GEORGE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - Those people who opted to watch the French Open tennis final missed a heart-warming and gentle concert presented by two of our favourite local musicians, the pianist Dalene Brits and the organist Gerrit Jordaan.
They devised a programme entitled South and West Side Stories made up of arrangements by Brits for piano and organ.
This was the first time an organ has been heard in the theatre and these arrangements proved to be very successful. Throughout the concert the instruments blended well and the rapport between the instrumentalists was excellent.
The programme opened with three offerings of church music including two sets of variations giving the small but appreciative audience time to become accustomed to this unusual combination.
Next up were four Traditional Spirituals with some interesting and unexpected key changes.
The arrangements here brought out the very soul of the original songs.
The transition from traditional vocal to modern instrumental came via the Andante movement from the second piano concerto by Shostakovitch. It was given a thoughtful, sensitive rendition and the musicians watched each other carefully before launching into the very popular Waltz from his Jazz Suite No. 1, enticing one to dance in the aisles.
Due to yet another imminent period of load shedding, the interval was shortened and the concert continued with three Gershwin songs neatly arranged for the two instruments.
The final offering was a selection of music from Bernstein's very popular West Side Story that brought back many memories. These brought a healthy and well-deserved round of applause from the audience and, with three minutes to go, an encore of One Hand One Heart from the same musical sent everyone home happy.
This was a delightful afternoon giving us a chance to hear almost forgotten music and I think another concert of this type is well worth considering. Both Brits and Jordaan are excellent musicians who clearly love what they were doing and prove that local is most definitely lekker.
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