Piano virtuoso gala rocks Dar

 A MEMORABLE night to light up the Russian-Tanzania Cultural Centre with a piano concert from pianist Alexander Trukhin, who will play the keys to commemorate the piano legend Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Trukhin will colour the Centre with music today to fill the hearts of fans with a love of music. Trukhin expects to play a few of the Rachmaninoff origins at the concert that has lived for about 150 years since he passed.

Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. According to the Centre’s administrator, Boniface Assenga, Rachmaninoff is considered one of the finest pianists of his days and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Russian classical music.

“At the Russian House in Dar es Salaam today, we shall commemorate Rachmaninoff’s life. He was a great pianist in his time and considered one of the great representatives of Russian classical music.

“Born in 1873, he would have been celebrating his 150th anniversary if he had been alive today.

“His unique way of playing the keys remains in our hearts, and therefore we welcome all music lovers to show up at our Centre near Aga Khan Hospital, behind Al-Muntazir Junior School to celebrate the life of Rachmaninoff.”

Rachmaninoff used his art as an instrument to tell stories, express love, comfort and heal the wounded. For example, on February 1917 Revolution began in Saint Petersburg; Rachmaninoff performed a piano recital in Moscow to aid wounded Russian soldiers who had fought in the war.

Following his unique talent, they built him a statue commemorating Rachmaninoff’s last concert in Knoxville.

According to Assenga, the concert will commence at 7 pm and will be free of charge.

It is the second time the Centre has organised such a piano concert this year. Before hosting today’s show, Maestro Afraaz Adam Mulji played the keys to the audience at the Centre last month.

The performance awakened the audience’s longing to attend another piano concert at the Centre.

Among the audience who remarked after the concert were Nelson Villema and David Leonce, who expressed their excitement to attend a piano concert.

Villema noted: “I enjoyed it; this is my first time attending a piano concert. It is rare to find such a concert in the country.

“It felt like a tale narrated in a series of related events or experiences; I could not stop listening. I would wish to attend more of his performance.

David Leonce, on his side, noted he had been a regular at the Russian Cultural Centre, and he lauded the Centre for its efforts to organise such concerts that Tanzania and Russia embrace their cultural difference.