Much travelled pianist

Press, 12 April 1988, Page 3

Much travelled pianist

The British pianist, Antony Peebles, says he fills up passports remarkably quickly. This is hardly surprising considering he goes on two long tours each year and has played in 96 countries. He thinks he has played in more countries than any other professional musician. I Peebles will give two concerts this week at the Great Hall of the Arts Centre. An evening performance will be given on Thursday, and a lunchtime concert at 1.10 p.m. on Friday. It is the first time he has played publicly in Christchurch. j His presence in so many foreign concert halls is largely because of his links with the British Council which has co-ordinated many of his tours. I Peebles gave concerts last year in such diverse places as North Yemen, Ethiopia, Egypt, Cuba, Honduras and Belise.; Later this year he will play for passengers in the liner Queen Elizabeth 2 during an Atlantic crossing.

Planning tours and arranging flights appeal to Peebles, who says he spends a lot of time at his desk as well as his keyboard. While expatriates often made up the bulk lof his audience overseas, South Americans, Indians and Chinese also came in [large numbers when he played in their countries. H < The South Americans were the most demonstrajtive audiences, i ■ Having to play strange pianos is expected in countries where pianos are not very common. i “In Nigeria I delivered a karate-like blowito the piano but it hardly made a sound,” he said. i When compiling his concert programmes Peebles tends to favour nineteenth century composers. He plays regularly at home in Britian but says he feels sorry for the piano “giants” who demand big fees and therefore never get the chance to play in places like Bangladesh. I p]