Under the impetus and inspiration of Herman Van Hove, an art-loving man, facilitator and patron of young talent, Fakkeltheater presents monthly belcanto & bella musica. A lighthearted Sunday aperitif of opera, operette, songbook and musical with prestigious names. Jan Caeyers and Piet Kuijken have already performed.
In December there is still Sylvia Broeckaert and in 2020 Annick Segal, Roel and Veerle Dieltiens, Katrien Gallez together with Dick Vandaele and in May the trio Hans Peter Janssens, Lies Vandewege and Lissa Meyvis.
Piano virtuoso Lester Van Loock
Sunday the stage was reserved for Lester Van Loock. You are an artist or you aren't… He has adopted an artistic look with long curly hair and a Salvator Dali moustache. But that is purely façade. Lester Van Loock is an artist par excellence and a gifted pianist who can now display a man-high display cabinet with national and international prizes. And he continues to refine his skills… In 2015 he was admitted to the Scuola di Musica in Fiesole where he continues his studies with Elisso Virsaladze.
Fireworks
Lester Van Loock takes the audience on a two-hour journey through his musical universe without a single score in front of him.
He opens with 'Chaconne from Partita no. 2 for solo violin BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach. A beautiful work that he wrote for his deceased wife, in an arrangement for piano by Ferruccio Busoni. An impressive transcription regarding the sound possibilities of the piano.
In the Baroque era, the chaconne had developed into a fully-fledged genre. Bach expanded the genre across all levels and brought it to a climax. Lester Van Loock is an interpreter who experiences every note and gives you chills. All stages of grief pass in review. There is disbelief: is this happening to me? Resignation, resistance, acceptance. Gradually life opens new perspectives. Van Loock takes the audience through the maelstrom of grief, confusion and resilience. He dares to let the tremors resonate. To let the silence take effect and then continue the story, building towards a climax.
Followed by Sonata no. 28 in A, opus 101 by Ludwig van Beethoven
This sonata, a composition of approximately 20 minutes, is one of the first works Beethoven wrote in complete deafness. His music took a new direction, sounding more intimate and even introspective. He wrote it in 1816 and it was dedicated to baroness and pianist Dorothea Hermann. The beginning is very abstract and restrained. Lester lets the music be shown and felt. The emotion is readable on his face and the expression finds voice through his fingers
Lisztomania
The programme after the interval is entirely devoted to piano works by Franz Liszt, his core business, which display his versatile genius. Starting with 'Rhapsody no. 13'. This composition requires fantastic technique, countless nuances and precision. For Lester Van Loock no problem at all. Then 'Les adieux, rêverie sur un mot: Roméo et Juliette from Charles Gounod's opera'. A fantasy and variations on themes from the famous opera. Impressionism on the piano. In this work too Liszt's genius comes to the fore. Just as the brilliant and emotionally layered playing of Lester Van Loock: refined, delicate, lighthearted, generous and warm. Romanticism in its purest form. Ending with the 'Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2', the second in a series of nineteen and by far the most famous in a succession of majestic passages. A brilliant display. Lester Van Loock lets notes and atmospheres fade away and then builds them up again in a gripping cadenza. Piano playing full of grand storms and gentle breezes. Liszt was fascinated by gypsy music and was inspired by the devotion and ecstasy that this contagious music contained. Perhaps Lester Van Loock also has a touch of gypsy blood running through his veins. His playing is in any case overwhelming.
What is more wonderful than being drawn along by a performer into his story and maestro Van Loock succeeds perfectly with his tremendous technique and sensitivity, a master of the keyboard par excellence.
- WHO: Lester Van Loock
- WHAT: J.S. Bach, Ferrucio Busoni, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Charles Gounod, Frans Liszt
- WHERE & WHEN: Sunday 10 November 2019, Fakkeltheater
- PHOTO: © Hugo Van Beveren