Steenwijker Courant
Steenwijk, De Meenthe, Sunday, Orion Ensemble.
Piazzolla and his angel
Audience of dozens. A windy Sunday morning, bleak and dismal. And yet a subtropical feeling in the Meenthe theatre hall, where the Orion Ensemble excelled in delightful harmonies and in doing so created a similar atmosphere. Pianist Leonard Leutscher also supplied the comment which in itself was more than enough to make the performance worth visiting; what a gifted narrator. He leads his audience along to the world of the composer and his ideas. “ A life of demons mixed with angels”, according to Piazzolla., the Argentine composer, whose work was the centre of this programme.The tango, ‘music to rip open wounds’, originated as tear-jerker and actually it was only in Europe that it became famous. Piazzolla blended ancient music with the tango and not before the sixties (he was forty at the time) did he acquire recognition in his own country.Wonderful arrangements by colleague and friend José Bragato, who expertly converted the original bandoneon music to the expressive scope of the traditional piano trio. The pianist with his two strings: Carla Schrijner, cello, and Pauline Terlouw, violin. A unique combination!How three top musicians manage to fill the theatre hall with enchanting sounds to the farthest corners. After Oblivion and Tangata follows that Suite del Ángel, in which first the angel is introduced , next its praises are sung in a melancholy milonga, after which death and resurrection inescapably involve the breathlessly empathising listener in the fortunes of this curious angel. After the interval three fascinating preludes by George Gershwin, in which elements from his most famous works recognizably came to life. With a triptych on the Mumuki (the beloved) Esqualo (the shark) and the ever moving Adios Nonino (goodbye daddy), again in this sublime arrangement. The fact that the latter piece sings about the final farewell to his father and that from this moment on Astor Piazolla concluded each of his concerts with it makes us understand princess Maxima’s emotions even better. A magnificent conclusion of an exquisite series of five often surprising concerts in the series “Meesterlijk Klassiek”, a series that is continued as from 7 October.
by Jan Toor