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The human voice was probably the first musical “instrument” used by humans. Next would have followed percussion instruments as rocks and sticks were smacked together, then possibly came bowed music, as bows and arrows were explored. At their heart, all musical instruments imitate the voice. Musicians are encouraged to create a “singing tone” or, “cantabile” sound. Yet what does that mean for a pianist who plays an instrument made of wood and steel and hammers that hit metal strings? In his upcoming recital series “Cantabile”, Cape Town pianist Albert Combrink will explore just that question: how does the piano sing? The programme covers a wide variety of repertoire, starting with early Baroque attempts at Cantabile writing, through core classical piano-composers such as Liszt and Chopin, right up to transcriptions of Opera and Song repertoire by Puccini, Bellini, Verdi and Schubert.   As always, Combrink will narrate the programme, guiding the audience through a playlist designed to appeal to a wide public, from the musical connoisseurs, to Albert’s particular favourites: those who might not generally think that classical music is really their thing. Albert delights in breaking down barriers between music and audiences and has been creating a new audience for classical for more than two decades as a professional pianist, both locally and abroad. His most notable successes overseas include a Tango Recital at the prestigious Leipzig Gewandhaus as well as Tango and Chopin performances in Singapore.