They did so, under the guise of two great artistic interpreters, Pianist Prof. Gerard Willems, and Actor John Gregg.
The afternoon was blessed with comfortable weather (no rain), and we started out with pleasant servings of wine, fruit juices and hors d'oeuvres. There was an excellent attendance - the best for any of the RVMS performances so far. No doubt that was contributed to by the festive season, the timing of the event (on a Saturday afternoon), and the exceptionally high calibre of the artists.
People enjoyed the opportunity to mix together prior to the performance, as well as afterwards.
Gerard Willems performing in Robertson
The performance started out with Gerard Willems performing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" (Op 27 No 2). That was balanced by John Gregg performing a soliloquy from the Merchant of Venice.Their performances alternated with excerpts from Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata no 23, (Op 57), and Romeo and Juliet; The Tempest (Op 31, No. 2) matched with a reading from Shakespeare's "The Tempest".
Other Sonata excerpts played included the Pathetique (Sonata No 8 in C minor) Op. 13, matched more soliloquies from Hamlet and King Lear.On several occasions, the readings led directly into a gentle accompaniment by the Piano, slowly ceding ground to the full-gusto performance by Gerard Willems. Personally I found those moments the most appealing.
John Gregg leads the entire audience in applauding Gerard Willems.
It was a great concert and reading, and was much appreciated by the attentive audience. The contribution of both artists was much appreciated.We hope that a major contribution has now been made towards the purchase of the RVMS Kawai Grand Piano (featured on the Masthead of this Blog). Over 20 Keys were sponsored prior to the concert, and I am sure that a number of people in the audience filled out the necessary forms to "sponsor a key".
Robert Goldsack has arranged tax deductible status for these donations ($100 per key). Robert may be contacted via mobile phone on 0404 444 099, if you wish to sponsor a key. If you prefer, send me a message via the "Contributors" section of this Blog, and I will pass your message on to Robert.
"Sponsoring a Key" is a great way of contributing to the Village community, or indeed, it is an appropriate way of recognising the contribution which the Robertson Village Music Society has made to village life in Robertson.
By the way, I snapped up Middle C when Robert first proposed the idea.
Denis Wilson
