation.” D. K. Lanti's exhibition "Camera Art" will be on at the National Art Gallery from July 26 - 28.

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