From ravishing lyricism to raging passion
Satyajith Andradi
All roads lead to Rome, it is said. In this instance, of course, it
was different - all roads led inexorably to the Appassionata. The place:
Colombo, Sri Lanka. Date: Saturday, 3rd November 2007. Time: about
quarter past eight in the evening.
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Lanka’s Golden Girl Shani Diluka |
A beautiful young pianist, elegantly clad in a lovely golden dress,
sat down to play the Appassionata. What happened thereafter was
stupendous, to say the least. The sensation was electrifying and
exhilarating. The large audience was spell bound.
With utter amazement and excitement they watched the Golden Girl
grapple with raging passions and seductive beauty on the one hand and
the incredible technical demands on the other. All along she was calm,
cheerful and confident.
She was absolutely in control of the situation. The frightening
challenges were overcome. Beethoven's mighty Appassionata was brought to
life. Its spiritual message was delivered.
The exceptional artistic prowess of the charismatic Musical Icon was
revealed to her countrymen. A grateful audience responded with a
thunderous standing ovation. A short while later she said," It is
wonderful to be here. This is my country".
The piano recital by the internationally acclaimed young Sri Lankan
concert pianist Shani Diluka was held at the Bishop's College auditorium
in Colombo on Saturday, 3rd November 2007.
The concert was organised by the Alliance Francaise de Colombo with
the support of the French Embassy in Sri Lanka. The evening's programme
commenced with Schubert's 12 Laendler D 771.
These short Austrian - German folk dance pieces by the master of
German song set the mood for the first part of the recital, which was
devoted entirely to Schubert.
The Laendler were followed by Schubert's lyrical and sensuous
Impromptu in F minor D 935. The high point of the pre-interval session
was of course Schubert's lovely sonata in A major, D 664.
This ravishing masterpiece, which epitomizes pure lyricism, was a
wonderful treat by itself. With her exceptional flair for the lyrical in
music, Shani made the piano sing all the way long. The spiritual depth
of this intensely sensuous sonata was revealed.
The second part of the programme commenced after a brief interval. It
began with Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, which includes the much loved
Claire de lune. This gave a French flavour to the evening's programme,
which was of course dominated by the great German composers, Schubert
and Beethoven.
The Debussy Suite was followed by the highlight of the entire
programme - Beethoven's great piano sonata in F minor, Op. 57 - the
Appasionata , which brought the evening's programme to an end.
In response to the thunderous applause that followed, Shani played
the vigourous Spanish dance by the Spanish composer Manuel De Falla. The
concert ended with a thrilling performance of the March Op. 54 No.2 from
the Lyric Pieces by the Norwegien composer Edvard Grieg. |
