A scintillating evening of piano music
By Anil Datta
Karachi: Karachi’s western music fans had another evening of delightful music in store for them, courtesy, the Turkish Consulate-General, Karachi, and the Goethe-Institut, and most of all, the dazzling young Turkish concert pianist, Ms Hande Dalkilic. The venue: the Goethe-Instut, Karachi.
The works showcased were by Polish-French composer Frederick Francois Chopin, and Turkish composers Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Muammer Sun.
The programme got going with Chopin’s Mazurka (a lively polish dance in triple time) in C Sharp, Opus 6, No.2. Mazurka being a traditional polish dance, is a lively vibrant piece with toe-taping rhythm. Ms Dalkilic’s interpretation was adroit and masterly indeed, It was a treat to see her fingers just glide across the keyboard, most accurately interpreting the lively nature of the piece.
In all she rendered five pieces by Chopin, two Mazurkas, a polonaise, a nocturne, and a Scherzo.
These were followed by works by two Turkish composers, Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Muammer Sun. The Turkish composersÂ’ works carried a markedly oriental flavour. Here too, Ms Dalkailic’s interpretation was really precise and masterly. In one of Saygun’s pieces, titled, The Playful Kitten, one really felt as if a lively, frisky little kitten were playfully running around the place. The interpretation was lively and buoyant, with an eastern flavour. Similarly, another of the composer’s works, A Dream, was soft, lilting, as if one were being carried into a dream world.
However, the star performances of the evening were Chopin’s pieces, the polonaise in A flat Major and the nocturne in F Sharp Minor No. 2, the polonaise because that is a Chopin trademark and no performance of the composer’s music could be considered complete without it. Chopin and the polonaise are synonymous. It is one of Chopin’s most famous pieces. Being a nocturne, it is soft and lilting. It was most beautifully rendered by the pianist complete, with the melodious, soothing, and balmy effect.
Her rendition of Chopin’s scherzo in B minor, opus No 20, was delightful, indeed. Scherzo is a vigorous, light, and playful composition and Chopin’s music is marked by its chirpy, lively nature, quite different from the soft, mellow nature of the works of Classical masters like Mozart. His compositions are mostly brisk and lively, except for the nocturnes. The artiste’s rendition was as lively as the composition.
While very conservative, orthodox Classical/Romantic music fans may have had their own opinion about the pieces by the Turkish composers, none could deny that they were interesting and acquainted music fans with a different genre of music, one that most of us are not quite used to hearing. And the artiste’s dexterity at the keyboard made them worth listening to. In that way, the pieces were really welcome.
Ms Dalkilic is an accomplished pianist and has played with many internationally renowned orchestras. Currently, she an Associate Professor of Music at Bilent University in Turkey. She started playing when she was eight.
Source: The News
Date:2/21/2010
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