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Arts

Passion and technique infused with humour
By Satyajith Andradi
It was a rare treat for those who attended the piano recital of Robin Zebaida on Thursday, August 11 at the Bishop’s College auditorium. It turned out to be an evening of romantic music with a difference- music charged with intimate emotions, raging passions and fantasy coupled with virtuoso piano technique and the inimitable humour of the amiable pianist. The brief commentaries of the recitalist, which preceded each piece, were most welcome.

The recital began with a well-known masterpiece of Beethoven- his Sonata quasi una fantasia in C minor, better known as the Moonlight Sonata. The textbooks of musical history may list this as a classical work by a classical composer. But the Moonlight Sonata, which was dedicated by Beethoven to his beautiful young pupil, Countess Julietta von Guicciardi, with whom he had fallen in love, is unmistakably a romantic masterpiece.

The Beethoven sonata was followed by the piano arrangements by Franz Liszt of four Songs (Lieder) by Schubert. Of these works, the rendering of the piece named Tranquillity (based on the Schubert Lied titled “Du bist die Ruh”), was the loveliest- also one of the most memorable ones of the evening’s programme. It was serene, meditative music- a lover’s seductive prayer to the beloved!

The Earl King (an arrangement of Schubert’s magnificent setting of the Goethe ballad) was, on the other hand, a total disappointment. The worried rider, his frightened little son and the evil Erlkoenig of Schubert’s Lied were nowhere to be heard or felt. Perhaps they were all lost in the “Nacht und Wind”- the ferocity of the left- hand piano accompaniment!

Liszt’s piano arrangements of Schubert were followed by Funerailles, an original piano composition by Liszt- a piece of programme music with an abundance of Chopinesque stuff! This piece, brilliantly performed by the pianist, brought the pre- interval session to a close. Chopin and Gershwin dominated the post- interval session, with Greig (with Percy Grainger’s abridgement of the first movement of the piano concerto in A minor), Rachmaninov (with two preludes- op. 35 Nos. 5 and 12), and Schubert (with Leopold Godowsky’s arrangement of the Moment Musical), adding colour. Chopin’s truly Polish “Polonaise in A major, op 40 No. 1., and Gershwin’s jazzy “Rhapsody in Blue” were well performed, to say the least.

But what intrigued me the most, was the rendering of Godowsky’s arrangements for the left hand of two of Chopin’s Studies, one of which was the great Revolutionary Etude.

Here was a virtuoso display of piano technique, viz. piano playing only with the left hand. What is more important is that the revolutionary fervour of Chopin’s great Etude was not sacrificed at the altar of pianistic gymnastics.

19th century masters
After "Delacroix : A Passionate Struggle for Liberty" (1998), "The Cézanne Week" (2001), "Gauguin : The Savage Dream" (2003), and "Matisse : Apotheose of Colour" (2004), this year's major exhibition now on at the Alliance française de Kandy brings out the non-Occidental sources behind the Nineteenth Century's French art.

The works featured at the exhibition titled "Call of Exoticism - from Delacroix to Matisse" are by Eugène Delacroix, Jean-Dominique Ingres, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Camille Claudel and Henri Matisse.

A workshop will also be held for art students today, and a parallel exhibition displaying the works of the students who took part in the workshop will be held on August 31.

Appo! Is this the norm?
The Fine Arts Productions will stage its first play, Clueless@#!! on September 9, 10 and 11 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre with Abbasali Rosaiz, the script-writer, promising a production with a twist.

The scene is set in England, at the residence of Harendra Latapatagoda (played by Anushan Selvarajah) world famous fashion designer, who has spent most of his life in England. Disaster strikes when Harendra’s daughters (played by Nabila Sameera and Subha Wijesinghe) are kidnapped from their own bedrooms. Detective Patrick Littleworth (played by Abbasali Rosaiz) comes to investigate and first suspects Harendra’s wife, Samantha (played by Seshandri De Silva). Later Samantha herself is kidnapped and the plot really thickens.
“We wanted to highlight the irony of the norm in everyday life,” said Abbasali. However, the play’s colourful characters seem far from the norm. Take Bolowathie (played by Uditha Silva), an old, slightly dotty Sri Lankan lady yet to lose her “Aneys” and Appos” after settling down in England.

Then there is Nick (played by Suman Raja) Harendra’s head fashion designer who appears to be confused about his sexual orientation. The list of saucy characters continues with names such as ‘Sir Shagalotte’. The play is sure to entertain people of all ages with its mix of slapstick humour and deeper, more serious undertones with a hint of political humour to please the older segment of the audience. Music for the play will be directed by Indu Dharmadhasa.
Heshan Priyatilake

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