FoM: Durban Jewish Centre: Sun 1 October at 3pm
Howard College Theatre: Sun 22 Oct at 11am
Dr Andrew Warburton is celebrating his 60th birthday in October 2023 and will mark the occasion by giving two recitals of piano music that is dear to his heart: an all-Schubert recital at Friends of Music on Sunday 1 October at 3pm at the Durban Jewish Centre and a Baroque programme in the Howard College Theatre on Sunday 22 October at 11am.
On 1 October at 3pm he will present an all-Schubert recital for the Friends of Music at the Durban Jewish Centre entitled “The Wanderer: Franz Schubert the Romantic Genius.”
The Schubert programme will include the composer’s last Sonata in B flat, written a few months before his untimely death at the unthinkable age of 31 The last year of his life saw so many masterpieces flow from his pen that it is tempting to wonder whether he knew that his time was short. The music is sublime, often revealed in the most intimate and understated way, using extremely soft dynamics and much exquisite lyrical phrasing. As a huge contrast I will present a work written six years earlier, the titanic “Wanderer’ Fantasy, based on the theme of one of his songs “Der Wanderer.” Schubert said of this work that “the devil may play it” referring to his inability to do so. In recent decades the famous Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter said that it was among the two or three most difficult ever composed for the instrument. The four movements are played without a break, and each one of the is a variation on the original theme of the song. The piece concludes with a mighty fugal finale with builds up to a thrilling conclusion.
On Sunday 22 October he will play Bach and Scarlatti in a concert entitled “Baroque Brilliance.” This second performance will take place at Howard College Theatre on the UKZN Howard College Campus as 11am. Entrance is free. Please be sure to use the back entrance of the building.
In the Baroque recital Warburton explores the music of the two greatest virtuosi of the 18th century Baroque era, namely Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. The two never met each other but were admirers of each other work. Bach was not just a keyboard exponent but wrote music for every musical form known to composers at the time, whereas Scarlatti chose to only write for the keyboard, but within the restrictions of the medium pushed the boundaries of keyboard technique which later composers admired and adopted. Several of Bach’s most famous works such as the Italian Concerto and Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue and Partita no 2 will be included, as well as a good selection of contrasting sonatas by Scarlatti.
Good to Know:
Schubert Recital
Date: Sunday 1 October
Time: 3pm
Venue: Durban Jewish Centre – KE Masinga Rd.
Tickets: R120 (members) R140 (non-members)
Booking millark.millar@gmail.com or bernicemanicom@gmail.com or phone 0715051021 (Keith).
Payments can be made at the door.
Baroque Recital
Date: Sunday 22 October
Time: 11.00
Venue: Howard College Theatre on the UKZN Howard College Campus
Entrance is free.
Please be sure to use the back entrance of the building.
Andrew Warburton Celebration Concerts
