Gaëlle Chiche and François Bernier perform at the Strand hotel.

THE who’s who of Yangon turned out at the Stand hotel last Monday night for the Duo Astor classical guitar concert that marked the end of the academic year for the students and teachers of Alliance Française, Yangon.

The two-hour concert, which was organised by Alliance Francaise with the help of several foreign and Myanmar supporters, was a huge success and was attended by famous Myanmar musicians, composers, singers, foreign ambassadors and music students.

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The award winning performance team, made up of Gaëlle Chiche and François Bernier were in Myanmar for the first time as part of a tour through Asia.

Almost every seat in the house was taken before the concert started but the audience continued to grow through the night and every piece performed received louder applause from the audience.

During the intermission the well-known Myanmar singer, Sai Htee Saing, told The Myanmar Times the show was enticing.

“Classical music can send people to sleep if they are not that interested in it, but this performance was great and they really drew in the audience. They played exceptionally well,” he said.

One audience member told MT that while he didn’t really understand classical music, he enjoyed listening to it because it drew a strong emotional response from him.

In the second half of the concert, the musicians became increasingly enthralled in their playing and their performance became increasingly dynamic, much to the delight of the audience.

The recital consisted of seven compositions by Spanish, Italian and French composers. The night was concluded with a roar of applause from the audience.

After their Yangon performance, the duo will continue their tour to Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Vientiane.

The musicians told MT they were very happy to be in Myanmar and playing in front of Myanmar people.