ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - On one of the coldest nights of the year, I Grandi Violoncellisti drew an almost full house at the Arts Theatre last Friday 25 August.
The six cellists are Marian Lewin, Peter Martens, Cheryl de Havilland, Fiona Grayer, Odette Brand and Eddie Maclean and they all practice their art in South Africa.
The concert opened with yet another transcription of what is known as Albinoni's Adagio, although it was Remo Giazotto who developed the piece from two snippets of Albinoni.
There are orchestral and vocal versions, but we were treated to a version for six cellos. It was a gentle start and the audience sat back to enjoy it. For the rest of the concert Peter Martens gave us lively and humorous information about each piece to be performed, which was well received.
Max Bruch wrote a version of the Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra in 1880 and here we heard Eddie Maclean as the soloist. This Jewish prayer is a beautiful but intense work and it was given a sensitive treatment by the group.
After Wilhelm Fitzenhagens Concert Waltz, a very light-hearted affair, we settled down to enjoy Allan Stephenson's Four for Six; a work of four movements for six cellists. This Cape Town composer wrote the piece for the group in 1998.
It opens with a very skittish movement of themes tossed around between the players. The second movement is pizzicato throughout and contains wonderful off-beat rhythms. This was followed by a movement consisting of many mood changes, including a short march section, and the work ended with a jazzy, rag-time movement that evoked traces of Piazzolla.
This was a very satisfying work, enjoyed by players and audience alike.
The second half opened with Rachmaninoff's Vocalise that, unfortunately, fell a bit flat. The 'vocal' part got lost in the accompaniment and only surfaced briefly. But we were then whisked into the bright sunlight of Bizet' Carmen Fantasie.
Here the seductive dances and songs mingled with the swaggering toreadors as we experienced all the excitement of a Spanish fiesta.
The Feierliches Stück from Wagner's opera Lohengrin is a solemn piece that progresses to an intense climax into which sneaks a snippet of the famous Wedding March. I look forward to a return visit from I Grandi Violoncellisti.
Critique by Sue Rijsdijk
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
