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| Richness
of India The cultural intricacies are too many. India presumably poor is rich. That richness is not found in its gold-encrusted palaces and temples and not in the teeming business centres of Mumbai and Bangalore. It is found in the stillness of a mango grove, the chatter near a village well, the grace of an elderly man and the soft curves of a dark-wood canoe." Waswo X. Waswo is a native of Wisconsin, USA and studied at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Center for Photography and Studio Marangione, the Center for Contemporary Photography in Florence, Italy. All his photographs are sepia toned silver gelatin prints on fibre-based paper. India Poems will be on at the Alliance Francaise in Colombo till October 27 and then moves to the Alliance Francaise in Kandy from November 7-13. Musicianship
matched by technique The soloist
was also Austrian - the highly accomplished young pianist Albert
Sassmann - and he surely follows in the national tradition of prodigious
musical talent. When he played, one immediately knew that here was a world-class musician who was in total control of every aspect of his art. From the opening Mozart Sonata (KV 309) and throughout the programme, he performed with such mastery and depth of understanding that the music could speak for itself, unspoilt by ostentation. For performers who are in possession of outstanding practical technique, there is unfortunately a great temptation to show off. This happens often, in both amateur and professional recitals, where a desire to dazzle the audience gets the better of a virtuoso player and the music inevitably suffers. Dynamics are overdone, subtleties are lost, the picture becomes obscured with too much colour, too much contrast. Then authenticity is sacrificed and the beauty of the music has come second to the brilliance of the performer. When Albert Sassmann plays, there is no danger of such heavy-handedness. His interpretations are perfectly poised, certainly judged, entirely delightful. It is not often that outstanding musicianship is matched by absolute command of technique. In Sassmann there is yet a third gift - his special, empathetic insight into the creative genius of his fellow countrymen. No wonder this concert was such a joy! The Mozart was followed by Schubert's Sonata D664 which Sassmann introduced as being a kind of 'Song without Words'. Beautiful tunes certainly abounded, as they do in all of Schubert's music. The slow second movement would, I feel sure, have glowed in the dark - a Song Too Beautiful for Words, perhaps. After the interval, Johann Strauss's well-known Fruhlingstimmen was given fresh life. Stripped free of cliché and thoroughly 'unhackneyed', this lovely waltz deserved its place in the programme alongside the more classical works. Its Austrian authenticity was evident in the unmechanical lefthand 3/4 (ta-tum-tum instead of tum-ta-ta)! Liszt's six Valse Caprices followed (Soirée de Vienne). Like the Fruhlingstimmen, one or two of these pieces are routinely done to death by amateur players and, as a result, one can mistakenly think of them as less than interesting. On this occasion, however, it was easy to enjoy them and to appreciate afresh Liszt's true creative genius. These little masterpieces are full of surprise and invention - for example, the unexpected and highly original modulation and resolution at the end of No. 1. The waltzes which Richard Strauss wrote for 'Der Rosenkavalier' are sublime and operate at a quite different level from those of his namesake Johann. It has been said that he only put them into the opera to prove that he too could compose wonderful waltzes when he felt like it! We heard a paraphrase for piano which conveyed all the exquisite joy of the full version for orchestra. Yet again, Sassman's mastery ensured that, richly sumptuous though the music is, nothing was overdone. The audience was small but highly appreciative and there were no less than three encores. Johann Strauss's well-known Pizzicato Polka was followed by the jaunty Hungarian Dance No. 3 by Brahms. Finally, there was the charming but less well-known piece 'Old Vienna', which provided a delicate and nostalgic close to the evening. On September 1, yet more wonderful Austrian music delighted another enthusiastic audience which filled the lovely home of Ashley and Bridget Halpé in Anniewatte. This highly successful 'House Concert' was designed as a less formal and more intimate follow-up to the stage performance a few days earlier. Again, the
programme was unique in featuring exclusively Austrian composers
but this time, with the exception of Mozart, all were 20th century
and the music brought beauty and excitement of very different kinds
from the waltzes of Liszt, Strauss et al. Here was a true
chamber performance, the formal hall and concert grand being replaced
by domestic elegance and a fine sounding Yamaha upright. Sassmann's
performance was again distinguished by the complete absence of vulgar
hyperbole. The rest of the programme took us into quite different territory and much was unfamiliar. However, this selection of modern piano music was brilliantly contrived and nothing was inaccessible. Often, spiky contemporary music has to be met by the well-intentioned but perhaps inexpert listener with the grim fortitude of a patient swallowing ghastly medicine. The optimistic assumption is that it must somehow be good for the health. On this occasion, mercifully, there was no need for brave determination and a stiff upper lip. Albert Sassmann is to be thanked not only for his playing but also for introducing us to such unexpected and rewarding new musical experiences. We owe Albert Sassmann a huge debt of gratitude for making the long journey to Kandy to give his first public performances in Sri Lanka. Internationally, he commands very much larger audiences (and, let us be plain, fees) so it was with a sense of real privilege and appreciation that we welcomed him here. Performers of his calibre are few and far between, even in Europe.- Anthony Newman A
variety of dances This will be followed by "Balabharatham" a performance by the junior students on November 1 at the Ramakrishna Mission Hall, Wellawatte. The dance composition for this recital is by Kalasuri Jegatheeswaran. Kalasuri Jegatheeswaran who has dedicated herself to the field of classical dance for over three decades, has not only presented her students here in Sri Lanka but also in India and in the West. VAFA
exhibition Saman Suganda Liyanage, Vajira Karunatilake, Kusal Nandana Gunasekara, Chammika Jayewardene, Chandana Wasantha, Deepika Welikala, Manjula Priyadarshana, Anura Krishantha and Arjuna Gunaratne are the artists participating. |
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