Internationally acclaimed Durban guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Guy Buttery is currently on a national tour to promote the long-awaited release of his limited-edition vinyl album, To Disappear in Place, the companion piece to the masterful and multi-award-winning Fox Hill Lane.
Buttery will hand-number and personalise each of the 300 LPs, which were pressed in Holland on 180g vinyl. One of the highlights of the album are the three track remakes by gifted musician and composer Chris Letcher, who contributes beautiful string arrangements and abstract vocal soundscapes, which enrich the impressionistic texture of the songs.
The two Durban dates of Buttery’s national tour are: Friday November 25 at Spiga d’Oro, Tel: 031 303 9511, and Thursday December 8 at Alliance Francaise. Tel: 031 312 9582. Website: www.guybuttery.co.za.
? Connoisseurs of Baroque music have a rare chance to hear one of the greatest works of the Baroque era when Durban’s Baroque 2000 Ensemble put together a special large-scale production of Bach’s magnificent Christmas Oratorio. Baroque 2000 is joined by the choir and soloists of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Opera School and Choral Academy.
On the podium is visiting young French conductor Nicolas Simon, a renowned exponent of the Baroque repertoire whose work with the London Symphony Orchestra has drawn much acclaim.
Sunday November 20, Church of the Monastery, Mariannhill, at 3pm. Tickets are R90 in advance or at the door. Tel: 031 312 5539.
? Concert pianist Christopher Duigan this weekend presents a free concert, which demonstrates why he was recently named a Steinway Artist, a rare international accolade.
Duigan presents a selection of music by Franz Liszt to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Hungarian-born composer and musician. Regarded by many as the greatest pianist of all time, Liszt was a musician of extraordinary technical and emotional virtuosity, a fact clearly evident in his work, which is as gloriously grandiose as it is intricately complex. On this occasion, Duigan’s all-Liszt repertoire features the Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos 2 and 6 — La Campanella and La Leggierezza — together with music from Years of Pilgrimage, Liszt’s most extensive and poetic work.
Tatham Art Gallery, Sunday November 20 at 11.45am. Entrance is free with donations welcome. Tel: 033 342 3051. Website: www.christopherduigan.com.