ISLAMABAD: The ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr Cyrill Nunn, and Mrs Tina Nunn hosted ‘A Musical Journey through Europe’ via the performances of Sévag Tachdjian and Yukiko Tidten-Yoshikawa at the German embassy auditorium on Monday.

Dr Cyril Nunn said: “I am impressed by all of you braving this weather to join us here. I have an advantage living only a few metres away from the auditorium.”

He went on to introduce the two musicians whom he described as being wonderfully experienced and coming from diverse and interesting backgrounds.

The French bass-baritone of Armenian descent, Sévag Tachdjian, was born in Beirut in 1981.

He grew up in Nice, France, where he began his initiation to music by singing at the opera house and playing the cello.

While studying French literature in Paris and journalism in Strasbourg, he devoted himself to singing and eventually got admitted to the National Superior Conservatory for Music and Dance in Lyon, France.

Yukiko Tidten-Yoshikawa was born in Kyoto, Japan, and has been internationally active as a concert pianist in Japan and Europe. She studied at the University of Arts, Kyoto, at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in France, where she acquired the ‘Diplôme Supérieur d’Enseignement de Piano’, and at the National Superior Conservatory for Music and Dance in Lyon, France (CNSM), where she obtained the ‘Diplôme National Supérieur Professionnel de Musicien’ in 2009 and the ‘Diplôme de deuxième cycle supérieur - Grade de master’, a masters degree, in 2011.

Sévag said: “We would have performed together in Lyon but I was unwell the day before the concert was scheduled!”

He added: “The musical journey through Europe is a wonderful opportunity to show the range of poetical inspiration from where this music comes.”

Antonín Leopold Dvoák was a Czech composer who frequently employed aspects, specifically rhythms, of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. The selection from Dvorak was drawn from the Ciganske melodie – seven Gypsy songs resonating with the Romany longing for freedom, beauty of nature and dance.

Mahler, in poignant contrast, evoked memories of loss and suffering. The three Ruckert-Lieder were encapsulated in the lines, “If you love for love, oh yes, love me!”

The pieces in Sévag’s words were “almost metaphysical” in that they were an expression of Man in front of the universe.

Gustav Mahler was a late-romantic composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation.

He was born to a Jewish family in the village of Kalischt in Bohemia, in what was then the Austrian Empire. As a composer, Mahler acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century.

Mahler expressed the belief that, “The symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything.”

Ravel’s popular Greek melodies were exuberant and joyous. The French composer’s muse was clearly Greek as apparent from the special verve and enthusiasm in the vignettes because of the sea and the sun.

Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, masterful orchestration, richly evocative harmonies and inventive instrumental textures and effects.

He is a composer whose work lends itself extraordinarily well to a concert repertoire and remains outstanding in the melodic content of each piece.

Four Italian Romances by Tosti rounded off the evening. The serenades were inspired by Neapolitan songs and featured burgeoning notes that went beautifully with the depth and breadth of Sévag’s voice.

Francesco Paolo Tosti received most of his music education in his native Ortona, Italy and ended up a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in 1894 in England.

His songs tend to be melodious and sentimental. While he never composed opera, his pieces encourage the grandiose interpretation that is the hallmark of the opera singer.

In response to the ovation, the artists performed a last song in the Neapolitan dialect, the Core ‘ngrato’ (catari), a traditional song performed by Pavarotti amongst others.

Michele Galopin said: “There were more sad songs than others. I enjoyed the Italian songs the most because his voice was most suited to those. With the other languages one felt that he was holding back his volume although his pronunciation was very good. The Ravel pieces were very nice too.”

She added that Yukiko always plays beautifully.

Aziz Boolani, CEO of Serena Hotel, said: “The performance was perfect.

The music and the voice complemented each other beautifully and the selection gave a well rounded presentation of the European music inspired by folk songs.”

Dure Zaidi said: “One rarely hears classical European music sung in Pakistan and I loved the fact that he sang the

English translation of Tosti’s Goodbye.”

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2015

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