June/July Newsletter
18 June 2008
Forthcoming events
- On Sunday 22 June (18:00, City Hall), the CPO together with massed choirs perform the Africa première of Péter Louis van Dijk’s “Windy City Songs”, with the composer himself as conductor. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Children’s Choir for their 50th Anniversary and performed for the first time at the Civic Opera House, Chicago together with the Lyric Opera Orchestra in June 2007. The acclaimed Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Choir, which performed during the Chicago première, will be joined by akKOORd, the Erub Children’s Choir and the Kenmere Primary School Choir. The soloists are Pretty Yende (soprano), Lucretia Geswint (mezzo) and Musawenkosi Ngqungwana (baritone). Also on the programme is Vivaldi’s Gloria in D.
- Also on 22 June (16:00, Artscape Theatre), the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Cape Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble perform their CPO Education Showcase Concert. The programme includes works by Beethoven, Piazzola, R Strauss, Giovannini and others. The conductors are Alexander Fokkens, Brandon Phillips and Sean Kierman.
- The annual charity concert to benefit the Children’s Fund of Die Burger takes place earlier this year – on Thursday 26 June in the City Hall with Lykele Temmingh as conductor and soprano Golda Schultz as soloist. The programme consists of light classical music and well-known opera areas.
- The CPO is again participating in the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. The orchestra will accompany the South African Ballet Company during three performances of Don Quixote (2, 3 and 5 July) and will also perform two concerts: a programme of light classics under Peter Valentovic as conductor and Zanne Stapelberg as soloist (4 July) and a gala pops concert under Richard Cock (5 July) with Zanne Stapelberg and Shannon Mowday as soloists.
- The CPO is proud to be associated, in cooperation with Pianoforte and Fine Music Radio, with the 7-part recital cycle by the celebrated pianist Gustavo Romero playing all the Beethoven piano sonates over a period of 3 years. The first and second recitals took place in 2007 and this year the recitals are on 3 and 17 August at the Centre for the Book. More details under the relevant item under Concert Calendar.
Winter Symphony Season
Full details of the CPO’s exciting Winter Symphony Season concerts appear on the website under Concert Calendar, but below is some highlight information. Regular concert-goers should please note that one of the concerts takes place in the Opera at Artscape, that not all the concerts take place on a Thursday as usual and that the last concert in the series is performed twice:
- On Thursday 7 August (City Hall), the conductor is South African Pieter Daniel and the soloist is another local product, the excellent flautist Liesl Stoltz, playing Rodrigo’s “Concerto Pastoral” for Flute and Orchestra. The concert starts with Mozart’s Overture “La finta giardiniera” and the symphony is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (the “Eroica”).
- On Thursday 14 August (City Hall) the acclaimed and prolifically recorded conductor Theodore Kuchar is on the podium and Pieter Daniel also appears again - but this time as soloist playing Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2. The other works are Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” (original version) and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 6.
- Theodore Kuchar is again the conductor on Thursday 21 August (City Hall), with acclaimed Hungarian-born pianist Klará Würtz playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major. The other works are Dvorák’s “Golden Spinning Wheel” and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.1
- The world-renowned American conductor, inspirational speaker on leadership and author of The Art of Possibility, Benjamin Zander, is the conductor on Saturday 23 August (Opera House, Artscape).The prize-winning pianist, Gabriela Montero, who hails from Venezuela, will play Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The concert starts with Beethoven’s “Coriolan” Overture Op. 62 and concludes with Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” (arr. Ravel).
- On Thursday 28 August (City Hall) Benjamin Zander is again the conductor and pianist Gabriela Montero also performs with the CPO again, this time playing Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto. This spectacular all-Beethoven concert concludes with his Symphony No. 9 with soloists Sabina Mossolow (soprano), Violina Anguelov (mezzo), Sipho Fubesi (tenor), Theo Magongoma (bass) and a massed choir consisting of the New Apostolic Church Choir and the Tygerberg City Choir.
- On Sunday 31 August (City Hall) Benjamin Zander again conducts the Beethoven Symphony No. 9. At this concert it will be preceded by the Egmont Overture and a lecture-demo by the conductor (with the choir and orchestra) on interpretive issues in the symphony.
Booking for the Winter Symphony Season is now open for season ticket holders. New season ticket holders may start booking from 30 June and booking for all single ticket holders opens on 7 July.
3rd Cape Town International Summer Music festival: Penderecki in Cape Town!
Perhaps the biggest news relating to the 3rd Cape Town International Summer Music Festival is the fact that Krzysztof Penderecki, one of the most highly rated modern composers and conductors in the world, has chosen Cape Town and the CPO to form part of his 75th birthday celebrations. On 18 December He will be conducting South African premières of two of his own works “Largo for Cello” and his Piano Concerto The Resurrection with soloists Alexander Ivashkin (cello) and Florian Uhlig (piano). Maestro Penderecki’s participation attests to the international recognition already earned by the orchestra and the festival.
Other highlights include among others another special 80th birthday concert for South African pianist and composer 
Thomas Rajna, an African première performance of Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso for Flute and Oboe by the sensational Sharon Bezaly (flute) and Christopher Cowie (oboe) under Owain Arwel Hughes. This work will also be recorded by BIS during the festival. Other special highlights will be the performances by The Choir Of The Holy Trinity, St Sergius Lavra, Moscow and the “New European Strings” Chamber Orchestra. There are also two performances by the CPO of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the New Apostolic Church Choir and soloists under the CPO’s principal guest conductor Owain Arwel Hughes, a recital by the ever-popular Olga Kern together with CPO soloists, and performances by many other exceptional local and international soloists – including two very exciting young South African pianists (Ben Schoeman and Jan Hugo).
Booking for the Festival starts on 7 July. Details about the programme already appear on our website under Concert Calendar . In future newsletters we will focus on more events that form part of the Festival.
The Cape Philharmonic Endowment Trust
The Cape Philharmonic has been in existence for eight years and we are proud that these have been financially stable years, largely due to a steady flow of funds from donors and sponsors. Over eighty percent of these funds have regularly come from the Public sector – namely the National Lottery and the three tiers of government. This is wonderful and shows that the Public sector recognises the huge efforts being made by the Cape Philharmonic to build and maintain a high quality orchestra representing all citizens, whilst broadening the audience base.
But at the same time this skewed percentage is an indictment of the private sector which seems reluctant to invest in the arts.
Is this because people feel there are worthier causes that urgently need their support in South Africa, or that money given to previous orchestras went down the drain when they were liquidated? Whatever the reasons, a nation bereft of culture can hardly call itself civilised.
By creating the Cape Philharmonic Endowment Trust we are providing a vehicle for would-be donors that will protect all contributions in perpetuity, whilst allowing the orchestra to draw on the interest accumulated in the Trust. Our intentions are to build up a substantial capital base so that we are not quite so reliant on donors.
If you are a loyal classical music follower please support this excellent cause by contributing to the Endowment Trust. The Trust has PBO status, making it tax friendly (exemption number 930 014371), and contributions can easily be made in various ways:
Debit orders and EFT’s
Account number: 10010935645
Bank: Investec Bank
Branch: Grayston Drive Sandton
Branch Code: 580105
Account Name: Cape Philharmonic Endowment Trust
Direct deposits (Cheque and Cash deposits)
Account number: 01043960306
Bank: ABSA Bank
Branch: Eloff Street
Branch code: 503005
Account Name: Investec Bank
Reference: 10010935645
The Trust currently stands at R2,183,648.00 so there is a long way to go and we encourage you to participate in the future sustainability of this world-class orchestra in Cape Town. Please direct all queries to Sue Murray on sue@cpo.org.za or 021-410 9826, and email deposit slips to her or fax them to 021-425 1009.
The Board of Trustees is chaired by Ton Vosloo and consists of Ruth Allen, Andrew Cluver, Louis Heyneman, Wilmot James, Sue Murray, Shane Noland, Christoff Pauw and Ben Rabinowitz. This Board meets quarterly, at which investment performance by Investec Securities is regularly monitored.
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