March newsletter

18 March 2008

Oratorio Festival

• On Sunday 30 March the orchestra, together with the New Apostolic Church Choir and soloists Golda Schultz (soprano), Sipho Fubesi (tenor) and Musawenkosi Ngqungwana (bass baritone) perform Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and his oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives under Scottish conductor Iain Sutherland. 
• The concert on 6 April features the Cape Town Symphony Choir, organist Grant Brasler and soloists Pretty Yende (soprano) and Thato Thato Mongezi Machona (bass baritone) under conductor Alexander Fokkens. The programme includes Guilmant’s Symphony No.1 (”Organ” symphony) and Faure’s Requiem Op.48 (for full orchestra). 
• The festival concludes with Mozart’s Requiem  on 13 April and features the St. George's Singers and Canticum Novum together with soloists Hanneli Rupert (mezzo-soprano), Arthur Swan (tenor), Conroy Scott (bass baritone) and Runette Botha (soprano) under conductor Barry Smith. 

 

• The first concert is presented by the CPO in collaboration with the annual Miagi Festival and features the world-renowned Finnish musicians Ralf Gothóni (conductor & pianist), Arto Noras (cellist) and Elina Vähälä (violinist). The music offering is unusual: it includes the very interesting work by Hans Huyssen called Ciacona and Tshikona, Dance from North and South: a cultural mix of six kudu horn players, 25 Venda musicians  (see picture) and symphony orchestra. The programme also includes Aulis Sallinen’s  Chamber Music III: Nocturnal dances of Don Quixote and Mendelsohn’s Double Concerto for Piano, Violin and Strings.
• On 15 May the music is by American composers and the conductor is Cem Mansur. Bryan Crumpler, one of America’s finest clarinetists, performs Copland’s Concerto for Clarinet. The other works are Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blueand Bernstein’s second symphony (for orchestra and piano) known as The Age of Anxiety (both with François du Toit, one of South Africa’s leading concert pianists as soloist) as well as Gershwin’s An American in Paris.
• On 22 May another leading South African-born pianist, Anton Nel, plays Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in a programme conducted by Conrad van Alphen. Also included is Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail Overture and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.4 (the "Italian").
• During the last concert of the season (29 May) the German cellist Alexander Suleiman plays Offenbach’s Grand Concerto Militaire for Cello and Orchestra. The conductor is again Conrad van Alphen and the other works are Rossini’s Tancredi Overture and Beethoven’s Symophony No. 6 (the Pastoral).

•  Kristiyan Chernev was appointed as Principal Cello earlier this month. 
• Pierre Schuster (Sub-Principal Trumpet) got married on 1 March to Marthina Manel, who works for the British Airways. The CPO under the baton of Allan Stephenson performed at the wedding and we wish them a long and happy life together.

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