I ARRIVED AROUND 7.40 PM WITH PRINCESS DR BECKY LEOGARDO AND MICHAEL MANTZ AND FOUND OURSELVES ALONE IN THE FOYER OF KL CONVENTION CENTRE AS EVERYONE HAD ENTERED THE AUDITORIUM!
Talk about punctuality!
We had to sneak inside from the back seats as the Russian ambassador Her Excellency Mrs Liudmila Vorobyeva was already giving her speech. I always thought Malaysian time means coming in 30 minutes late but the Russians think differently obviously.
The soiree started with a rendition of the Russian national anthem sung by the talented choir Cantus Musicus under the guidance of Lisa Ho.
This unusual choir sings for free and does not charge since some members are not Malaysians and they would be technically working if they received monetary rewards. So in effect Cantus Musicus literally sings for their supper since a slap-up buffet was laid out for guests after the show.
Other talented musicians included the Japanese pianist Tomonari Tsuchiya and Kenneth Teh who played Rahmaninov Piano Concerto and the evening ended with a searing rendition of 1912 Overture by Tsaikovsky by Cantus Musicus.
Grinned Lisa Ho, "As you know, 1812 Overture was written to be played by a full orchestra complete with cannons firing and bells ringing but we will try and pretend to have all these so bear with us."
Indeed they gave a sterling performance and male singers mimicked all the booming sounds!
1812 Overture is often played on 4 July to celebrate the American Independence but it was originally written in 1812 to commemorate the Russian Army's successful defence of Moscow against Napoleon's troops at the Battle of Borodino.
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