Africa and the Old World
 Durell Godfrey |
(4/24/2008) The community arts program of the East Hampton Presbyterian Church, Music at the Old Town Church, presented the brilliant Zimbabwean pianist Jeanette Micklem in a classical concert on Sunday. The audience was privileged to hear not only a flawless rendition of Mozart’s Sonata in D and Brahms’s Six Pieces (Op. 118), but also Poulenc, Ravel, and a piano sonata by the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera.
There is a connection between Alberto Ginastera and Jeanette Micklem. Both are first and foremost committed to the music of their countries. In her first concert in this series in 2007, Ms. Micklem performed multimedia works that describe Zimbabwe, and in the same way, Argentina has a strong presence in the classical compositions of Ginastera.
Ms. Micklem was born in South Africa but her family moved to Zimbabwe when she was very young, and it was there that she was educated and has her roots. The emotion and excitement of her playing reflect the strength of her commitment to the country where she grew up. Her style combines the delicacy and technical brilliance she learned during her studies at the Royal College of Music in London together with the physical strength and passion of her homeland.
In her concerts in Europe and on this continent she continues to promote the composers and performers of southern Africa, while maintaining important ties with the music of the Old World. For example, for more than a decade she served on the jury for the International Smetana Piano Competition in the Czech Republic, and she has performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. She is a true cultural ambassador.
The audience could not get enough of this gifted and openhearted pianist, who took them from the Old World to the New in this wide-ranging selection from the past three centuries. The five composers chosen by Ms. Micklem each demand a different approach, and it is a rare performer who can display such technical mastery of their styles. She used the lightest of touches in the Mozart sonata and was visibly moved and almost violent in the Ginastera. The Brahms was rich and dark, and Ravel’s rippling melodies flowed.
One of the most attractive things about this concert was its venue. This splendid musician played to us as though she were at home with us: We were there, sitting only yards away from her, in the lovely room that is the Presbyterian Church. She was close to us, not up on a stage.
In 1990, Ms. Micklem was invited to play with Musica Viva of New York in a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Zimbabwe’s independence. Since then she has been a regular soloist with this professional choral ensemble. For those who would like to hear this remarkable pianist again, she will be performing at All Souls Church in New York City on Sunday, when she will play the Vaughn Williams Fantasia on the Old 104th for chorus, piano, and orchestra.
Pamela Knight is a writer and editor who lives in Noyac and New York City.