Tag Archives: Una Elphick

Mom Mary 93

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Written on the day, posted (very) late.

18 September 1928 plus ninety three years gets you to today. So if you were born then you’ve had around 33 968 sleeps.

Quite something, Mom! Happy birthday, we feel very lucky to have you with us and be able to listen to your stories, and hear your memories and your piano playing. Love you lots!

I listen to the Chopin and Mozart etc you used to play and I say to the expert pianists playing: Huh! You shoulda heard my Mom!

She recently said she thinks the best piece she played was the duet with Una Elphick in the town hall of Beethoven’s 5th symphony

~~~oo0oo~~~

The Concert

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Mom Mary told me about the concert in the Harrismith town hall again and there was more detail, which I add here.

Griet Geyser, who played the violin, suggested a tribute concert to her tutor Professor Bloch. Fellow violinist Helmut Brunzlaff and everyone else thought it was a good idea, especially when they added the piano tutors. So it became a tribute to Professor Bloch, Miss Underwood and Miss Thorburn.

Una Elphick and I decided we were going to play a duet on the grand piano – you know they had a grand piano in their flat? It filled the lounge. Well, we chose a challenging piece: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, you know: da da da dum!

We started practicing separately and then we got together and we just couldn’t synchronise – we just weren’t in time. Una put on her metronome ‘tick tock’ but that didn’t help. The only thing that got us going was Una counting out loud. That worked and we got better and better and played it beautifully if I say so myself.

More of the music they and other Harrismith virtuosos played here. Although, that may have been a different concert as that one was in the kerksaal – church hall.

~~~oo0oo~~~