Just occasionally the MCCS presents something out of the ordinary and in the concert entitled ‘East meets West’ we heard not only something very different but incredibly special. The mastermind behind the East meets West production is the magnificent British violinist Daniel Hope. A musician of immense talent and vision, this performance is a journey of cultural exploration, a meeting of musical minds and emotional ideas juxtaposed to make one coherent and fascinating presentation. The novelty item is the use of the Luthéal piano (played by the excellent Sebastian Knauer), which offers an extraordinary plethora of sounds from a contraption fitted into the heart of a conventional piano. Further interest is provided by the introduction of music from India led by Gaura Majumdar on sitar in a homage to the collaboration between Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin in the 1960s. In this journey we visit the music of Spain, France (Basque), Japan, Hungary/Romania, India and Jewish influences. A mesmerising journey of immense beauty and sincerity performed by world class musicians.
Thumbnail photograph of Daniel Hope: © Harald Hoffmann /Deutsche Grammophon
Philip Dukes
Artistic Director