Durban music picks: January 27 2012

Violinist Yasutaka Hemmi, a virtuoso of the great classics and a champion of contemporary composers, forms one half of the Japs Duo that performs in Durban this week.

The other half of the couple is Takayo Matsumura, the acclaimed harpist who takes the instrument into uncharted waters.

For ­example, one of the works in their repertoire here is Vittorio Monti’s famous Csárdás, which, though originally composed for solo piano or violin, is given a whole new lease on life when performed on harp and violin. Also on the programme is music by contemporary Japanese composers Toshio Hosokawa and Joe Hisaishi, as well as compositions by Michael Blake and Fritz Kreisler and ­romantic classics by Jules Massenet and Camille Saint-Saëns.

Durban Jewish Centre, 44 Old Fort Road, on Tuesday ­January 31 at 7.45pm. Tickets are R70 at ­Computicket.