In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the bilateral relations between Malaysia and France, H.E. Datuk Ibrahim Abdullah, Ambassador of Malaysia to France attended a concert by Malaysian pianist Muzaffar Abdullah, held at Noisy, a Parisian suburb, on July 2, 2017. The pianist was accompanied by the string orchestra students from the Maurice-Baquet Music Conservatoire.
Muzaffar Abdullah who has been teaching at the Conservatoire for over ten years is an experienced international concert performer. At the concert, Muzaffar played classical piano and string works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Mendelssohn and Paul Hindemith.
The Malaysian pianist with the chamber orchestra also performed a Malaysian traditional music entitled “Gambuh Menyanyi” accompanied by a gamelan ensemble by renowned Malaysian gamelan player Professor Shahanum Shah. One of the rare musical jewels of the Malay heritage, “Gambuh Menyanyi” dates back to the period of the end of the reign of Sultan Iskandar Shah (Parameswara) en 1414 and the arrival of the Portuguese in Malacca in 1511. The melody was played in the royal courts as entertainment on several sets of gamelan and sung by singers in those days.
The chamber orchestra concert was indeed a success in showcasing Western classical music played by an artist from a different culture and that Westerners can also play a repertoire different from their traditional one.
Muzaffar (left) with H.E. Datuk Ibrahim Abdullah (center) and Prof Shahanum Shah (right)
