Concert: Journey through a sea of emotions

German embassy hosts concert featuring works of Liszt, Wagner.

ISLAMABAD:

It was like a voyage across a sea of emotions that man can express, without requiring any effort beyond silence from the 120-odd people in the auditorium. The German embassy had arranged a concert by pianist Thomas Hitzlberger on Thursday, much to the delight of European classical music fans in attendance.

Invited to Pakistan by Dr Tilo Klinner, the German consul general in Karachi, the concert was divided into two segments. Hitzlberger began with Years of Pilgrimage by renowned Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, explaining parts of the composition along the musical journey. From the dark opening with “To the Cypresses of the Villa d’Este I: Threnody”, the pianist explained the changing style as the composer matured and moved around Europe, gathering inspiration from ever-changing surroundings.

After two of Petrarch’s sonnets, the first half ended with Dante Sonata, inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, and one of Liszt’s greatest works. Several stories and themes are in play in this piece. For one unfamiliar with the Divine Comedy, the sonata represents a journey beginning in hell and moving on to heaven, as dark transitions into light.

In the second half, Hitzlberger played the works of the great Richard Wagner and Liszt, starting with Fantasy on Motives by Wagner, and closing to an extended round of applause with the combined work, Isolde’s Love Death. By the time he was introducing the last work, the crowd had a giggle when Hitzlberger inadvertently slipped into German while explaining the works, only to correct himself when a German-speaker from the audience said “English”.

Afterwards, Leena Niazi, who works in the private sector, said Germans are quite proactive about promoting culture in Pakistan and it’s heartening to see musicians coming to Pakistan despite the security situation portrayed in the international media. Incidentally, in his opening remarks, the embassy’s first secretary, Dr Thomas Ditt, pointed out that the friends and family of visitors to Pakistan are usually more afraid of the security situation here than regular visitors.

A young Roots School student Haider Ali and his class fellows were happy to get a chance to be part of such an “interesting” and “different experience”, as opportunities to listen to such concerts don’t come often.

German Ambassador Dr Cyrill Nunn, expressed his fondness for the work of legendary Qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and emphasised the importance of cultural dialogue such as the preceding concert to improve understanding and appreciation for one another.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2012.