Vive la Musique!

Shani Diluka & Eric-Maria Couturier in Concert. Presented by the Alliance Fran‡aise de Kandy and Kandy Music Society

A sizeable audience of music lovers forgathered for a fine concert at the Engineering Faculty Auditorium, Peredeniya University on Sunday 15th October.

Word had got around that this would be a performance of outstanding quality and so it turned out to be: superb music-making by two young artistes who are already recognised as virtuosi at the very highest level in the world of international classical music.

The performers themselves have truly international backgrounds. Shani Diluka (piano) was born in Monaco of Sri Lankan parents and is now based in France where she is acclaimed as one of the greatest talents of her generation.

Eric-Maria Couturier (cello) was born in Vietnam, studied in France and has performed with distinction in various prestigious competitions and festivals around the world.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the French Embassy and the Arts Council of Peredeniya University who had collaborated with the Alliance Fran‡aise and the KMS to bring these brilliant musicians to Kandy.

The French composer Gabriel Faur‚ is well known for his beautiful, romantic songs for solo voice (usually baritone) and piano.

One of the most popular of these is the poignant AprŠs un Rˆve which was the first item of the evening, in a simple, elegant transcription for cello by Casals. Couturier's complete mastery was evident from the very start.

The opening bars were hushed and reflective, not overplayed with too much romantic gush, and the intonation was perfect at all times, especially in the higher register when the tune is repeated in the octave above.

The piano accompaniment was in perfect sympathy (or even empathy) and the piece was an absolute delight, setting the tone for what was to follow.

Not so long ago, it was the fashion to be dismissive of the music of Edvard Grieg, the Norwegian composer who gave us, amongst other things, probably the most popular and best loved piano concerto of all time. (Perhaps this helps to explain the musical establishment's erstwhile supercilious attitude; snobbish critics always seem to decry those who attain widespread popularity amongst the ordinary public!)

If anyone should ever need proof of Grieg's real worth as an innovative and original master of piano composition, they need look no further than the Lyrical Pieces for solo piano, twelve of which were included in the programme for this concert (six in the first half and six in the second).

Diluka's interpretation was admirable, allowing us to enjoy these charming little masterpieces afresh. Amongst the first six we had a wistful, reflective opening piece followed by a brilliant caprice and then a well known romantic tune which I can remember my grandmother playing and which I always thought was by Chopin!

The fourth and fifth pieces were full of interest, both minor key, with a Hungarian flavour and some daring shifts in tonality. The last of this set was a positively manic galop which went at a hair-raising speed but was never out of Diluka's stunning virtuoso control.

The first half closed with the Sonata for Cello & Piano in D Min by Debussy, the second French composer of the evening. The dramatic piano opening of this piece with rich whole-tone chords introduced the cello and so the sonata began to unfold.

Much of Debussy's music was programmatic and, although this piece was not so by title, one could not help feeling that a story was nevertheless being related. There was a very jazzy pizzicato section which further illustrated Couturier's flawless technique.

The music seemed to grow in complexity and was in turn spooky, fun, disjointed, intriguing, and increasingly agitated. In short, it was thoroughly compelling. Throughout this piece I was struck by the perfect rapport between the two musicians who understood each other, as well as the music, so profoundly - a concerted effort in every sense.

The result was exceptional musical ensemble and balance. This piece was performed as a true duet, not as a cello solo with piano accompaniment.

Following a short interval, the Variations on Mozart's Die Zauberfl”te, by Beethoven, opened the second half of the programme - an unusual choice and a delight to hear.

There was a jaunty opening as Mozart's theme was stated and then (with the odd rumble of thunder in the background!) the variations began, ingenious, imaginative and confident. As the brilliantly conceived ideas flowed forwards, I was reminded of the way in which a jazz soloist states an old standard and then finds new ways to treat it - developing, embellishing and transforming it but always with love and respect for the original composition.

Beethoven's Variations, however, is not just a lightweight pastiche but exquisitely created music in its own right. For example, there was a stunning, andante, minor key variation which captivated the listener with all the electric atmosphere of a slow movement from, say, one of Beethoven's big piano concerti.

Then away we went breezily again into another exuberant variation, with tunes and phrases tossed playfully, but with supreme confidence, between the two instruments.

On a point of detail, I felt that the acoustic balance between the two instruments, which had seemed perfect in the first half, was now favouring the piano a little too much and I wanted to nip up and close the piano lid! However, this was probably just a quirk of my particular position in the auditorium.

The second set of six Lyrical Pieces followed and provided further evidence of Grieg's impressive ability as a composer for piano. In the first piece we heard romanticism the equal of Faur‚ then later, in complete contrast, a mercurial piece, angular and fey (I think this was the third item).

This in turn was followed by something slower and with much more expansive emotion, which sounded more Russian than Norwegian. The finale was another dazzling, hair-raising chase and I seemed to see shadowy cowboys racing across a flickering silent movie screen...

The final offering (though musically the centrepiece of the evening) was Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in A major. Opening with the cello exposition of the main theme, this glorious performance was entirely compelling and left me marvelling yet again at Beethoven's inventive genius.

The development was fascinating and, like a beautifully written book, it got the audience engrossed so that we wanted to turn over the page and find out what happened next.

The second movement was distinctly animato, at first reminiscent of another Beethoven piano sonata and then becoming more urgent and emotive. The instrumental ensemble was impeccable during this complex section.

Another ravishing slow section opened the third movement and then the tempo increased again and one could feel a spectacular finale brewing up as we headed towards the recapitulation and finish. Spectacular it was and the audience's appreciation was animated - we wanted more!

The first encore was a lighthearted appreciation of the evening's French origins. Carmen is an opera whose story and themes lie in Spain but its composer, Georges Bizet, was French and this was his finest work. I remember once singing in a 'concert' version of Carmen - but the translation from dramatic stage opera to formal choir never worked properly.

This transcription for two instruments was much more successful however. The big Habanera sounded terrific on the cello and it was lovely to hear all the tunes again. The finale went hell-for-leather and the audience seemed more breathless than the performers by the end!

As a final and completely unexpected treat, there was a second encore, following more prolonged audience applause. Shani Diluka returned to the stage to perform the third movement of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata.

This really was a tour de force, for the piece is very demanding, not just technically but physically, especially (dare one say this without fear of committing a sexist gaff?) for a very elegant, young female pianist. Diluka's playing was dazzling and uncompromising - and breath-takingly accurate. This was a brilliant firework with which to end the display.

Sincere thanks go once again to the Dean of the Engineering Faculty at Peredeniya, not only for allowing the use of the auditorium but for continuing to maintain the only concert grand piano available for performance anywhere in Kandy. (This really is a deplorable situation, as has often been said in the past.

Why on earth can't Kandy, as 'cultural capital of Sri Lanka', have its own, central, properly appointed and equipped concert hall?) I have never heard the E Fac piano sound as well as it did on this occasion and the auditorium's acoustic is perfect for such a chamber performance.

The cello tone was rich and sonorous, especially in the lower register, and I felt sure it must be a rare and priceless instrument.

However, in conversation with Eric-Maria Couturier afterwards, I learned that he had in fact borrowed it from a kind cello teacher in Colombo, had re-stringed it himself and was using his own bow.

I also learned that he and Shani Diluka, both of them charming and unassuming individuals, were on a gruelling international tour which had them ricocheting around the globe for performances in a bewildering number of far-flung destinations.

We were fortunate indeed to be able to experience their consummate musicianship up here in Kandy and hope that they can find the time to return to Sri Lanka sometime in the future.