Review

From the sublime to the mobile phone

Chamber Music Plus (II) at the Goethe Institute.
A concert featuring Malinee Jayasinghe Peris (piano) and the projected art of Muhanned Cader.

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

The second concert of the ‘Chamber Music Plus’ series presented by the Chamber Music Society of Colombo and the Goethe Institute was held on May 26 at the Goethe Saal in Colombo. This time around, the music was paired with the projected abstract art of the prodigiously gifted Muhanned Cader, but for most present, the attraction was the rare appearance of the doyen of South Asian classical pianism, U.S. based Malinee Jayasinghe Peris.

The concert began with three of the CMSC string principals, Cynthia Fernando (violin), Avanti Perera (viola) and Shinichi Murata (cello) along with its concertmaster Lakshman Joseph de Saram performing a spirited version of G.F. Handel’s ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,’ a witty introduction not lost on the ‘house full’ audience. Prof. Jayasinghe Peris next joined in an absolutely passionate and revelatory performance of Gustav Mahler’s youthful Piano Quartet in A minor.

The only complete example of his chamber music in existence, written for piano, violin, viola and cello, the music’s visceral elements of rage, sorrow and affection were expressed with precision and verve, the piano at most times yielding graciously to the surging string writing.

Live music

After a brief verbal introduction by the Chamber Music Society’s concertmaster on the relationship between the projected art and the live music to be played, Malinee Jayasinghe Peris took the stage to begin her much-anticipated solo recital.

She began with Frederic Chopin’s ‘Barcarolle’ in F-sharp minor, Op. 60. Considered the poet of the piano, Chopin’s ‘Barcarolle’ is one of the more famous examples of the sweeping romanticism and bittersweet poignancy that the Polish master is revered for. In this work, there were moments when one suspected that Prof. Peris’s technique was not quite as assured as it used to be. And then capriciously, she would invoke something delightful with graceful ease making one realize what an exceptional pianist she still is.

But alas, the genius of Chopin and the mastery of Ms. Peris were not great enough to overcome the barbaric ringing and answering of a vile mobile phone during one of the quieter moments of the piece, ruining the music for everyone. It is a pity, for jarring annoyances are rare at the transparently elitist Chamber Music Society soiree, the ‘Society’ and its core audience usually smug in their seemingly cocooned irreverence for all things common, people included.

The ‘Society’s’ upper echelons even going to the extent of publicly boasting about how they only nurture audiences of a ‘certain’ ilk. We are not too convinced now, since the offender came directly from the rarified seats in the front of the hall, a not-for-sale section permanently reserved for the ‘Society's’ guarded guest list of high net-worth invitees. In defense of the CMSC, an announcement was made, probably directed to the less cultured of us at the back on phone etiquette before a single note was sounded. An exercise in futility it turned out to be. Will we ever learn?

Next were excerpts from Claude-Achille Debussy’s ‘Images.’ ‘Poissons D'or (Book 2 no. 3)’ and ‘Reflet dans l'eau (Book 1 no. 1).’ These were imbued with traces of fantasy as well as obvious technique, and Debussy’s masterful expression of multiple emotions and significances by making use of abstract harmony and vague key signatures was brought to the fore with consummate skill.

Crowning glories

One of the crowning glories of the piano repertoire, Maurice Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de la Nuit’ is not for the timid or the curious amateur. This is a suite of pieces for solo piano that is almost always the exclusive preserve of the true virtuoso, by sheer dint of it containing some of the most demanding technique and complex musical structures ever conceived for the instrument.

Prof. Peris’s performance of the first movement ‘Ondine’ was a class act. The technical tour de force was radiantly accomplished with Ravel’s essential melodic line never being compromised by over peddling and bombast. The strenuous climax was expertly judged inspiring a rare sense of excitement.

The program ended with a marginally lesser known work of Franz Liszt, ‘Legende, S. 175 no. 2, “St François de Paule marchant sur les flots” (St. Francis of Paola walking on the waves).’ The work opens with the primary theme rendered in a subdued manner, after which it takes on a livelier, more magnificent character.

Growling from the left hand bass is heard to imply churning murky waters and the agitation gradually expands, especially in the depiction of the saint taking his first steps on the water. A tremendous octave passage up the keyboard leads to a majestic re-statement of the principal theme, the music thereafter portraying triumph and ultimately, beseeching greatness. Ms. Peris was able to express all of this with an enviable sense of élan and conviction.

Skills

Finally, it is Malinee Jayasinghe Peris’s nonchalant pianistic skills that inspire you, as she nears her eightieth third birthday, her playing is more subtle and investigative than ever. What an object master class she provides for younger pianists, who may have realised on listening to her, that their own over-anxious desire to display their goods with shallow and pointless gestures is perhaps more detrimental than beneficial to the overall effect the music needs to maximise its impact on the audience. With Prof. Peris, all is outwardly achieved with an insight and prudence that have nothing to do with expressive frugality.

In a country renowned, more for its dilettantes in the local classical music scene, Malinee Jayasinghe Peris was one of the first to break free from those accepted norms of self-satisfied amateurism by taking the brave step of leaving these shores to professionalise and internationalise the art form of the Sri Lankan solo pianist. From studying with the legendary Louis Kentner, to playing chamber music with Lord Yehudi Menuhin, from performing at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, to organising concerts for inner city children in Washington D.C., her gift and pioneering spirit opened the doors to many present day Sri Lankan’s that have made the art of classical music their own all over the world. And for that, we thank her.

Quality

We also reiterate our thanks to the Chamber Music Society of Colombo for exponentially raising the quality of the fine art of classical music and its presentation in our country, and urge more corporate support for their elegant value-added endeavours. The Goethe Institute too, deserves much kudos for encouraging the growth of the arts and generously making available their resources to the committed arts professionals of Sri Lanka.

G.F. Handel ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’
Lakshman Joseph de Saram (Violin)
Cynthia Fernando (Violin)
Avanti Perera (Viola)
Shinichi Murata (Cello)
Gustav Mahler ‘Piano Quartet in A minor’
Malinee Jayasinghe Peris (Piano)
Lakshman Joseph de Saram (Violin)
Avanti Perera (Viola)
Shinichi Murata (Cello)