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Monday, February 12, 2018

Nikolaas Kende & Jolente de Maeyer


Op Sondagmiddag 4 Februarie het die Stilbaai musiekliefhebbers die voorreg gehad om na twee besondere begaafde jong musikante uit België te luister - Nikolaas Kende, klavier,  en sy vrou Jolente, viool. Die twee is staande toegejuig deur die entoesiatiese en waarderende gehoor. Die onderstaande brief van een van ons lede, sê alles!

My Word! Fancy hitting the jackpot twice in a row – certainly as far as I am concerned! What appealed to me so much was the fact that the programme was beautifully arranged with substantial works worthy of engaging the listener rather than the pretty ‘party pieces’ in which some musicians feel may be suitable for a local audience.
              The two artists certainly know a thing or two about packaging a recital. Starting with a Mendelssohn Sonata with a plethora of engaging melodies is typical of Mendelssohn who, himself, explained that his life and lifestyle was such that he had no need to enter the realms of ‘Sturm und Drang’ (Storm and Stress) which many other composers used to express intensity of emotion – notably Beethoven.
              Then came a charming Romanza by Lodewijk Mortelmans (passionate about Belgian music) to prepare us for what was to come during the second half of the recital.
              Then came one of the great works for violin and piano by Beethoven referred to as the Kreutzer Sonata. The last one he wrote for violin and piano and one in which Beethoven himself stated that it was composed to be rather like a violin concerto and we were certainly treated to an astonishing performance of immense difficulty. I wondered if everyone noted that the pianist played the whole work without referring to the score but all from memory. I was blown way as I realised that!
              So well done Stilbaai Music Society for presenting another stunning and worthwhile recital by two consummate artists.
Kind regards
John Stonier

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