THE German Embassy in Riyadh hosted an evening with the renowned German pianist Andreas Henkel at the end of last month, offering those in the audience the chance of a lifetime. Performing in two parts - classical and modern - Henkel played a number of classics by Beethoven, Weber and Liszt, in particular. Born in 1967 in Germany, Henkel started playing the piano at the tender age of eight in his hometown of Freiberg (Saxonia), and won an award at the National Youth Competition at the age of 16 in Zwickau, the birthplace of Robert Schumann, one of the most famous and popular Romantic composers of the 19th century. Henkel has studied the piano and piano pedagogy for five years at Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, and notes the Russian pianist Arkadi Zenzipér in Dresden and Aquiles Delle Vigne in Brussels as his most significant influences. Now based in Dresden, Henkel has performed solo recitals in various European cities as well as in the US and Japan, South America and Lebanon, and has also appeared in a number of group and duet performances with other solo artists, such as Brenda Jackson and Carol Wyatt (former soloists of the German Opera in Berlin). Henkel also teaches students at the Heinrich-Schütz-Conservatory in Dresden how to play the piano and holds master classes and the Universidad Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil and the Crescendo's Summer Institute in Hungary and Romania. Speaking to the Saudi Gazette, Henkel commented on his use of improvisation and said that he has spent the past three years on a project wherein he produces his own version of a group of musical scores. That project, however, has been delayed due to the birth of his daughter who is now nine months old. When asked whether she possesses the talent and fingers of a potential pianist, Henkel laughed and said “well, she drums on the piano.” The event was highly interactive, so everyone had a chance to chat with the pianist and most members of the audience agreed that Henkel's The Bell; La Campanella (Italian)” was the best performance, with some remarking that the music brought tears to their eyes. Saudi Arabia's culture was also one of the most extensively discussed subjects, in addition to art and music, with Henkel asking guests where musical equipment could be found in the Kingdom and whether there was an active Saudi music scene.
