Concert season: German embassy ends year on a sweet note

Diplomats, locals enthralled by performances

ISLAMABAD: Friday evening saw the German embassy’s ‘concert season’ draw to a close for this year. A number of diplomats and citizens of the twin cities came together to attend a performance by Lisa Rogers on French horn, Yukiko Tidten-Yoshikawa on piano, and Thomas Weibschnur on clarinet.

The fact that the trio come from three corners of the world also gave the stage a unique feel.

Rogers, is American and studied at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the Manhattan School of Music while also performing as part of the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and later the Symphonic Orchestra of Heidelberg. She is now based in Dusseldorf at the Anton Rubinstein International Music Academy.

German-born Weibschnur trained at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg before heading to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He later studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and has performed as a member of the Macau Orchestra and a number of notable German orchestras. He is currently based at the Anton Rubinstein International Music Academy.

Tidten-Yoshikawa is a Japanese-born pianist, trained in Kyoto, Paris and Lyon. Having performed across Asia and Europe, she is currently living in Pakistan, where she works as a concert pianist and a music teacher.

Deputy Head of Mission Peter Felten welcomed guests by noting that it was the third concert in recent weeks and the last of the calendar year, while also informing guests that the trio had performed together before in Pakistan.

The ‘playlist’ for the evening included three classics and a recent composition. The first performance was of American Kevin Beavers’ ‘Duo for Clarinet and Horn, which Weibschnur informed was completed only two months earlier. The lovely duet set the tone for the rest of the evening. Next up was a moving performance of Nocturno by Franz Strauss, which was arguably the highlight of the evening.

The third performance was Clarinet Sonata No 2 by Johannes Brahms, followed by Carl Reinecke’s Trio for Piano, Horn and Clarinet.

After the last two performances, the trio were presented with bouquets. Rogers dropped her bouquet in her horn, making a flowerpot of sorts, much to the enjoyment of the audience. A smiling Weibschnur playfully tried to do the same, but was unable to fit the flowers in the clarinet, though the audience enjoyed the attempt.

After the event, Mani Saleem, a Pakistani audience member, praised the performers and the passion with which they played.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2015.