Jennifer Heemstra, the intrepid and brilliant pianist, and the Kolkata Classics Club gave the month of March a generous shower of scintillating concerts. The very talented Douglas Jurs came to India from the United States of America to collaborate with Heemstra, giving audiences four hands on one piano.

On March 12, two performances at Kala Mandir entranced audiences. A session at noon was appreciated greatly by school children; later in the evening, the concert was well attended by the music lovers of the city. The programme began with the popular " Libertango" by the tango composer, Astor Piazzolla. They also played five Hungarian Dances by Brahms, the sublime Fantasie in F Minor by Schubert, Clair de Lune by Debussy, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and an encore that consisted of a Gershwin medley.

A piano workshop/masterclass was organized by the Calcutta School of Music on Sunday at the Sandre Hall at 1 pm. Attendance by teachers and students of the school was meagre. Jurs requested a candidate to come up from the sprinkling of young people present; Hrik Ganguly went up on stage and played the Prelude in C minor by Bach. His technique was addressed in detail and he was duly applauded. Jurs is as impressive a teacher as he is a performer. In the short time left, Anindita Basu played a waltz by Hindemith, and finally Kanishka Saha gave a closing performance of Chopin's Waltz in C sharp minor. There was, unfortunately, not much time for discussion. It might be helpful to bear in mind that such a workshop needs meticulous planning and organizing in order to be a gainful experience for student participants.

The newly created Kolkata Classics Club, Heemstra's brainchild, has a core of passionate and dedicated members. It was formed to bring to the city musicians of the highest calibre so that they could share their talent and artistry with Calcuttans in a series of interactive presentations at educational institutes, public recitals, workshops and master classes, culminating in a grand finale concert at the Oberoi Grand.

On March 19, the performance was spectacular. If the first recital was ever so slightly out of sync, the pianists had reached a level of near-perfect telepathic coordination here. Heemstra's warm, lucid announcements were laced with humour and information. Her clear articulation and infectious joy during her performance made the evening a memorable one.

With the promise of six such visitors to the city in a year, there is much to look forward to.