Classic Act

A Capacity crowd in an unusually serious mood converged at Kamani auditorium to hear two Mexican pianists on Thursday evening. On their maiden India tour,James Demster and Fernando Garcia Torres seemed straight out of a 19th century music show,complete with grand gestures that accompanied wistful renditions.

As Demster and Torres tickled the ivories in their solo pieces,tender tunes flowed along with love songs and jazz and blues numbers. The pianists mostly stayed with classic compositions by Frederic Chopin and American pianist Georges Greshwing though Demster also performed a few compositions by Augustin Lara,a legendary Mexican composer. “His music deeply inspires me. There is nothing like his love songs,” said Demster,who is looking forward to his visit to the Taj Mahal. The event was presented by ICCR to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between India and Mexico and 200 years of Mexico’s independence

“The piano is a rich instrument,it has rhythm,it has harmony. I am glad the audience loved the performance,” said Demster,who also holds a diploma in Indian classical music. “The western world was fascinated by Pandit Ravi Shankar at one point,now it is AR Rahman. It is some beautiful music that these guys produce and we love it,” he added.

The concert ended with a crescendo by Torres in the final piece,Chopin’s Scherzo No 2 in D Flat minor,and was rewarded with a roaring applause by the audience that went back awestruck — some by the grand piano with a mirror frame and most by the rich fluid music they had heard.

“We were warned that people do not enjoy western classical very much in India. But this is unusually surprising,” said Torres after the show.