Concert reading
Max Herbrechter and his wife, pianist Aida Sikira, bring Peter Ustinov to life.
"After centuries underground, prejudice has been identified as a mole in our midst: one of the great villains in our cast list of history," writes Sir Peter Ustinov. "It is responsible for the misunderstandings between nations and religions." Ustinov also described his book on prejudice as his "legacy". Eloquent and witty, it is partly autobiographical.
Max Herbrechter, who is one of the busiest actors on television and has played "everything from a young lover to a mass murderer", impersonates him amazingly: you think you can see his sly smile and hear his mocking laughter.
Aida Sikira's virtuoso interpretation sets counterpoints to this, varied and always very touching. Touching in a way that Gershwin, Beethoven and Poulenc created, but which is not always achieved with this power.
The combination of text and music creates a dynamic atmosphere. "He's a text person, he reads to me." She reacts with the music, "it's like a language of its own. It works, there is usually a common thread". A common thread? More like a colorful firework display, a ping pong between music and lyrics, where the sparks fly.
When Max met Aida, he had no idea what a talented pianist he had landed: "The great thing about her is her energy - and her honesty. I thought she was a rock singer." The evening is correspondingly full of energy: when Max Herbrechter and Aida Sikira show their love for the great old man, with a showpiece of acting and rousing virtuosity on the piano, it is an intense, atmospherically dense experience of doubled art.
