'Cadenza,' Guwahati's tryst with the piano

The Grand Piano may not be the most popular instrument for modern musical performances but a recent show by a group of youngsters here established its rightful place in the region's musical scenario.
'Cadenza'--a musical extravaganza with piano as the focal theme was staged by more than forty students of reputed pianist and music teacher Promiti Phukan highlighting the immense musical talent of youngsters in the region.
Ranging from western classical to contemporary--the musical forte of the young pianists accompanied on occasions by vocalists ranged wide--from Beethoven and Brahms to Ludovico Einaudi, Celine Dion and Christina Perri in the third edition of this musical concert.

"It has always been my dream to put up a show wherein young budding musicians get a platform to showcase their talent and in this particular edition this year, they have surpassed my expectation," Phukan told PTI.
Pianist of international repute and brand ambassador of Yamaha pianos Nise Meruno and his group Zowe Madrigal along with Girish Pradhan, the frontman of popular band 'Girish and the Chronicles' and drummer Ritteque Phukan--frontman of 'Voodoo Child' added to the credence of the show.
"Having artists of international repute enhances the show itself and my young students get to learn so much from them--right from professionalism to the craft," she said.

The highlight of the evening was when the three guest artists--Nise on piano, Girish on guitar and Ritteque on drummer--came together to present 'I don't wanna miss a thing' and brought the audience to their feet.

Among the other noteworthy performances of the show were solos--Claire de lune by the teacher herself, Le Onde by Mahima Hazarika, Hope by Affan Amin and the theme from the movie Amelie by Harshaa Kutum.
The duets included the Witches' flight by the teacher and her special student Sauham Medhi, Beethoven's Turkish March by Anuragini Gohain Boruah and Shravanee Bhuyan, Brahm's Hungarian Dance No 5 by Sunaina Baruah and Noyonika Chowdhury, Rubinstein's Melody in F by Yukta Baruah and Arhi Goswami and the Irish victory anthem Londonderry Air by Divyana Sandhilya and Sanyukta Phukan.

Among the vocal renditions, it was Christina Perri's 'Thousand Years' by Promiti and her students with Nise on the piano that was the showstopper along with Celine Dion's 'The Prayer' by Meghna Barua and Achintya Banerjee.
Noted author and classical vocalist Mitra Phukan said there are music bands that play rock and pop with great aplomb here but what was not heard till recently was that cornerstone of Western music, the piano.
"One looks forward to more such programmes of Western music on the piano in the near future as Cadenza has proved that this instrument has now arrived on the musical scene of the state in no uncertain terms," she added.