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A mixed bag of
entertainment at Payap
Jean-Pierre Kirkland
Entitled ‘Kokoro and Love Relationship Concert,’ the department of
music at Payap University provided us recently with a very unusual mixture
of music. The ensemble from Japan included a vocalist/guitarist, the young
Yoshiba, a singer and pianist Kobayashi, with additional guitar and vocal
support from Chookiat, a Thai student studying in Japan with a Thai friend,
Warawut. The concert opened on guitar with a passionate rendering of three
songs by Yoshiba, although his voice was stretched to its limits at times.
The guitar playing of Chookiat was lyrical and tender in parts and many of
the songs were most pleasant, some sounding very like the love ballads of
veteran American folk singer Tom Paxton. The director of the show, Niihara
Keiko also sang a couple of ballads, one of them unaccompanied, which she
performed in a gracious and expressive manner.
But the real star of the show was the deaf pianist, Kobayashi. Smartly
dressed and with shoulder-length hair reminiscent of conductor Kent Nagano,
he played several pieces by Chopin with a wonderfully light-fingered and yet
strident interpretation. Among his repertoire, this young and very talented
pianist gave us a heart-rendering and emotionally captivating performance of
the Chopin ‘Marche Funèbre’ where the central section was played with
amazing sensitivity and control – all the more so when remembering the
performer’s deafness. This was a real treat and the audience was privileged
to be present and to hear such a fine performance. Kobayashi also played a
technically difficult and brilliant Alpine piano piece entitled
‘Alpenglühen’ which allowed him to show off his great versatility with
rushing arpeggios and its warmer compassionate moments where his balance
between pianissimo and forte was startling. It came as no surprise to
discover that last year this able and gifted man won the Gold Medal in the
Piano Paralympics.
Galerie Panisa to show works by two established Thai artists
Elena Edwards
30 works of printing and painting by two long-established Thai
artists will be on show at Galerie Panisa’s latest exhibition, due to run
from November 10 to December 8.
On display will be prints by Pongdej Chaikrutre, who has more than 30 years’
experience in this field. They will focus on 15th and 16th century events in
Thai history, and relate to current society in a mocking, criticising or
story-telling manner.
Srijai Kantawang, with more than 20 years’ experience in the same genre,
will be exhibiting her prints and a selection of her Lanna paintings, for
which she is also well-known. Her subjects will be expressed in a
contemporary manner, and will represent Lanna folk tales. All of her works
to be shown at this exhibition will be on display for the first time.
The exhibition’s opening ceremony will be presided over by Prof Dr Tawan
Kangwanpong, the vice chairman of Chiang Mai’s University Council, and will
take place at the gallery on November 10 at 6 p.m. For more information call
053-202-779.
The 4th Annual Chiang Mai Music Festival
Michael Davies
The 4th Annual Chiang Mai Music Festival will be held on Saturday
February 7, 2009, and will take place at Ban Wangtang Club’s concert stage
in Hang Dong district.
Anne Murase, the festival’s planning director, told the Chiang Mai Mail
that the concert will feature Professor Tong Il-Han, who will accompany four
students in an evening of four great romantic piano concertos by Chopin,
Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Rachmaninoff.
Tong-Il Han has performed with many of the finest orchestras around the
world, including the New York Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the
Royal Philharmonic, and the Russian National Symphony Orchestra. Conductors
with whom he has collaborated include Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt,
Edo de Waart, Raphael Frühbeck de Burgos, Charles Dutoit, Lukas Foss, Eugene
Jochum, Raymond Leppard, Robert Shaw, Stanislaw Skrowaczeski, and David
Zinman. The government of the Republic of Korea has awarded him their
highest civil serviced award, the Order of Moran (Peony).
Tong-Il Han’s many records include Chopin’s twenty-four Preludes, four
ballades and four scherzos, eight sonatas by Beethoven (including the last
five), sonatas by Schubert and Brahms, and a group of shorter piano works
under the title “Music I Love to play.” He also has recorded sonatas for
cello and piano by Brahms, and Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces with cellist Leslie
Parnas. A CD entitled “The Kennedy White House Concert” has also been
released, and includes Han’s live performance of Debussy’s “Reflet dans
l’eau” and Liszt’s “Mephisto Waltz”.
Prior to the free concert in Hang Dong, free workshops in conjunction with
the Payap Youth Program are planned, together with workshops and teaching at
various educational establishments around Chiang Mai, all of which will be
open to the general public.
Transport will be available from Chiang Mai to and from the concert for 100
baht; reservations can be made on murase@earthlink.net. New for this year’s
event will be a set Thai menu, available at 200 baht including soft drinks
for those who wish to eat in the clubhouse prior to the concert. Again,
reservations are required.
The concert’s open-air venue seats 200 – reservations are strongly advised,
with preferred seating on a first come-first served basis. For further
information, please visit www.chiangmai musicfestival.com, which will be
updated as further details are confirmed. Local companies, especially
restaurants, who would like to sponsor the concert should contact Anne on
murase@ earthlink.net. This is surely an event not to be missed – music
lovers should reserve their seats as soon as possible.
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