Concerto Issue 14

T HE OFFICI A L M AG A ZINE OF T HE C A PE TOW N PHILH A R MONIC ORCHEST R A #ISSUE 14

New SYMPHONY SEASONS ALL DATES & DETAILS!

Soaring!

DONORS

CAPE TOWN CIT Y BALLET OUR DANCE PARTNER

THE LIFE BLOOD OF THE CPO

TIM KLIPHUIS THE GR APPELLI OF OUR TIME

Yo u n g

of the keyboard OPEN AIR MAGIC VERGELEGEN AND KIRSTENBOSCH

We are all players in this Orchestra!

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he orchestra’s pivotal role in the music life of Cape Town should not be underestimated. The CPO is the engine of musical activities in the region.

Ballet, opera, musicals and chamber music form part of our city’s concert life. Although all the arts these days are available in the palm of one’s hand, watching and listening to music on YouTube will never replace a live performance.

Over the past six months we have campaigned hard to convince the politicians of the City and the Province to secure the future of the orchestra by increasing our funding in the wake of central government’s decision to withdraw its annual funding.

Many might think the government should rather spend all its money on necessities like poverty relief, education and public health.

Music or art is, after all, perceived as a luxury.

than just survive. Our humanity evolves around spiritual and artistic endeavours.

Without a professional orchestra in Cape Town there would be no reason for the local universities to train musicians; ballet and dance companies would be forced to perform with recorded music only, while art forms like opera and musicals would grind to a halt.

Fortunately, our pleas have not fallen on deaf ears. Both the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government indicated that they will increase their funding to secure the CPO’s sustainability.

WITHOUT THE ARTS WE ARE NOTHING

But without the arts we are nothing. Human beings are creative and need to express themselves through the arts. Yes, basic survival depends on food and shelter.

But food and shelter does not stimulate us or give us a reason to enjoy life on earth.

We build civilisations around artistic expression.

Material wealth will not solve our problems as a nation: the real difference between a failed or successful civilisation is our ability to do so much more

Around the world, symphony orchestras cannot be sustained by box office income alone.

Most orchestras can manage to generate up to a third of their needs from selling tickets; and the remainder must come from grants, subsidies or sponsorships from corporates or individuals.

This financial support forces an entity like the CPO to use all its resources to improve the community around us through the arts. The transfer of musical skills, creating a platform for local musicians and entertainment in the widest sense of the word are all equally important goals.

In the following pages of Concerto, you will get an idea of our proud offerings over the next six months.

CO N C ERTO EDITORIAL TEAM

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & EDITOR IN CHIEF LOUIS HEYNEMAN louis@cpo.org.za

MANAGING CREATIVE DIRECTOR JOHANN M SMITH johann@digitalshelf.biz

MARKETING & MANAGING EDITOR SHIRLEY DE KOCK GUELLER shirley@cpo.org.za

ASSISTANT EDITOR MARY FREW mary@cpo.org.za

CPO ARTISTIC EXECUTIVE SERGEI BURDUKOV sergei@cpo.org.za

CONSULTING EDITOR DARREN COMBRINK darren@digitalshelf.biz

CO N C ERTO IS DISTRIBUTED BY THE CPO BIANNUALLY.

GET IT ON REQUEST OR ONLINE. VISIT CPO.ORG.ZA OR EMAIL INFO@CPO.ORG.ZA FOR ENQUIRIES

DIGITAL SHELF IS A PROUD MEDIA PARTNER OF CPO. DIGITALSHELF.BIZ

ALL INFORMATION WAS CORRECT AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRESS, BUT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. NO PART OF THIS MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING OR BY ANY INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR.

Join our database LOUIS HEYNEMAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CAPE TOWN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

To receive regular newsletters and event information simply email your request with your details to info@cpo.org.za or visit our website www.cpo.org.za You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2019 © CONCERTO MAGAZINE

PUBLIC & CORPORATE FUNDERS, DONATIONS IN KIND, PARTNERS & MEDIA PARTNERS

AV'S GIFTS & FLOWERS LORENZO & STELLA CHIAPPINI CHARITABLE & CULTURAL TRUST

PHILLIP SCHOCK CHARITABLE & EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

JOAN ST LEGER LINDBERGH CHARITABLE TRUST

DAVID BLOOMBERG ORCHESTRA PATRON After over 20 years of living abroad, David Bloomberg is back where he belongs… in Cape Town and on the Board of Patrons of the CPO. Lawyer, local politician, mayor,

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GERLINDE MOSER

impresario, author and more, Alderman Bloomberg was instrumental in privatising the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra in 1986. As its chairman, he steered it through the next few years. On his return, he immediately became a donor and subscriber again. The CPO looks forward to a long and productive relationship!

have your say

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Friends of Orchestral Music BENEFIT GALA ......................................

EVERYTHING HAPPENING AND COMING SOON

Conductor Bernhard Gueller Soloist Daniel Kharitonov (piano)

With Instagram and Twitter, Facebook continues to be a valuable tool, attracting so many positive comments...

“I am a keen follower of you because of the CNN documentary. I wish our own media would celebrate you guys as much as the international world does.

You deserve it. Truly world class. Well done.”

Joe Oppenheim

Liadov From the Apocalypse Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

“Wonderful to know that CPO is supporting and promoting local composers.”

Leon Geffen after the premiere of Litha Jali’s tribute to Mandela

Mahler Symphony No. 1, “Titan”

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The Friends of Orchestral Music has been a force in the city and beyond for decades. Over the years it has evolved into a Public Benefit Organisation with Section 18A status.

"Four absolutely fantastic Thursday night concerts …. we Capetonians are just so fortunate.”

Sue Lipschitz after the Autumn symphony season “Thank you all so much for enriching my life as you do.”

Jenny Strong via email after Famously Incidental at Maynardville “ABSOLUTELY STUNNING... CPYO THE BEST...”

Ruth Liberty after the CPYO’s appearance at the Suidoosterfees “The Suidooster concert broadcast was of a high quality, especially listener friendly… we were pleasantly surprised” Magdaleen Kruger, station manager of RSG “Was an amazing concert - will definitely cancel all other commitments to see again” Astrid Gilliwald after SoundsCape@Artscape

After SoundsCape@Artscape, one audience member phoned CPYWE conductor Faan Malan and said: “I will go and vote with a lot more hope for the future than I had before the show.”

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What do you think?

The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra is keen to know what you think about various aspects of the operation – and funders want a better picture of our audience, how we are serving our community, who our audience actually is and how it is evolving.

We have canvassed the viewpoints of many of our regulars, but would like to expand this. Please take the time to answer questions that may be put to you at a concert by a member of the CPYO. After all, we are here for you, the audience, and we really want to know what you think. If you want to be part of this, let us know at 021 410 9809/info@cpo.org.za

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

info@cpo.org.za

September 5 Cape Town City Hall 20:00

‘YOUNG LIONS’

Join the Friends and help them to reach their objectives which include:

OF THE KEYBOARD

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mitry Shishkin, the young Russian pianist making his debut with the CPO on 7 November, is part of the latest pride of "young lions" of the keyboard. Another young lion, Daniel Kharitonov, returns to Cape Town after a dazzling debut two years ago. Sishkin will perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Kharitonov will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Theme and Variations on a Theme by Paganini.

Piano playing is not a tennis match, but since the mid-nineteenth century, when the flamboyant virtuoso Franz Liszt changed the piano recital from intimate home entertainment to the realms of the concert hall, pianists have become musical super heroes, conquering

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aniel Kharitonov, the soloist in the Friends Orchestral Music Benefit was “doomed” to be a musician!

When his violinist mother was pregnant with him, she played exams at the Moscow Conservatory and that, he says, was his destiny. He was soon wheeled off to orchestral rehearsals in his pram, and at the age of two he was tapping rhythms. By four he knew all the instruments — and that the big, beautiful piano with all those notes would be his future. His mother wasn’t keen, but soon she realised she had no choice but to support him.

audiences with a combination of dazzling technique, stamina and wizardry.

With the advent of YouTube, music lovers can follow these young titans’ prowess with close-up views. No wonder each phrase and run is dissected, tempi compared and the smallest gesture of the body analysed. Speed, power and showmanship can so easily be mistaken for the real essence of music making.

Therefore, it’s no use comparing the brilliance of Yuja Wang, Evgeny Kissin, Daniil Trifonov, Lang Lang or Lukáš Vondrácek with legendary virtuosi like Martha Argerich, György Cziffra, Grigory Sokolov, Sviatoslav Richter, Emile Gilels, Murray Perahia and others.

The CPO cannot afford the world’s legendary performers, but the “young lions” are often here, only to become legends later in their careers.

• Helping generate and promote awareness of orchestral music in greater Cape Town and surrounding areas especially to the previously disadvantaged communities • Raising funds to assist orchestras • Supporting deserving students to further their musical and instrumental studies For more about FOM, its full aims and objectives, fund-raising soireés and how to join and receive benefits such as discounted entry to CPO dress rehearsals, CPO subscription concerts and soirees, visit fomct.com.

His last concert in Cape Town in 2017 two years after winning, at the age of 16, third prize in the prestigious Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, was a triumph.

He returns to play the Paganini Variations by Rachmaninov which he says he enjoys for its “mix of Romantic and jazz”. Having met the grandson of Rachmaninov, one of his favourite composers, he picked up some interesting insights.

He performed the First Tchaikosky Piano Concerto and it bore out his very reason for being: “If the audience is happy, then I have achieved what I set out to do”.

After writing the Paganini Variations, Rachmaninov himself said: “It’s a difficult piece. Now I need to start to practise!”

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The annual Starlight Classics at Vergelegen, the Western Cape's most spectacular outdoor concert.

OPEN AIR MAGIC

Kirstenbosch and Vergelegen have long been linked to the name and reputation of the CPO

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eaching new audiences is part of CPO’s mandate and the National Botanical Gardens at Kirstenbosch and Vergelegen have long been linked to the name and reputation of the CPO as settings for magical outdoor concerts. In 2019, Val de Vie was added, as the CPO accompanied Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in an unforgettable concert.

Says Richard Cock. “From the beginning, RMB Starlight Classics at Vergelegen has been a huge success, and has played to sold out audiences on an annual basis. The reasons for this are clear: a beautiful venue, class acts by all chosen performers, excellent orchestral backing from the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and a very genial atmosphere created by the style of presentation.

Starlight Classics evolved over the years. It started out as a traditional outdoor concert of light classics. But it became a spectacular showcase of the best South Africa can offer — from classical to traditional to modern symphonic pop.

Apart from this, the regular appearances by local artists make us a uniquely South African product, of which we all feel enormously proud.”

“STARLIGHT CLASSICS, A UNIQUELY SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCT”

The concert season at the National Botanical Gardens at Kirstenbosch would not be the same without the CPO.

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RICHARD COCK

Andrea Bocelli at Val de Vie in April this year: the concert was sold out within hours after booking opened.

The Starlight Classics crowd under the famous camphor trees at Vergelegen.

notes MUSICAL EMOTIONS American conductor ROSSEN MILANOV is making his debut in Cape Town in August in two concerts on August 22 and 29 and he’s bringing with him several board members from his orchestra in Princeton, New Jersey. They are coming not only to see the country but to see how the CPO is serving its diverse community, reaching into areas that have been underserved in the past, taking home information that may help with diversity interaction there. A curtain-raiser by the CPYO and its conductor Brandon Phillips on August 22 will certainly help with this!

Milanov has been to South Africa many times, and is fascinated with the unique mixture of cultures, traditions, the openness and friendliness of the people and the amazing nature.

“Since orchestras ideally are a reflection of the communities they serve, I will explore the uniqueness of the culture and excellent reputation that the orchestra in Cape Town is famous for.

“The arts teach us empathy.” he says. “They help us transmit emotional understanding of our uniqueness as human beings. The arts provide that non-verbal connection that helps us to connect with our past, present and future in a deeply human way.”

CPO Principal Guest Conductor BERNHARD GUELLER goes further.

"You don’t have to be a musician or a philosopher to sense that music can transport. Music goes much deeper into your psyche, beyond your intellect more than any of the other arts. The Gregorian chant was the beginning of our western music. The monks were dealing with profound and serious texts.

They felt, perhaps instinctively, that it was not enough to speak these texts – they had to sing them. And suddenly the words had a much bigger meaning. That’s what makes music so special, so powerful.

"My father, as a prisoner of war in Russia, built instruments out of wood and tin, and he composed for his fellow prisoners who played concerts for the Russian commander and his men to standing ovations. They had no reason to do this for enemy soldiers, but this shows again how music overcomes all.

"Music can be a medium that articulates emotions that you aren’t able to express. A thought which is not expressed remains unredeemed.

"When listening to Bach, for example, I have this overwhelming certainty that everything is alright.

That’s the ideal we have all tried to achieve since the beginning of mankind. But it is a melancholic experience because we are so far from achieving this. Perhaps that is why some music makes us cry and we can’t exactly pinpoint why. We are moved when we catch a glimpse of the Promised Land but we know we won’t get there, at least not in the foresgeeable future."

WORLD'S FOREMOST YOUTH ORCHESTRA The Bundesjugendorchester, Germany's National Youth Orchestra, is known as one of the foremost youth ensembles in Europe. This exciting group will open the CPO's August Symphony Season. Maestro Alexander Shelley is on the podium with South African singer Msaki as soloist.

The concert forms part of the subscription series and is proudly presented by CPO and Miagi. Booking at Computicket.

SETTING THE FUTURE

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The potential of tomorrow is brimming with talent

hanks to support from Rand Merchant Bank, the CPO has been able to offer four part-time interns employment which comes with a steep learning curve in the arts.

All four are musicians; two are trainee teachers in the Masidlale project learning from their mentor Odile Burden as well as passing on their skills, while two are being exposed to all aspects of arts management including marketing, music librarianship and office administration. The end result will fulfil one of the CPO’s aims which is to shape young people for careers in an orchestra, as teachers or in arts management.

is taking vocal lessons with Hanna van Schalkwyk.

“In the short time I have been at the CPO, I have learnt an enormous amount — more about orchestral instruments and how to make an approach for funding.”

Lulama says he took a business diploma to please his parents but knows that this business background will help him when his career takes off and he needs to handle finances!

Snazo Eleni, 19, from Nyanga, was a student in the Masidlale grass-roots project. She is currently a violin student at the CPO Music Academy and studying for a National Certificate in Electrical Engineering.

or as a soloist and she too has learnt much in terms of self-awareness and self-confidence.

Carlyle Botha, 21, from Delft started as a viola player in the CPYO. He holds a National Certificate in Finance, Economics and Accounting from Northlink College.

“When I was 9, I decided that I would be a musician and began to teach myself to play. In high school I set myself a goal to play in the CPO and two years ago I began to play as an ad hoc in the CPO so that was a dream come true. Working in the office gives me a greater understanding of how the orchestra works so I feel very privileged.”

Jay-Dee Lewis, 19, from Atlantis is a violin student at Masidlale’s West coast campus where she is now a trainee teacher. She matriculated last year. Jay-Dee was introduced to music through the New Apostolic Church and has two cousins and one brother in Masidlale. An introvert by nature, teaching in the Masidlale project has made her step out of her comfort zone and into her passion.

“Music brings discipline to my life,” she says.

Lulama Mgceleza, 26, is a tenor with a National Diploma in Small Business Management from Walter Sisulu University. From the Eastern Cape, he now lives in Mowbray and

Snazo is a trainee teacher at Masidlale’s Artscape campus.

Although she plans to be an electrical engineer, her heart is set on performing, whether in an orchestra

The four Rand Merchant Bank interns Jay-Dee Lewis, Lulama Mgceleza, Snazo Eleni and Carlyle Botha.

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The 4th Len Van Zyl Conductors’ Competition finalists. Liam Burden, Reghardt Kühn and winner Schalk van der Merwe — who is set to make his debut with the CPO on 29 November.

Young talent WEALTH OF

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Schalk van der Merwe, winner of the 4th Len van Zyl Conductors’ Competition, will be the conductor of this year's Huberte Rupert Memorial Concert his year’s Huberte Rupert Memorial Concert will celebrate the centenary of the birth of one of South Africa’s foremost arts and music philanthropists, Huberte Rupert.

The late Mrs Rupert, wife of the businessman Anton Rupert, was the driving force behind the Rupert Music Foundation. Music and the visual arts in South Africa owes her vision and magnanimous support a great deal.

While the Huberte Rupert Arts Museum in Stellenbosch with its important collection of South African art is a tangible testimony to her legacy, many musicians, music groups, educational institutions and organisations like the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra would not have survived if it were not for her financial support.

The Rupert Museum, which showcases some 350 works from the Rupert private art collection, is the premier selection of South African art from 1940 onwards. It includes such artists as Maggie Laubser, Irma Stern, Alexis Preller, Walter Battiss, Jean Welz, JH Pierneef, Lippy Lipshitz, Moses Kotler, Anton van Wouw and Coert Steynberg along with internationally famous works

by Auguste Rodin and Käthe Kollwitz.

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It is with sincere gratitude for the late Mrs Rupert’s contribution towards the classical genre that the Rupert Music Foundation, under the chairmanship of her daughter Hanneli, continues supporting various classical projects, orchestral performances, concerts and music schools.

In 2007, to honour Mrs Rupert and her commitment to young South African musicians, many of whom she personally helped through friendship, advice and sponsorship over the years, the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra established the annual Huberte Rupert Memorial Concert. The series was devised to keep alive her dream for young South African musicians living or studying overseas to perform also for their “home crowds”.

Zyl Conductors’ Competition, to conduct the CPO at this concert. Other winners Brandon Phillips and Chad Hendricks have conducted previous concerts.

Cape Town-born violinist Michael Duffett, currently studying in Boston, will be the soloist in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

The concert will take place on Friday 29 November in the Ender Hall, Stellenbosch. Tickets at Computicket.

Over the past two years pianist Roelof Temmingh and violinist Pieter Schoeman were the soloists invited to perform with the CPO. Hanneli Rupert notes that “these talented young musicians show South African audiences what a wealth of talent is produced in this country and valued overseas.”

This year the CPO is delighted to provide an opportunity for Schalk van der Merwe, the winner of the 4th Len van

Cape Town-born Michael Duffett will be the soloist in this year's Huberte Rupurte Memorial Concert.

Donors

THE LIFE BLOOD OF THE CPO With national government support on the decline and a question mark against increased local government funding, the CPO continues to be reliant on its loyal base of donors and sponsors.

The CPO acknowledges support of donors in programme covers and/or on the website www. cpo.org.za/sponsors as one way of thanking them, whether it is at the Chairman’s Circle of R5 m and more oreven a few rands.

Ways you can do this • • • • •

Monthly debit order Annual debit order Once-off via SnapScan My School card expenditure UK Charities Trust

Where your money goes • • • • • •

Training for young musicians Symphony concerts Community concerts Township concerts Youth concerts and competitions Schools concerts

New to the bouquet is the Legacy Circle

The CPO's recent lunchtime concert in the Artscape Foyer featured the young cellist Sunday Kelechi and clarinettist Cameron Williams as soloists — with members of the CPO and Youth Orchestra playing side by side.

• To help ensure the future of orchestral music in Cape Town • To enable young people to benefit from the life skills, sense of achievement, self-worth and upliftment presented by music

Bequeathing a legacy to the CPO offers a unique and genuine opportunity to make a significant and lasting impact. Large gifts can result in an endowment of a specific musician’s chair, such as the Concertmaster/Principal Guest Conductor/ Resident Conductor/ CPYO Music Director, and others, in perpetuity.

The transfer of skills is one of the CPO's main goals. Young musicians who never had the opportunities to perform in public are now pushed to excel... with outstanding results.

What made them sign on?

Jilly Cohen took the decision to bequeath a portion of what she leaves behind as a meaningful legacy to help ensure that the orchestra continues to enchant, teach and endow Capetonians and visitors alike with their craft. “Join me in making a bequest to the Legacy Circle now. If I may paraphrase… the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra is ‘to die for’ !”

For Sibyl Whiteman Morris, “Cape Town without its professional symphony orchestra is unimaginable.

The enthusiastic large audiences at the symphony concerts show that CPO definitely fills a need for fine performances of great music, and the youth development initiatives play a crucial role in the future of music in our city.”

Gerlinde Moser notes that “By becoming a Legacy Circle member I can ensure that the music goes on and by supporting fine music, the orchestra and our superb musicians, I am softening the disruption and noise that faces the world, helping to bring calm to chaos.”

Louis Heyneman has been exposed to so many situations where music has transformed lives, where music has presented options in a world that had hitherto been dark, where music has kept families together. “I am passionate about the orchestra and ensuring its future has been my life’s mission.”

Contact Suzanne Aucamp 021 410 9826 suzanne@cpo.org.za

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he brilliant young pianist Leo Gevisser is a role model in many ways. He made his debut with the CPO at the age of eleven. Instead of keeping the performance fee he earned, he donated it to help other young musicians in need of money for music tuition.

Leo, who is going to make his Lincoln Centre debut with his awardwinning Arcus Trio next year, has made his third donation to the CPO in aid of the Masidlale grassroots training programme.

According to Leo’s mother Justine, it is important for him to inspire others to give, too.

“Many years ago, my husband and I had discussed with Leo the possibility of him getting involved in giving back to musicians who had not had the same educational opportunities as him.

Leo, now 16, is currently a member of the prestigious Young Artists Program (YAP) at The Cleveland Institute of Music in the USA.

“After Leo performed with the CPYO at the Reconciliation Day concert at Yellowwood Primary School, Mitchells Plain, we talked about further outreach and Leo was eager to keep his ties to CPYO affiliated outreach such as the Masidlale Project.”

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Photo by Oscar O'Ryan

Soaring!

CAPE TOWN CITY BALLET

“The orchestra is an indispensable part of ballet life” Shirley Gueller speaks to the new CEO of Cape Town City Ballet, Debbie Turner

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ecalibrate, re-energise, innovate... these are some of the words that flow from the mouth of new Cape Town City Ballet CEO, Debbie Turner.

Ms Turner is as fresh a breath as The Rite of Spring, the ballet choreographed by Pina Bausch which she would love to bring to Cape Town!

But that’s for later. For now Ms Turner is concentrating on broadening South African choreography and bringing in guest artists and administrators to inspire not only the dancers but management too. She is also concentrating on planning seasons for the future.

Ms Turner, who is a Spanish dancer with her own school, has inherited a company run for eight decades by people like Dulcie Howes, David Poole, Veronica Paeper and Elizabeth Triegaardt.

It’s been an interesting challenge, she says. The company moved from premises at UCT to Rondebosch and management went through an interim change and then a permanent one. She was appointed in October 2018 and she immediately set the date for the first auditions.

“We need fresh blood,” she says. “The company has 37 dancers which puts great strain on all of them as injury

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is a constant companion. We will create and curate more quality stars because we can. We also need to make ourselves more relevant in the greater community and we are planning to take the company deeper into the province.”

Venues are not easy to come by because a ballet company has special requirements … a special floor and space, for instance. Costumes and sets which have deteriorated since they were made in the 1980s are also on the wish list and so is having an orchestra at every performance.

“The orchestra is an indispensable part of ballet life for both the dancers and the audience,” she says.

Along with her dreams to stream ballet live (with orchestra of course) and present it on big screens in the community she needs to grow the Endowment Trust as well as nurture dancers and choreographers. She was born to do this. From the age of three her focus has been on dance which she considers the most generous form of art. “You have to be authentic to give of yourself to the audience.”

She lives by the mantra once told to her by Mavis Taylor with whom she danced: “If there are only seven people in the audience, you will dance for those seven people because they have given you two hours of their time they will never get back.”

orthcoming fproductions AMARANTH

JUNE 22 – JULY 7 ARTSCAPE OPERA HOUSE

(Frank Staff’s Transfigured Night; George Balanchine’s Serenade; Christopher L Huggins’ Enemy Behind the Gates)

SLEEPING BEAUTY

AUGUST 17 –31 ARTSCAPE OPERA HOUSE

TRIPLE BILL

OCT 26 – NOV 10 ARTSCAPE OPERA HOUSE

CHRISTMAS BALLET DEC 14 – 24 ARTSCAPE THEATRE

CONCERT CALENDAR

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August Season

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THE CPO &

8PM CITY HALL

CONDUCTOR ALEXANDER SHELLEY SOLOIST MSAKI (SINGER)

AUGUST

PRESENT

THE GERMAN NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA

WALTON Johannesburg Festival Overture HENDRIK HOFMEYR Three Sangoma Songs GERSHWIN Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture BRAHMS Symphony No 2 in D

Award-winning singer-songwriter from the Eastern Cape, MSAKI’s distinctive sound combines soulful folk, symphonic movement, Xhosa lyrics and African rhythms with her own improvisations at festivals in South Africa and Sweden, in particular.

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SEPTEMBER 8PM CITY HALL

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the Stéphane Grappelli of the jazz violin, launches his latest album with the CPO.

he Dutch award-winning violinist, Tim Kliphuis, is returning to South Africa to launch the recording of his own violin concerto. Kliphuis found his home in the music of South Africa years ago and when he brought his trio to perform in Starlight Classics in 2018, they stayed on to record their second CD with the CPO and Stellenbosch Camerata. The CD is being launched at a concert at the Cape Town City Hall on September 27 at 8pm.

“I have been coming to South Africa for 10 years or so, performing and workshopping around the country, and I have known and respected the CPO since I worked with the youth programme in 2014. When we decided to record my own violin gconcerto there was no doubt in

AUGUST 8PM CITY HALL

CPYO CURTAIN-RAISER BRANDON PHILLIPS CONDUCTOR ROSSEN MILANOV SOLOIST NATASHA PAREMSKI (PIANO)

WEBER Oberon Overture GRIEG Piano Concerto MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”

Music director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, ALEXANDER SHELLEY works regularly with the leading orchestras of Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australasia.

TIM KLIPHUIS,

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THE GENIUS OF GRIEG

An experienced opera and ballet conductor, ROSSEN MILANOV is music director of the Columbus, Chautauqua and Princeton Symphony Orchestras in America and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Spain.

With musical sensibility and powerful, flawless technique displayed in consistently striking and dynamic performances, NATASHA PAREMSKI reveals astounding virtuosity and voracious interpretive abilities. Awards and acclaimed CDs add to her appeal as one of the most dynamic artists in America today.

my mind – it would be with the CPO. We also recorded our new version of the Bach Brandenburg Concertos with Stellenbosch Camerata, a smaller ensemble of strings with added woodwinds. When the CD was released at the end of last year in Holland and England it was greeted with great acclaim: “Thrilling new music“.

The reason Kliphuis loves South Africa is because of its fusion of European classical traditions with the rhythms and folk and jazz influences of Africa. “The CPO is so in touch with its African heritage” he says, “and it is these rhythms that influence my music.”

At a relatively young age Kliphuis is a legend, especially in Europe where he has won several awards and thrilled thousands with his style that embraces classical, gypsy jazz and folk. He is said to have redefined the music of Bach, and Capetonians will certainly have a chance to experience this. He has been called a ‘current-day improvising Paganini’, and his approach has been influencing a new generation of string players.

The CPO will accompany the Tim Kliphuis Trio which includes Nigel Clark (guitar) and Roy Percy (bass) in the Brandenburg Concerto in the concert, and Kliphuis will conduct the CPO in his own Violin Concerto.

The Tim Kliphuis Violin Concerto recorded with the CPO last year will be on sale at the concert through Peter Kramer’s Classics4U / classics.ctn@music4u.co.za.

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WALTON AND HIS CELLO

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AUGUST

CONDUCTOR ROSSEN MILANOV SOLOIST GARY HOFFMAN (CELLO)

8PM CITY HALL

DEBUSSY L’apres-midi d’un faune WALTON Cello Concerto RIMSKY KORSAKOV Scheherazade After studying conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, where he received the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship, ROSSEN MILANOV embarked on an international career. He had tenure for 17 years with the New Symphony Orchestra in his native Sofia, Bulgaria and he has just celebrated ten years with Princeton Symphony in the US.

After a debut at London’s Wigmore Hall at the age of 15 followed by one in New York, GARY HOFFMAN won the Premier Grand Prix of the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris in 1986, and embarked on a career that takes him to the world’s foremost concert halls, performing with the world’s foremost orchestras.

Don Vino, one of the popular Cape Town musicians invited to perform with the CPO.

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OCTOBER 6PM ARTSCAPE

COMMUNITY CROWD PLEASERS!

W

ith our second community gala with the CPO, Brandon Phillips and a host of talented community performers proved we have the right recipe.

This was followed by the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble’s SoundsCape@ Artscape with conductor Faan Malan playing to another sold-out house. Together they prove the CPO is underscoring its meaningful role in the community. On top of that, the CPYO gave several of its own soloists the chance to audition for and then perform as soloists in the inaugural Rotary Concerto Festival with the CPYO.

BENEFIT GALA FOR FRIENDS OF ORCHESTRAL MUSIC SEPTEMBER

5

8PM CITY HALL

CONDUCTOR BERNHARD GUELLER SOLOIST DANIEL KHARITONOV (PIANO)

LIADOV From the Apocalypse RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D, “Titan” Principal Guest Conductor of the CPO and Music Director Laureate of Symphony Nova Scotia in Canada, BERNHARD GUELLER continues to divide his time mainly between Canadian and South African orchestras, winning continual acclaim for the excitement and drama he brings to the podium.

After his triumph at the 15th Tchaikovsky International Competition in 2015 when he was only 16 and won third prize, DANIEL KHARITONOV continues to stun the world with his electrifying performances… from Gergiev’s Marinsky Orchestra to the CPO where he performed for the first time in 2017.

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SEPTEMBER

RESPIGHI’S ROME CONDUCTOR BERNHARD GUELLER SOLOIST YI-JIA SUSANNE HOU (VIOLIN)

8PM CITY HALL

MASSENET Le Cid Suite CHAUSSON Poème SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso RESPIGHI Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome) RESPIGHI Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome) YI-JIA SUSANNE HOU, making a welcome return to the CPO, rose to fame when she won three prestigious international violin competitions – the Long-Thibaud in France, the Lipizer in Italy and the Sarasate in Spain.

Since then she has performed with many of the foremost orchestras around the world.

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Not only does the orchestra and the youth orchestra provide performance opportunities to some who have never had a chance to perform with symphonic or wind band sound, but the organisation helps them acquire the confidence needed to make a career on the stage.

The ingredient common to most is Aviva Pelham, whose feelers in the community help the CPO’s artistic team field the right mix, and whose warmth and generosity are legendary when it comes to mentoring so many young performers.

September 29 sees the CPO back in Gugulethu, in a choral celebration with several leading choirs singing a cappella and with orchestra, a guest appearance

by Township Opera, and a number of massed choir works.

The CPO’s next community gala in collaboration with the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce takes place on Sunday, October 20. The show, CPO Spectacular!, at Artscape at 6pm, will feature iconic music of the 70s, 80s and 90s, sung by some of Cape Town’s equally iconic singers.Brandon Phillips will be on the podium. And yes, the show will be directed by Aviva Pelham!

November Season

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OCTOBER 8PM CITY HALL

PROKOFIEV’S THIRD CONDUCTOR CONRAD VAN ALPHEN SOLOIST ANTONIO CHEN GUAN (PIANO)

MENDELSSOHN "The Hebrides” PROKOFIEV Piano concerto No 3 in C TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No 1, “Winter Dreams” CONRAD VAN ALPHEN, chief conductor of Sinfonia Rotterdam, also works with some of the world’s most respected orchestras, such as the Montreal and Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra and is currently an artist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society.

Winner of the First Olga Kern International Piano Competition in 2016, the Scriabin Prize and the Rome Prize together with numerous other internationally renowned competitions, the pianist ANTONIO CHEN GUANG in his early twenties combines extraordinary technical capacity with a profound and mature musical sensibility and an exceptional on-stage charisma.

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NOVEMBER

CLASSIC TCHAIKOVSKY CONDUCTOR BERNHARD GUELLER SOLOIST LUKE BOND (ORGAN)

8PM CITY HALL

PROKOFIEV Symphony No 1, “Classical” POULENC Organ Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No 5

7

NOVEMBER 8PM CITY HALL

PASSIONATE CHOPIN

LUKE BOND is the Assistant Director of Music at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

He accompanies or conducts the world famous choir in its round of eight choral services each week in addition to being organist at services of national and international significance.

CONDUCTOR CONRAD VAN ALPHEN SOLOIST DMITRY SHISHKIN (PIANO)

V

DVORÁK Carnival Overture CHOPIN Piano concerto No. 1 in E minor BARTOK Concerto for Orchestra DMITRY SHISHKIN, 27, won the 73rd Geneva International Music Competition and was a main prizewinner in the International Chopin Piano Competition. Other prizes include 3rd Prize in the 59th Ferruccio Busoni Competition and in competitions across Russia, China, Germany, Bulgaria and Poland.

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NOVEMBER 8PM CITY HALL

EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM CONDUCTOR BERNHARD GUELLER SOLOISTS ARLINE JAFTHA (SOPRANO) CONROY SCOTT (BARITONE)

FEATURING PHILHARMONIA CHOIR OF CAPE TOWN CHOIR DIRECTOR RICHARD HAIGH ARLINE JAFTHA’s career began in the New Apostolic Church before joining Cape Town Opera’s Vocal Ensemble in 2003. She then joined the CTO Opera Studio and became a soloist appearing over the years in many major CTO productions.

CONROY SCOTT studied singing with Brad Liebl at the SA College of Music and double bass with Zoltan Kovats. He has performed widely as a singer in oratorio, opera and as a jazz singer here and abroad.

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NOVEMBER

FINNISH SPLENDOUR CONDUCTOR BERNHARD GUELLER SOLOIST YURY REVICH (VIOLIN)

8PM CITY HALL

PETER LOUIS VAN DIJK About Nothing MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor SIBELIUS Symphony No 2 in D minor In his twenties and one of the most expressive and versatile musicians of his generation, violinist YURY REVICH made his debut at Carnegie Hall with Daniil Trifonov, at La Scala, in the Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna Musikverein, Zurich Tonhalle, Vienna Konzerthaus and Leipzig Gewandhaus. He plays on a 1709 Stradivarius, generously loaned to him by the Goh Family Foundation.

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Cape Town City Hall Seating plan

H

A

STAGE

B

G

How lovely are thy dwelling places?

T

he Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town, established by John Badminton in 1967, is one of Cape Town’s oldest and best-loved choral groups. Comprising more than 120 amateur singers of all ages and backgrounds, the choir seeks to contribute to the South African musical landscape by performing a diverse and challenging repertoire of music.

C

Mayor's Bay

D

E

Its choir director, Richard Haigh, took over in 2013, following in the footsteps of local choral luminaries such as Christine Reynolds, Raymond Hughes, Vetta Wise, Margaret Barlow and Antoinette Blyth.

The Philharmonia Choir has been performing with this orchestra and its predecessors since 1983 and will sing Ein Deutches Requiem in November with the CPO.

BALCONY

Tickets AUGUST TO NOVEMBER SEASONS

R350

R270

R230

R135

SPECIAL CONCESSION (AUGUST 15)

R245

R190

R160

R95

FRIENDS OF ORCHESTAL MUSIC BENEFIT GALA (SEPTEMBER 5)

R450

R370

R330

R200

Booking Details PRE-CONCERT TALKS

Before most symphony concerts at 19:15, open to ticket holders.

CONCERTGOERS — SAFETY FIRST With the safety of CPO concertgoers paramount, the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has turned out in full force to patrol the area on concert nights to ensure a safe passage to and from the City Hall. When their attention was drawn to potential problems after one foiled incident, the men in black and green stepped in and the vagrants and potential

Don't miss a single note

criminals stepped out. The CPO is grateful for the CCID’s support and with the members of the Cape Peninsula Dog Club in action on the Grand Parade, concertgoers will have an even better experience. While CCID does patrol where they can around the City Hall, please note that it is advisable to park on the Parade.

DRESS REHEARSALS

Usually at 11 am on most concert days (FOM 084 682 1337).

RENEWALS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

All renewals must be made through Artscape Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695.

New subscriptions and single seat bookings from Dial-A-Seat or any Computicket ticket outlet 0861 915 8000/www.computicket.com AUGUST SEASON

Subscription renewals June 21-28; new subscriptions from July 8; single seats from July 15 from Dial-A-Seat. Single seats from R135 (platform) to R350 (accept 15 August). Special Gala prices R200 to R450.

NOVEMBER SEASON

Subscription renewals September 6-14; new subscriptions from September 21; single seats from September 28 . Single seats from R135 (platform) to R350.

SUBSCRIBE

Save 15 per cent (20 per cent for members of FOM). More information www.cpo.org.za, info@ cpo.org.za or 021 410 9809.

Scan this QR code with your mobile device to get the latest issue of concerto immediately

Student and senior citizens R135 /R200 (FOM Benefit Gala) if still available 30 min before concert at the door.