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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

ANTONY PEEBLES RECITAL 30TH MARCH 2011

Since its inception nearly a decade ago the Stilbaai Music Society has afforded the community wonderful opportunities to enjoy and appreciate the artistry of a great variety of instrumentalists, choirs and ensembles. Few, however, were more successful than pianist Antony Peebles whose virtuosic playing, while not technically faultless, displayed consummate skill and musicianship and entertained an appreciative audience on 30th March.

The programme started with two works by Liszt, to honour the 200th anniversary of his birth. In the first, Litany, a transcription of a song by Schubert, Mr Peebles captured the unexpectedly gentle and moving nature of the song most beautifully. The second, the Piano Sonata in B minor, displayed the characteristic double fortissimo, chords, runs and scales associated with Liszt and the extreme difficulty of the piece seemed to require almost more than ten fingers –but Mr Peebles managed with aplomb.

After the demanding nature of the Liszt Sonata, the second half of the programme was made up of a selection of well-known works by Chopin, some of whose themes have been painfully commercialised – as in the song “I’m always chasing rainbows” from the Fantasy Impromptu. The Chopin works were enthusiastically received, though a few passages were perhaps a little too stridently fortissimo for some tastes.

The audience was treated to three encores, one of which was an amusing piece composed by the pianist himself to demonstrate to children how a sonata is constructed. Spontaneous chortles of delight were heard as members of the audience recognised “Here we go round the mulberry bush” and “God save the Queen” as the themes!

Mr Peebles deserves particular thanks for two aspects in addition to his playing: for his elegance in dress and stage presentation, as befits a formal recital; and for his eloquent illustrated introductions to each piece, which helped the audience to focus on essential elements of the music.

Thank you, Antony Peebles, for a memorable and satisfying evening of music.

John Stonier

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