A privileged capacity audience were enthralled by a concert with a difference on May 18 at the Bishop’s College auditorium. The music ranged from the virtuosity of Reiko Fujisawa, the talented Japanese pianist to the soul stirring vocal renditions of a young man from a home for visually impaired in Chunnakam – Jaffna.
The enchanting evening was the 15th in a series of concerts titled ‘Symphony for a Child’ – the other 14 were spread over the years at the Regent Hall in London. This charity is the creation of the indefatigable Sirima Jayasekera, whose tireless efforts over the past 12 years have benefited a number of deserving young people in Sri Lanka. This concert was her way of saying ‘We are one nation, we are all Sri Lankans’. With this foremost in her mind, with the help of Mangala Munasinghe, she was instrumental in getting Reiko Fujisawa from England.
Dinali David’s powerful voice with Mary Anne David’s masterful and perfect collaboration on the piano was a refreshing start to the rather long programme to follow. The gross electronic amplification of the delicate Yamaha Grand Piano lacked subtlety and had some disastrous moments that the accomplished pianists had to undergo throughout an otherwise excellent evening of music.
The internationally acclaimed Japanese pianist seemed slightly unnerved by the amplified sound of the piano when she began her recital with Beethoven’s Pathetique – added to her misfortune was the disturbing applause after the 1st Movement. She however accepted this imperfection when she continued with Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu Op 69 with masterly precision and soulful interpretation of the melodious slow movement. The lesser known Impromptu op 29 was also executed with clarity – but Reiko’s brilliant virtuosity was really showcased in one of Liszt’s most magnificent short compositions - The Mephisto Waltz No1 – My own comment was a loud ‘Bravo’. Her well played Encore was Rimsky Korsakov’s brief finger twisting Flight of the Bumble Bee.
The voices of Dinushka Jayawickrame and Shehara Liyanage with the musical genius Soundari David Rodrigo collaborating on piano carried us to a mystical world with their electrifying rendition of ‘The Prayer.’
Sureka Amerasinghe’s ecstatic flute performance climaxed with yet another fantasy – Bizet’s Fantasie Brilliante from Carmen. Twelve-year-old Kavishka Paranavitane with sister Dulli helping on piano played Monti’s virtuoso Czardas with maturity well ahead of his years.
The night of fantasies continued with a flautist with brilliant stage presence and ‘flute flair’ Tilanka Jayamanne joyously entertaining us with Philip Gaubert’s Fantasie ably assisted on piano by Kamalini Casie Chitty.
Sirima’s dream for ending our diversity was satisfied to perfection when the soulful voice of Kulendran Jegatheesan from Vaazhvaham School for visually impaired in Chunnakam, Jaffna stirred the emotions of all present singing in Tamil and then in Sinhala.
The ever popular Lanerolle Brothers sang a fitting finale to the programme where Sirima through ‘Symphony for a Child’ has donated all profits to the Chunnakam School and Dr. Premila Senanayake’s deserving Kalutara charity ‘Educate a Child Trust.’
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