He stepped onto the stage with his regular playing partner, Italian concert pianist Paola Girardi, and greeted the audience with a warm smile before immersing them in his world.
The opening chord of Corelli’s sonata no.12 in D-minor got things underway, and so began a musical journey of intricate melodies and smooth overtones.
Trevisani traversed the musical timeline, moving from baroque through to classical and into the modern era.
To help the audience negotiate the variety of musical themes that made up the two-hour show, Trevisani complemented the music with anecdotes about the meaning, imagery and origin of the various pieces.
For the penultimate piece, he invited Stellenbosch University’s Professor of Flute and Conducting, Corvin Matei, onto the stage to perform with him Doppler’s Andante et Rondo for two flutes and piano.
The audience sat entranced and taut silence filled the space between chords. As the rondo drew to a close and the final note sounded, a rapturous applause split the air and shouts of “bravo!” were heard through the clapping.
The pair walked to the front of the stage hand in hand, and took a bow to a sweeping applause before disappearing backstage, leaving the audience back in their own world again. – Aidan Jones
Raffaele Trevisani and Paola Girardi play at the Fismer Hall during Woordfees 2017. PHOTOGRAPH: AIDAN JONES