17 March 2020

All concerts cancelled.

Due to the impact of the uncertainty brought about by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) we are forced to cancel all concerts. Even though gatherings of less than 100 persons are currently allowed we would not like to encourage close contact with others for extended periods of time in confined spaces.

Concerts cancelled include the ‘Archduke‘ trio tour in KZN (end March), dinner concerts at Elephant & Co, concerts at the Franschhoek Literary Festival, the Royal Symphony at the Royal Show plus ‘A Grand Night for Singing‘ in Johannesburg.

Please enjoy a selection of videos and recordings at our page DONT STOP THE MUSIC . Further announcement on ways you will be able to still enjoy our music and concerts online and also support and sustain Music Revival through this financially crippling situation.

PLEASE DONATE

You can help by

• donating funds, even if it is only the equivalent of the tickets you would purchase monthly

• purchase a Music Revival voucher to redeem at a later date for concerts tickets

• make a donation each time you enjoy the video and audio content currently available on our website

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March to May 2020
In the coming weeks and months Christopher will be presenting and playing another bumper set of concerts! These include Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’ Trio with Elena Kerimova (violin) and her husband Boris Kerimov (cello). Both are prominent members of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, and play as the Kerimov Trio. They formed their trio twenty years ago, and their close understanding is always apparent in the wide variety of music they play. There will be performances in Howick, Pietermaritzburg, Ballito, Kloof and Durban.

In the last week of March Christopher Duigan repeats his challenging programme of classical piano music titled ‘Fantasy/ Fantasia’ for a Sunday afternoon concert at the Durban Jewish Centre, presented in association with Friends of Music. Christopher also takes up an invitation to play a recital at the Grahamstown Music Society (18 March) in the Beethoven Room at Rhodes University. In addition there’ll be a soiree at Elephant & Co for ‘International Piano Day’ (28 March) and ‘A Night at the Opera’ with a fleeting visit by baritone Federico Freschi and soprano Nozuko Teto at the same venue (16 April). Freschi and Teto join Christopher along with soprano Bongiwe Madlala and Aristide du Plessis (cello) at the annual ‘Grand Night for Singing’ at University of Johannesburg (18 April).  Also in Gauteng, together with James Grace (guitar), he will repeat their ‘Mainly Mexico’ collaboration at the Brooklyn Theatre in Pretoria (3 April).

Finally, details of the much-anticipated Autumn Weekend in Franschhoek 15-17 May 2020, presented in association with the Franschhoek Literary Festival, are included on the Music Revival website. These five wonderful concerts in the NG Church and at Bistro Bon Bon are outlined. See the regional pages for all details!

February 2020
In February Christopher Duigan presents his monthly series of KZN concerts with a beautiful programme of classical piano music. Titled ‘Fantasy’ this pianistic ‘tour de force’  features classical repertoire that highlights fantastical, impulsive and imaginative musical elements as presented in the music of composers Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonate Op 27 No 1, Robert Schumann - Fantasie Op 17, Aleksander Scriabin - Nocturne op 9 and Sonate No 4 and Sergei Rachmaninoff - Etudes and Preludes.

January 2020
Cape Town-based James Grace joined Christopher Duigan, in a selection of music with a Mexican theme titled, ‘Mostly Mexico’. Inspired by Grace's recent concert tour to Mexico and Duigan's long-held  interest in Mexican culture, they compiled a selection from traditional and classical  Mexican repertoire,  perfect for a balmy summer evening. This was enjoyed in 10 performances including another successful outing at Elephant & Co Restaurant (see below), a new venue for Hillcrest (where we hope to present quarterly concerts) and a capacity audience for a collaboration with Friends of Music, Durban.

December 2019
The annual conecrt at Bouchard Finlayson winery in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 December 2019, in aid of the Hermanus Cancer Fund, saw Christopher presenting ‘My Favourite Things’ in two sold-out concerts. The concert, sponsored by Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos, showcased a magnificent Fazioli grand piano and also included a guest performance from Mark Nixon who was visiting the country. The annual festive season concert simply titled ‘Christmas’ with the Drakensberg Boys Choir, in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Thursday 5 December, was a sold-out event once again and three small Christmas concerts with soprano Bongiwe Madlala, MC Andy Capostagno ( well-known as a SuperSport commentator and currently in the media spotlight as author of ‘Beast’, the biography of Sharks and Springbok rugby legend Tendai Mtawarira), rounded off the Christmas festivities. A repeat performance of ‘My Favourite Things’ at Casa Mexicana saw in the ‘new year’ on 31 December along with a splendid dinner concert at the new Elephant & Co Restaurant at the Athlone Circle Mall in Pietermaritzburg. This featured soprano Bongiwe Madlala and her husband tenor Lehlhonolo Musa. This promises to be a very popular new venue!

November 2019
‘My Favourite Things’ was the monthly offering from Christopher Duigan for the KZN tour. This programme brought together many musical threads across a multitude of genres; a series of refections on a concert pianist's multi-faceted career.

October 2019

A fantastic tour of concerts with Mark Nixon of four-handed piano music was very well received by enthusiastic KZN audiences. The duo certainly have a magical energy together! Mark and Christopher were joined by fellow pianist Alex Gabriel in a showcase piano extravaganza including music for six hands at one piano at Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos in Cape Town. This promises to be a unique and exciting new venue for Music Revival showcasing the finest pianos! The programme was also presented at the Classic Music festival in Franschhoek. Other performances at the festival included the Prins-Shaw-Piniot Trio, a fantastic cabaret with Louis Howlett and guest Daniel Prozesky (clarinet) filling in for Junnan Sun who was unavailable to play due to illness. Other performances for Christopher in October included a recital at UNISA in Pretoria for a Spring Music Festival. Finally, Music Revival celebrated its 22nd birthday on October 2019!

September 2019

In September Christopher will be featured in a beautiful programme of music that includes light classics from Chopin and Mozart to contemporary evocations by Ludovico Einaudi from the films ‘Amelie’ by Yann Tiersen and ‘The Piano’ by Michael Nyman. This will be presented in six concerts across KZN. Other major performances included ‘The Grand Night for Singing’ at the University of Johannesburg, which he also directed. This annual concert fund-raising event, proposed by Prof Federico Freschi, Dean of the faculty of Art, Design and Architecture featured Violina Anguelov (mezzo), Lynelle Kennerd (soprano), Junnan Sun (clarinet), Federico Freschi (baritone) and The UJ Choir. The annual Hilton Arts Festival gets underway 13 - 15 September with Christopher playing his ‘Magnificent Chopin’ selection as well as presenting fellow Steinway Artist, Charl du Plessis. The annual Tatham Celebration concert takes the form of ‘Women in Song’ this year. James Grace (guitar) joins the line up as a special guest and also joins Christopher in an outing to Southbroom for the popular Riverbend concerts. Much time has been spent finalising and designing details for the annual Spring Classic Music Festival in Franschhoek which runs from 25 - 27 October. See the Cape Page for details.

August 2019
in August Christopher Duigan starts the month with the second in the series of concerts at Hilton College playing once again, with the Kerimov Trio and friends, Schubert’s Trout Quintet. This is also featured in a special Women’s Day morning concert in Musgrave Rd, Durban. Here is a recent review extract from their performance in Durban:

Later in the month Christopher will be featured, and also playing a producing role, assisting soprano Nozuko Teto stage a concert at the Friends of Music Durban. This will also feature Federico Freschi (baritone). Freschi, who has been a long time supporter and featured artist in Music Revival’s concerts will be leaving South Africa next month to take up an academic position in New Zealand. He will also appear in the Tatham Art Gallery in a farewell concert that same morning, Sunday 18 August.

At the end of the month Christopher Duigan will be joined by internationally acclaimed Junnan Sun on clarinet to play a selection of varied and popular classics for the monthly KZN Tour of concerts.

Pics from the recent Latimer Music Festival by Nick Rutter with Mark Nixon (piano), Shelley Levy (clarinet) and Sara Roberts (viola)

JULY 2019
In July Christopher will be looking forward to return to play in England at the Latimer Music Festival, a series of three concerts, programmed around a small of collective of musicians. On his return to South Africa he plays a selection of his favourite classics including the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata for the monthly KZN tour.

JUNE 2019
In June, apart from the launch of new concert series at Hilton College and Christ Church Constantia ( in ‘Magnificent Chopin’ - book here ), Christopher will be featured with the Kerimov Trio (who make a welcome return) in Schubert’s Trout Quintet. This includes a performance presented at The Friends of Music at the Jewish Centre in Durban.

MAY 2019

In May Christopher returns to a major project, the music of Chopin, which he has pursued over a number of years, In ‘ MAGNIFICENT CHOPIN’ he highlights the bold, virtuoso and majestic elements of the composer’s music over the elegant and atmospheric elements, often seen as typical of the composer’s music. This includes the Scherzo 3, Ballade No. 3 and selections of etudes, mazurkas, and nocturnes. The programme ends with the monumental Sonata No 3. This will be played across KZN as well as new venues which will be included every second month, at Hilton College and also in Christ Church, Constantia - Cape Town. This last venue brings about a much pursued possibility of a regular venue for Music Revival Concerts in Cape Town.

In addition Music Revival presents the with the eighth annual Royal Symphony at the Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kutlwano Masote and the 16th Autumn Music Weekend in Franschhoek, to coincide with the Franschhoek Literary Festival. Performers this year include Charl du Plessis, Albie van Schalkwyk (piano) and David Pinoit (cello) playing Beethoven, and Christopher playing Mostly Mozart and “Another 20 Popular Piano Solos’ at Cafe Bon Bon.

APRIL 2019

In April Christopher Duigan was joined by Aristide Du Plessis (cello) in the MUSIC REVIVAL CONCERTS Monthly KZN Tour, from Ballito to Howick. They include music by Dvorak, Schumann and Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata, a favourite of audiences world-wide,  in this programme. A highlight was Aristides’ passionate performance of the slow movement form the Dvorak Cello Concerto. The Ballito performance was postponed due to extreme rain and poor weather condition to 6 May,

MARCH 2019

Christopher Duigan and David Salleras performed at the Woordfees in South Africa in March 2019 as soloists with the Stellenbosch University Symphonic Orchestra (conducted by Daniel Boico), once again in Takashi Yoshimtasu’s ‘Cyberbird’ Concerto and in the duo recital programme, ‘Indigo’. These performances will be broadcast on Kyk-net Tv in the coming months. These pics below by Mark Cloete.

in addition Christopher played solo recitals of a varied repertoire at Henley on Klip, Margate Retirement Village and a new venture for Music Revival, promoted two concerts in Greyton, Western Cape. It is hoped that Music Revival will promote a small festival of concerts in Greyton later in the year.

Christopher’s mostly tour of seven concerts featured the new programme ‘Another 20 Popular Piano Solos. ‘ This programme included many familiar and popular piano melodies as well as some lesser know piece by Sibelius and Yann Tiersen. This include the first performance at a new venue for Music Revival’s monthly KZN Tour, Crawford College in Umhlanga / La Lucia.

February 2019

In February Christopher presented a selection of music including piano sonatas - in D major, C minor and F major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In MOSTLY he also included sparkling and effervescent classics by Edvard Greig, Claude Debussy and a selection of Waltzes by Frederic Chopin. This programme was for the monthly KZN tour.

January 2019

Christopher started the year off with his monthly KwaZulu-Natal tour, this time with guitarist James Grace. Playing a selection of their standard repertoire collobarted and developed over many years, this programme together focussed on Spanish msuci which reflected the table of James’ latest release the Msuci for Spain Vol. 3. The tour included a solo concert for James at Highgate Wine Esatet in Lions River, KZN.

DECEMBER 2018

CHRISTOPHER DUIGAN and Spanish saxophonist DAVID SALLERAS performed in Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica (one of the world's most prestigious concert venues) with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès (conducted by James Ross) Saturday 1 December 2018 to great acclaim.

SEPTEMBER 2018

FRANZ LIZT RECITAL - CAPE TOWN

Our church was once again full to capacity for Christopher’s Liszt recital, everyone arriving with great expectation of a circus act on the piano, primed by several emails about the vain and super-talented composer.

There is a certain fascination with sitting comfortably in one’s chair while some poor soul sets himself an impossibly difficult task, and then slowly and surely achieves it in front of your eyes. A Liszt recital has to be experienced at least once in one’s lifetime. After all he ”invented” the recital, and had the wherewithal to compose and play the most difficult of all music for the piano.

Christopher began and opened his programme with a Hungarian Rhapsody. These pieces proved so popular, he also played the Rhapsody No 6  as an encore.

I watched Chris play ripple after ripple of impossibly difficult passages so accurately,  with the lightest possible touch.  Spidery fingers skimmed the keys in a blur, daring the notes to not even speak. He has a superb sense of texture management, an assessment of which voice is important at any one time. This went on piece after piece, with huge dramatic moments where the huge piano shook violently, contrasting with whispered devotional passages when nobody dared breathe. Each piece seemed to involve more hands that crossed each other, more leaps from one note to the other. Chris played us the Liszt “Big Four”, tossing off La Campanella in the course of things. The piece has the reputation of being the most technically difficult work for the piano ever written.

Over the course of the afternoon my fascination turned to wonder. It was the appreciation of the outpouring of what Liszt contained within him; the imagination, the impossible virtuosity, the lavishness of the Romantic movement. Here in front of us was an artist actually realising that impossible music, rising to the utmost challenge of his musical ability to provide this for us.

Everyone there felt they had all been witness to an extraordinary achievement. So many people made compliments on their way out, and they will come back for more.
Chris said drily afterwards when I congratulated him: “It took 40 years of practising.”

Matthew Reid 
Director : Playing with Fire Entertainment
www.playingwithfire.co.za

CONCERT DETAILS 2016

Major engagements  for 2016 for Christopher  included recitals for Mandela Day in Mexico City in July (presented by the South African Embassy - Watch the video of a snippet with Morgan Symanski (guitar)  here) and was soloist in the Beethoven Concerto No 3 with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra on tour in KZN.

A CD 'The Music of Chopin'  Chopin's music  was released in November 2016.  See the CDs  page for more.  The Cd launch in March 2017  in Cape Town received a massive response and followed on all-Chopin performances at Brooklyn Theatre - Pretoria in June,  at the St Andrews Concert Series - Cape Town in August and at the Hilton Festival in September, plus performances in Durban, Hermanus, and Franschhoek in 2016. See below for pics.

MARCH 2017
CHOPIN RECITAL Constantia, Cape Town  

It was an extraordinary sight, watching people ... desperately wanting to get a ticket before the concert started! We were hard pressed to find everybody a seat.

From the first few notes Christopher played, I knew it would be a wonderful concert and that once again he would not disappoint. He started with Chopin’s E flat Nocturne, and played so quietly, sensitively and compellingly no one dared breathe. Then he proceeded to play all those pieces everyone knows so well, the ones they had come to hear: to my mind completely faultlessly, with perfect rippling passages in the high register, singing through the left hand and being so incredibly present throughout the entire recital that there seemed never a dull or boring moment. He was a credit to his teacher, the late Lamar Crowson, who has passed on gifts of imaginative playing and complete technical mastery over this demanding music, and yet Christopher brings his own insights and irreproachable musicality. It was a deeply satisfying concert to everyone there, richly deserving of the standing ovation at the end.

Matthew Reid, concert promoter

JUNE - JULY 2018

Virtuoso saxophonist, David Salleras, will be touring South Africa with concert pianist, Christopher Duigan, in June and July.

Since his first visit in October 2012, David Salleras has been collaborating on a project of concerts and recorded albums with Christopher Duigan. Salleras, who lives in Barcelona, Spain has attracted international attention through his fluency in a variety of musical styles. His innovative compositions, which incorporate traditional flamenco idioms with contemporary and avant-garde performing techniques, are performed by saxophonists worldwide.

Duigan, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of South Africa’s leading concert pianists has developed a popular following through his innovative Music Revival concerts. For this series, the two musicians will perform works from the traditional saxophone repertoire by Jules Demersseman, JS Bach, Darius Milahaud’s Scaramouche and music from Spanish composer/saxophonist by Pedro Itturalde. Itturalde’s Suite Hellenique traditionally offers pianist and saxophonist plenty of opportunity to explore a wide range of dynamic interplay through a variety of musical styles.

Also on the programme will be Salleras and Duigan’s own creative arrangements of music by Astor Piazzolla, Salleras’ own solo Caprices, and Duigan’s compositions from the albums  Indigo and Midnight Blue.

In April  2017 Christopher was featured in a series of concerts with orchestra, solo and duo performances with David Salleras (saxophone)  around Barcelona, Spain.  This include selections from his own compositions from the CDs 'Indigo' &  'Midnight Blue', performed with orchestra. 

MARCH 2017

Pics: CHOPIN RECITAL Constantia, Cape Town 5 March 2017