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| Sunday, 3 March 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Shani wins prestigious French music award by Senaka Abeyratne
Twenty-five year old Shani Abeygoonaratne, the gifted Monaco-born pianist of Sri Lankan origin, is widely regarded as a member of the French musical elite, for she is now performing at the highest level. If she has earned a reputation as a virtuoso pianist, it is because of her brilliant technique and her remarkable ability to exploit the full sonorous and expressive potential of the instrument. Shani's vast repertoire (including the works of contemporary composers such as Finzi, Beffa, Kurtag and Stockhausen) has no frontier, and her rich musicality and magical touch have earned her fame in Europe. After hearing her play the Appassionata Sonata at a recital in Monaco, the well-known critic, Andre Peregyne, wrote: "This suits her well, her interpretation is feline, in this we hear the striking of claws and the sound of padded velvety paws," Another French critic, A. Busser, after hearing Shani play Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Rachmaninov and Liszt at a concert in Cannes, wrote: "The young pianist seemed to have drawn her inspiration from a magical, spring-like source. The public was under her spell, and the emotions generated were worthy of the best interpreters." The year 2001 was a phenomenal year for Shani. She won the Second Grand Prix in the Arcachon international concours and the First Prize in the music competition conducted by the NATEXIS Foundation (the largest and most prestigious music scholarship program in France), which includes a grant of three hundred thousand francs (three million rupees) and regular engagements at the leading concert halls in Paris. She added another feather to her cap by securing First Place in the final examinations of the CNSM diploma program (equivalent to a Masters Degree in the US) and obtaining the coveted Premier Prix in Unanimity. Her program for 2002 is an extremely busy one. She will be participating in four music festivals, taking master classes with Leon Fleischer, Murray Perahia and J. O'Connor, giving recitals at prestigious venues including the Salle Cortot, the Goulbekian Foundation, The Concertgebau, and the Argentan-Normandy (with sister Rika), and cutting a CD (solo piano) with Classica. Shani has also been selected by auditioning for the international concours in Cannes, Spain and Salt Lake City-Utah. In 1997 Shani brought honour to Sri Lanka by becoming the first South Asian to enter the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique (CNSM) in Paris. During the past four years, Shani has taken master classes with such great names as Paul Badura Skoda, Bruno Rigotto, Clive Britton, Leon Fleischer, and Alfred Brendel, and also performed in numerous countries, including Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Poland, India and Sri Lanka. She has also performed at the Concertgebau, has taken part in many chamber concerts and also accompanied the Golden Italian Voice, Marco Camstra, at a concert in Monaco. Recently she had the honour of being invited by the great bass-baritone Jose Van Dam to play at the Opera Comique de Paris. Shani was also the pianist in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, performed at the Theatre des Varietes - Monaco in December 2001. Shani is not only a passionate pianist and a top-drawer performer, but
also a gem of a human being. She has all the qualities that one admires in
a person, including radiance, vitality, empathy, humility, high
intelligence, a refined inner beauty and an endearing personality. A great
future awaits this brilliant young musician, who (to quote Professor
George Pludermarcher of the Paris Conservatoire) had been making
spectacular progress in recent years." Fashion of colour and tone by Arundathie Abeysinghe
Incredibly blended colours,layered with precision in deep and provocative themes and brilliant fusion of colour and tone... The beauty and serenity of his paintings are quite remarkable . Nineteen-year-old Sandaruwan Gayanath Bamunusinghe is this uncompromisingly intense painter for whom painting has been a childhood obsession. As he is a child who has only partial hearing his medium of communication has been painting. At present he studies at Horana Sri Pali Vidyalaya and his early days in school was at Bandaragama Central where he received special classes to enable him to follow classes with other students. He has been painting from the age of six. Painting has been his hobby and he has been painting from the inner depth of his soul.
Sandaruwan has many awards and certificates to his credit; a bronze medal at the 28th International Children's Art Exhibition in Japan in 1998, a certificate from "Shanida Ayubowan" (Rupavahini Corporation) in 1998, Certificates of merit from All Ceylon Special Education Unit in 1995, 1998 and 1999, a certificate of merit from Horana Sri Pali Vidyalaya in 1995. Apart from painting he is good in his studies too, but he hopes painting would be his profession once he leaves school. Sandaruwan uses water colours, pastel and pencils. His latest form of paintings are drawn by using a piece of bamboo. The surface of those paintings are rough and their texture is different to that of water colours. He has a collection of about 400 paintings and he hopes to display them shortly at an exhibition in Colombo.
Mothers, maters and alma maters The female parent of a child, the mother, is called "amma" in Sinhala. The Sinhalese share this word with the Tamils. Sinhalese children of the urban middle class call her "ammi". Of course, this word they don't share with the Tamils because "ammi" in Tamil means the chillie grinder that is made of stone. In Sinhala writings, there are a few other words to refer to the mother. One of these is "marta:" which is also found in Pali, the language of Buddhist scriptures. This island of Lanka is sometimes called "lanka marta:" (Mother Lanka). The word "marta:" gave rise to two other words: "ma:" and "mav". Thus parents are called "ma: piya" or "mav piya" (mother-father). In poetry, Mother Lanka is called "lak mava". Sri Lankans consider this land their "mav bima" (mother-land). Sinhalese call Sinhala their "mav basa" (mother language). The Pali word "marta:" has links with the Latin word for mother, "mater," which some British schoolchildren use even today to refer to their mothers, as when they say "I'll have to ask my Mater." The English also use the term "alma mater" to refer to the school or college which one attended. In the United States, "alma mater" refers to the song of the school or college. The Sinhalese call their school "parsal mava" (school-mother). For the Sinhalese, the mother is one of those who deserve respect and honour. So they use the honorific plural noun "maerniyo:" to refer to her with respect. The mother is held in such high esteem that even the Buddha is sometimes referred to as "ama: mae:niyo:" or "ama: maerniyan vahanse:" the mother who offers the nectar (ama:) of the bliss of Nirvana, the highest bliss in Buddhism. |
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According to his father, Lalith Bamunusinghe (who has been guiding him
from his childhood) Sandaruwan is a very intelligent boy and has obtained
good results in the G.C.E. (O/Level) with a distinction pass in Arts.
He'll be sitting for his G.C.E.(A/Level) in August.
