CONCERTO, ISSUE 05, 2014/15
02 03 04 WELCOME LETTER
LEN VAN ZYL COMPETITION
BEHIND THE MUSIC: DO BEHAVE
05 06 09 BEHIND THE SCENES: ALL RISE
Welcome to our 5th issue of Concerto Magazine! This orchestra is proud to have served the music lovers of Cape Town for a century, albeit with its back constantly against the wall. While researching our coffee table book on the symphonic tradition in Cape Town, we came across some of the musical families that have been part of this proud tradition – the De Grootes and the Rennies, and also the Schwietering and Martens families. The music culture in South Africa owes a lot to the talents of these passionate artists and this is why this issue is dedicated to these musical dynasties. But musicians need audiences. And, of course, donors and patrons. We dedicate Concerto to every single music lover who has worked effortlessly to keep the symphonic tradition alive in Cape Town. We salute the Friends of Orchestral Music, these days under the enthusiastic leadership of Derek Auret. To mark our centenary, The Friends are hosting a
PUBLIC & CORPORATE FUNDERS
fundraising gala on Thursday, 4 December with one of the world’s foremost violinists, Benjamin Schmid, who is coming to help raise funds. How honoured we are. We will be launching our souvenir book, A Century of Symphony, the Story of Cape Town’s Orchestra at this occasion and you can buy your copy together with a CD of the city’s orchestral music across the century at a special discount on that evening. In spite of this proud tradition, we have been waiting since early 2013 for our application for funding from the National Lotteries Board to be evaluated. We believe in our cause and know that our application has a lot of merit. How long we will be able to survive without this crucial funding is difficult to say. But giving up a tradition after a hundred years? Never!
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CALENDAR: SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
CAPE TOWN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LOUIS HEYNEMAN louis@cpo.org.za MANAGING EDITOR SHIRLEY DE KOCK GUELLER shirley@cpo.org.za ARTISTIC EXECUTIVE SERGEI BURDUKOV sergei@cpo.org.za
CHIEF EXECUTIVE CAPE TOWN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
OUTREACH: CREATING COMMUNITY
EDITORIAL AND CREATIVE TEAM
CALENDAR: AUTUMN SEASON
EDITOR JESSICA GLIDDON jess@purepublishing.co.za DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR DAVE STRAUSS dave@purepublishing.co.za SENIOR DESIGNER TESS GREEN tess@purepublishing.co.za PRODUCTION MANAGER MARIANNE BURKE marianne@purepublishing.co.za
DISTRIBUTION Concerto is distributed by the MANAGING CREATIVE DIRECTOR CPO biannually and is available on request (email info@cpo.org.za) ANDREW BURKE or online at www.cpo.org.za andrew@purepublishing.co.za
MORE MAGIC/ BOOKINGS
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Concerto is designed and published by PURE PUBLISHING & DESIGN, a full service creative agency which offers publishing, design, branding, web design and advertising. For business enquiries, visit www.purepublishing.co.za, call (021) 424 6918 or email hello@purepublishing.co.za All information was correct at the time of going to press, but subject to change.
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COVER ILLUSTRATION BY: PEARLY YON
Welcome
FEATURE: BACH AND BEYOND
CONCERTO, ISSUE 05, 2014/15
Notes
YOUNG ACHIEVERS The sky is the limit for young conductors Brandon Phillips and Xavier Cloete, thanks to winning the Len van Zyl Conductors’ Competition
THIRD LEN VAN ZYL NATIONAL CONDUCTORS’ COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
for conductors. “There is a gap for training and performance experience for this most specialised and vitally important function of music making,” Van Zyl said. “Conductors are essential to ensure that ensemble playing is achieved to maximise the quality and co-ordination of the orchestra.”
XAVIER CLOETE
There’s nothing like an audience on its feet shouting: “Bravo, encore!” after a great performance. When it happens to gifted young conductors, the sky’s the limit.
“Conductors are essential to ensure that ensemble playing is achieved to maximise the quality and co-ordination of the orchestra.”
gives the master classes. We have also had other international conductors on our panels.”
Len van Zyl, former advertising luminary and board member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, saw that there was a need to provide training and performance opportunities for young conductors. While instrumental players, singers and dancers have access to a stellar advanced musical education, the same could not be said
So in 2008, Len van Zyl established the first Conductors’ Competition in partnership with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. “Our competitions have attracted dozens of aspirant conductors,” Van Zyl said. “We have been fortunate to have had the participation of Victor Yampolsky of Northwestern University, Chicago, who
The second winner, Xavier Cloete, has just made his conducting debut with the CPO. For Cloete, winning the competition expanded his music circles. “Music has taken me all around the world,” he said. “It was always a language I could understand and it opened doors for me that will never be able to close.”
BRANDON PHILLIPS
The winner of the first competition, Brandon Phillips, is today the conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. “For someone just starting out, the chance to conduct an orchestra with experienced conductors was invaluable,” the young conductor says. He recently received critical acclaim when conducting the Miagi Youth Orchestra in Germany and Holland.
Changes at Artscape The board, management and musicians of the Cape Town Philharmonic would like to bid farewell to Michael Maas, Artscape's CEO for many years, and Alastair Cockburn, in charge of planning
The upgrading of the theatres and foyers and the addition of the new administrative wings not only gave the CPO professional offices for the first time, but ensured that Cape Town’s orchestra stayed an essential part of Cape Town’s cultural life.
Michael Maas and Alistair Cockburn
Big changes are afoot at Artscape, with two of our most important members of staff moving on. Michael Maas has taken early retirement due to ill health; Alastair Cockburn’s contract has come to an end. We will miss them both; they were fantastic, supportive friends of the CPO. Although they are leaving, we won't lose touch, as Michael will continue with the annual concerto competition he founded, and Alastair will continue to conduct the CPO in Gilbert and Sullivan productions.
Michael Maas served on the first board when the CPO regrouped at the end of 2000. Without support and co-operation from Artscape, the streamlined orchestra had little chance to survive. “During Michael’s tenure as CEO, Artscape flourished like never before and his vision and business sense transformed the organisation into the foremost theatre complex in the country,” says CPO CEO Louis Heyneman.
Of Alastair Cockburn, Heyneman says: “Over the years you were our most solid and reliable partner and we thank you for your personal advice and support over the past 14 years – I can hardly believe that it has been almost 15 years since those first nervous steps after regrouping and forming a new streamlined orchestra. Your moral support and practical advice to me and Sergei were extremely important and your interventions often saved the day.” CPO board member Pieter Louwrens is the acting CEO of Artscape.
Entry forms are now available for the 2015/2016 Len Van Zyl National Conductors’ Competition, South Africa’s only competition for young conductors The competition offers performance opportunities and master classes with international conductors; the semifinalists and finalists will perform with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The winner is invited to conduct the CPO and receives an all-expenses paid one-month internship with the Philadelphia Orchestra, plus two months of study at Northwestern University in Chicago with maestro Victor Yampolsky.
Entry forms can be downloaded from the CPO website at www.cpo.org.za. The closing date is 15 March 2015. Those chosen will participate in the preliminary round in June 2015 in Cape Town, with the semi-finals and finals taking place in February 2016. The competition is open to conductors no older than 33 by 1 January 2016. For more information, send an email to shirley@gueller.com or email info@cpo.org.za.
Victoria Cawood is stepping down as manager of Fine Music Radio.
She has added commitment and style to the marvellous music resource that is FMR, and has been there since its inception in various capacities. We shall miss her. The CPO thanks her for her partnership with the orchestra. The CPO also welcomes Mark Jennings, a businessman and freelance presenter for some years, as the new manager, from February 2015.
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CONCERTO, ISSUE 05, 2014/15
Behind the music
DO BEHAVE
CODE OF CONDUCT A CONDUCTOR’S INTRICATE MOVEMENTS AND DRAMATIC EXPRESSIONS ARE THE GLUE THAT HOLD THE ORCHESTRA TOGETHER, UNITING THE MUSICIANS TO THE BEAT AND TEMPO OF THE MUSIC Every conductor has a different approach for emotion guides interpretation. Just before the concert begins, eyes make contact, a collective breath is taken, and the upbeat is given. Grimaces can tell the musicians when the dynamics are wrong or an entry too late. Anyone who has seen Valery Gergiev will attest to the oddness of his movements, but few will disagree that incomprehensible or not, the music his musicians produce is some of the best.
FOR CENTURIES, ATTENDING A SYMPHONY MEANT ABIDING BY A STRICT SET OF SOCIAL MANNERS. IN TODAY’S DIGITAL AGE, CONCERT-GOING IS A DIFFERENT THING – ROWS ARE EVEN SET ASIDE IN SOME PLACES TO ALLOW TWEETING. WHILE WE’RE ALL FOR PROGRESS, A CERTAIN DECORUM IS STILL NEEDED TO ENSURE EVERYONE ENJOYS A NIGHT OUT IN PEACE
Conducting patterns are the building blocks of a conductor's movements • Do not take pictures or video during a performance. Copyright of music needs to be respected. Also, you could disturb the musicians or capture the one wrong note or late entry, load it on YouTube and everyone gets the wrong idea, so bear with us. • Dress as casually as you like. You are welcome to really dress up and we would love to see more long dresses and tuxedos, but we are also realistic about the air-conditioning in the City Hall. • Don’t arrive late. It is disconcerting for the musicians who are concentrating on the music and the conductor’s directions to see you sneak in late. • Cough into your sleeve. If you really have to cough, use your sleeve. Don’t ruin those quiet moments. • Unwrap your sweets before you enter the hall. Sweet wrappers can be surprisingly noisy. • Turn off cell phones. No one wants the conductor to glare at them. • Clap at the end of the piece. While we welcome an enthusiastic reception, the flow of the music can be spoiled for some. Most audiences at classical concerts will wait until the end of an entire piece to clap. If you’re not sure when a piece ends, just check your programme or keep an eye on the conductor — when the piece is over, he will put his arms down and turn to the audience.
THE TWO-HEADED COMPOSER JOSEPH HAYDN WAS ONE OF AUSTRIA’S MOST PROLIFIC COMPOSERS, KNOWN FOR HIS GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUSICAL FORM 04
Perhaps Leonard Bernstein describes those moments best in the 1950s educational series Omnibus: The Art of Conducting: “How can I describe to you the magic of the moment of beginning a piece of music at a concert? There is only one possible fraction of a second that feels right to start with. There is a wait while the orchestra readies itself and collects its powers, while the condutor concentrates all his will and force onto the work in hand, while the audience quiets down and the last cough has died away, and there is no rustle of a programme book, the instruments are paused, and bang! That’s it. If he waits one instant later, the whole thing is too late, the magic has vanished. A great conductor is one who has a great sensitivity to the flow of time.”
SOURCE: FROM ESSENTIALS IN CONDUCTING BY KARL WILSON GEHRKENS, SOURCED FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG. ABOVE: ONE-BEAT, TWO-BEAT AND THREE-BEAT MEASURES BELOW: FOUR-BEAT MEASURE
His death, or the conditions following it, remains less well known. Only eight days after his funeral in 1809, two phrenologists stole Haydn’s head, hoping to see if the composer's genius was somehow reflected in the bumps and ridges of his skull. Eleven years later, the composer’s patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II discovered this and provided another to make the skeleton complete. Then, in 1895, the real skull was willed to a music society in Vienna, and was reunited with the rest of Haydn’s body. The substitute skull was never removed, so now, Haydn has two heads – which is the correct one remains a mystery.
CONCERTO, ISSUE 05, 2014/15
“As a musician I tell you that if you were to suppress adultery, fanaticism, crime, evil, the supernatural, there would no longer be the means for writing one note.” – George Bizet Transcending time: SOME WORKS
TRANSCENDING TIME CREDITS: 01 WWW.CPS-STATIC.ROVICORP.COM 02 WWW.ASSETS1.CLASSICFM.COM 03 WWW.YALEBOOKS.FILES.WORDPRESS.COM 04 NICKU/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
HAVE BECOME SO INGRAINED IN OUR CULTURE YOU WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO FIND SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO HUM THEM. OTHERS ARE MORE CHALLENGING AND MORE WORTHWHILE. HERE ARE SOME THAT HAVE SET PEOPLE TALKING:
HOT OFF THE PRESS
ALL RISE
Facebook postings? Tweets? Texting? At a classical concert? You had better believe it! RISE cocktail curtain raiser recitals were introduced to the concert experience last year and they took off, especially among a young crowd new to the concert hall. RISE recitals showcase the next generation of exceptional South African artists in works linked to the night’s programme, with drinks thrown in. Audience interaction is a key factor, concertgoers are encouraged to bring smartphones and tablets. From here they can access the evening's programme, programme notes and artists' biographies on the RISE webpage, and also share photographs or comments. RISE is the brainchild of soprano Magdalene Minnaar and pianist Jose Dias.
22 JAN
05 FEB
02 APR
16 APR
RISE concerts are schedules for 22 January, 5 February, 2 April and 16 April. Please check www.cpo.org.za for details.
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Called by the composer a concerto for elephants and made famous in recent years thanks to the film Shine, this grandiose concerto is dramatic, expressive, rhapsodic, imaginative and one of the most technically demanding.
No one really knows if it was the music, the ballet or a combination of both that caused a scandal on its premiere in Paris 100 years ago. Harmonically adventurous, the score makes use of rhythms and dissonances to create, for instance, the sounds of ice cracking in the northern spring, now so normal that this work is part of orchestral repertoire.
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PIANO CONCERTO #3 - THE RITE OF SPRING SERGEI RACHMANINOV IGOR STRAVINSKY
SYMPHONY #5 GUSTAV MAHLER
TRIPLE CONCERTO LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Emotional in scope and scored for a large orchestra, the hour-long symphony is considered to be the most conventional of his symphonies, though ending unusually with a rondo. Its adagietto is in the Death in Venice soundtrack and is seen as Mahler’s romantic tribute to Alma.
A forerunner to a host of works written for violin, cello and piano, the Triple Concerto is essentially a work for piano trio and orchestra. Judge for yourself if the claim that the piano part is simpler, composed for a teenager who would be supported by two mature musicians.
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THE UNFINISHED FRANZ SCHUBERT
Misunderstood by many who love it for its melody, the Unfinished may be one of the most infinitely sad in the repertoire. Maybe he wrote it when he had just been diagnosed with syphilis. No one knows why he left only two movements, but all agree that its lyricism, harmony and colour are splendid. 05
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PHOTOGRAPH: 360B/SHUTTERSTOCK
Bach Beyond Musical talent and passion seem to run in the blood – around the world, classical musical families have kept the symphonic torch burning over the generations
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Feature
J
ohann Sebastian Bach fathered 20 children in his lifetime. This made for quite good odds that one of his offspring would become a musician; several did. The Bach musical dynasty actually preceded him, spanning over 200 years and six generations, producing more than 50 musicians. It began with JS Bach’s Hungarian greatgreat grandfather, who played the lute. His grandfather and father were both minstrels, as were many of his uncles, great-uncles and cousins.
After many years as leader of the Johannesburg Municipal Orchestra, Michael retired to Cape Town in 1954, where he and his wife taught at the College of Music. Their daughter, Tamara Doré Rennie, followed in her parents’ footsteps, spending her life teaching violin and viola as well as playing in orchestras. She married the architect John Rennie, whom she met when they were both violin students at the University of Cape Town (UCT). As a restoration specialist, he has worked on the City Hall on several occasions. Years later, his children would grace the City Hall stage in various school, youth-orchestra and Eisteddfod concerts.
The Bachs were not the only famous musicians with a legacy: other greats throughout history include the siblings Joseph and Michael Haydn, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, David Oistrakh and his son Igor and Richard Strauss, whose father was a horn player in the Munich Opera Orchestra.
Their daughter Bridget Rennie Salonen and her siblings grew up in a rich musical environment. “Music has always been in our blood, and so it was a fête accompli that all four of us Rennie grandchildren began music lessons early,” she says. “We grew up in the City Hall, literally; occupying ourselves in the passages while our mother played in the orchestra. Sitting in the choir stalls watching the musicians and their instruments was enthralling.”
THE NOTABLE YABLONSKYS There are also plenty of contemporary musical families, one of the most notable being Russia’s Yablonskys. Oxana Yablonsky starting playing piano at the tender age of two, and became a teacher at the Moscow Central Music School for Gifted Children at only 17. She taught at the Juilliard School in New York for more than 30 years, and has a prodigious discography that includes recordings of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Brahms, Glazunov, Khachaturyan, Rachmaninov, Liszt, Mussorgsky and Prokoviev; her recording of Schubert-Liszt won the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque. Oxana’s son, Dmitry, was born into music – his father is Albert Zaionz, the solo oboe of the Radio and Television orchestra in Moscow. At the age of nine, Dmitry gave his orchestral debut, playing Haydn’s cello concerto in C major. He performed on many occasions across the Soviet Union before immigrating to the United States in the 1970s; it took signatures from personalities such as Leonard Bernstein and Katharine Hepburn to convince the Soviet authorities to issue his visa. Upon arrival in New York in 1977, he was accepted at the Juilliard and studied with Lorne Munroe, principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Every country has its own classical music legacies, and it’s no different here in Cape Town. The orchestras have been home to three of the most notable: De Groote, Rennie and Martens/Schwietering, who have carried the musical torch in South Africa and beyond.
THE RULE OF THE RENNIES Michael Doré has left a lasting legacy on Cape Town’s musical scene. He was born in Moscow in 1883, and came to South Africa in 1934 to become the musical director of Schlesinger’s Colosseum Orchestra in Johannesburg. There he met and married Else Schneider, one of the first violin students to play in the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra (CTSO).
Each Rennie sibling boasts an impressive musical resume. Elizabeth, or “Lizzie”, was in the viola section in the CTSO in the late 1980s. She studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in the United States, returning to Cape Town in 1994, where she became co-principal viola with Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB), principal viola with Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) in Bloemfontein, and then moved to the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). After the NSO’s closure, Lizzie began experimenting with musical styles and now teaches strings at St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. “She spans the divide from classical orchestral violist to electric pop violinist, with many guises in-between,” Bridget explains. “Her son, Joshua Furtner, is already a budding pianist and singer.” CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Michael Doré with Tamara c.1950; Tamara, Elsa and Michael Doré on a train leaving for a College of Music opera tour to the Rhodesias c.1957; Tamara Rennie (nee Doré) c.1960; Rennie Juniors c.1989, Catherine, Bridget, Michael and Lizzie.
“We grew up in the City Hall, literally; occupying ourselves in the passages while our mother played in the orchestra.”
Bridget’s brother Michael is an exceptional violinist, and also explores many musical genres. “He spent more than a decade writing, recording and touring with his bands Sons of Trout and Mikanic, and moved to New York in 2003, where he was on the string faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Connecticut School of Music,” Bridget explains. “Michael directed Musicians for World Harmony, developing funding for music healing projects in African countries. He’s still performing, recording and composing, and also directs New Village Music, in Sausalito, California.” Bridget’s own career spans over 20 years, from co-principal flute with CAPAB in 1989 to solo principal flute with the CTPO from 1997 – 2000. She has appeared as soloist with several South African orchestras and is an active chamber musician. “I am the principal flute of the Cape Town Pops Orchestra and play the Baroque Traverso flute with the Camerata Tinta Barocca,” she says. “I also lecture in flute at the
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Feature
“Few families have contributed as much to orchestral music in Cape Town as the De Groote family.” University of Cape Town and teach privately. I am passionate about performance health education.” Bridget has many treasured mementos from her family’s musical past. “I have a recording of Michael playing the Tchaikovsky violin concerto in 1954 under the baton of Pierre Colombo and another when he was 74, playing the Adagio and Finale of the Bruch No. 1 at a City Hall lunch-hour concert.” “We also have a recording from 1959 of the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra (CTMO) dress rehearsal of the Glazounov violin concerto with conductor Minas Christian,” Bridget continues. “Michael had earlier premièred the Glazounov concerto in South Africa, having played it in 1911 in St Petersburg under the direction of the composer, a first at that time. We have a signed photograph in which Glazounov is thanking Michael for the performance and the original full orchestral score.” Michael’s near-contemporary Mischa Elman premièred the Glazouno violin concerto in London. “When Elman came to play with the CTMO in the 1950s, the two Mischas embraced,” Bridget says. “Michael had changed his name from Mischa Zirelstein to Michael Doré when he moved to Europe from Russia – with Elman apparently saying: ‘You were the greatest technician of us all!’ ” With this incredible musical legacy, it seems very likely that Michael Doré’s great-great grandchildren will follow in his footsteps.
THE DE GROOTE LEGACY Few families have contributed as much to orchestral music in Cape Town as the De Groote family and, even though some left to make careers overseas, they never lost their kinship with the orchestra in Cape Town. Pierre De Groote came to South Africa from Belgium in 1947, and performed not only as a violin soloist in all the standard concertos, but as a conductor. He was conductor of the UCT Symphony Orchestra from 1966 to 1973 and then again at the end of the 1970s. His wife, Hermina, a violinist and violist, played the Mozart Concertante with him, and was herself an ad hoc violist with the orchestra for 15 years before joining full-time in 1983. Their son, Steven De Groote, was one of South Africa’s foremost musical exports. He studied with Lamar Crowson at the University of Cape Town, playing and recording frequently with the CTSO from the age of 16 (who will forget his Brahms Second Piano Concerto?), before moving to the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and then the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. He won many prestigious awards during the 1970s, which lead to his Carnegie Hall debut, and played with some of the world’s leading orchestras before going on to teach at Arizona State University and Texas Christian University, until his untimely death at the age of 36. Steven toured Taiwan with the CTSO in 1988; in the orchestra for that tour were Hermina and Olivier, his
clarinettist brother and principal with the orchestra for a number of years. Olivier played with the Weber Clarinet Concerto with the CTSO with his father conducting, and was also a soloist on several other occasions, most notably in the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, which was his last public appearance before his premature death in 1996. (Olivier’s children have continued his musical legacy. Guido and Rudi de Groote are both musicians in Europe.) Their brother, Andre, is a pianist, who made a career in Belgium teaching and performing at the Brussels Conservatoire and also playing as a soloist with the CTSO. Phillip is now retired as a founding member of the Chilingirian Quartet and played the Shostakovich Cello Concerto with the CTSO. Their sister, Tessa, a Cape Town Eisteddfod concerto piano category winner, was a soloist with CTSO in Schumann Konzertstück when she was just 16, and followed this with several other appearances. While Tessa’s children have not pursued musical careers, Margaret, her eldest daughter, has worked in arts management for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
MARTENS AND MORE ... Paul Martens, a violin teacher at the University of Stellenbosch, before that concertmaster with the Durban orchestra with his own string ensemble, was married to pianist and lecturer in Durban and UCT, Jacquelyn. Their son Eric Martens was principal cellist in the CTSO. Eric is the father of cellist Peter Martens, formerly principal cellist in the CPO and now at Stellenbosch University; Heidi Martens, a violinist in Salzburg; and Phillip Martens, a violinist in the CPO. Their mother, Marianne Schwietering, is a flautist and her brother Jürgen, a violinist who was concertmaster of the CTSO and a teacher at UCT; Marianne and Jürgen’s mother, Suzanne, was a pianist and lecturer at Rhodes and Stellenbosch; their aunt Marianne McLean, a violinist, is also the mother of Eddie McLean, associate principal cello in the CPO. Another aunt, Wunneke, was a flautist in the NDR. Peter’s wife, Suzanne Martens, is guest concertmaster with the CPO and her brothers Cobus (cello), a professor at the Zurich Hochschule and Andre, a freelance violinist in the UK. On to the next generation: Peter and Suzanne’s girls are a pianist and violinist, Heidi’s boys play the cello and violin.
TOP Steven De Groote BOTTOM Paul Martens c.1973
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Then there’s a link to the De Grootes: Eric’s sister, Elizabeth, is the mother of Guido and Rudi, sons of Olivier.
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Outreach
CREATING COMMUNITY WITH A DIVERSE PORTFOLIO OF YOUTH PROGRAMMES, THE CAPE TOWN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IS NURTURING A FUTURE FOR MUSIC IN SOUTH AFRICA. WE SPEAK TO OUTREACH AND EDUCATION MANAGER LAURIKA STEENKAMP
here is much more to the CPO than performances and concerts. “The CPO is a champion of classical music in South Africa,” explains Laurika Steenkamp, Outreach and Education Manager at CPO. To grow enthusiasm for classical music, the organisation focuses on helping finding young people become part of the classical music world, coaching them not only in the thrill of learning to play an instrument, but in becoming part of the industry.
T
The CPO has three major youth outreach arms: the Masidlale Music Project, the Music Academy, and the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestras (CPYO). “The Masidlale programme works mainly in the townships with youth who have been identified to have musical talent. It works from the inside, with young people managing the teaching,” Steenkamp explains. “We also have a Music Academy that runs in Cape Town every Saturday where 110 youth receive individual instrumental and theory lessons. Our youth projects feature a full symphony orchestra, a wind ensemble, a strings orchestra and a junior wind band, with participants ranging from ages 14 to 24.” CPO members teach CPYO musicians, some of whom are extras in the CPO; CPYO musicians work as instructors in the Masidlale Project, and some of those will grow to become instructors themselves, one day perhaps playing in the CPO and serving as role models, ensuring the training goes full circle. All these programmes help young people get a good taste of what it’s like to be in an orchestra.
“Many young musicians have a fairy-tale idea about it; they sometimes need a reality check,” Steenkamp explains. “It’s hard work, long hours and often a lot of waiting around.” The CPO’s programmes provide professional mentorships, with access into the industry and jobs, something rarely found in youth programmes. “Out of more than 400 participants in the youth projects, only two or three will actually become professional musicians,” Steenkamp says. “You can’t just train in music – many musicians fail here. If they want to do music they have to find a way – not just as a musician, but as a person. it’s about having the right tools, and how they go about it.” While the CPO does a lot of work to help disadvantaged students, it also assists those from more affluent schools. “We open the eyes of everyone who don’t know about classical music, both ones who can and can’t access it,” Steenkamp says. Steenkamp and her team also make a lot of effort to introduce classical music to a young audience in a fun way. “We make sure it’s relevant, so we pay attention to popular culture by listening to the music they use in ads and movies,” she says. “We bring in something current that they identify with.” For example, last year Steenkamp incorporated the William Tell overture with Gangnam Style, the popular song by Korean musician Psy. “In the past, the only way to experience music was with a live orchestra,” Steenkamp says.
“We want to open people’s eyes to something new, and through outreach create a music industry that has a footprint in the community.”
“By making a connection between current music and the past, they can see it is a different kind of experience. We don’t want to think outside the box, we want to throw it into the sea!” Laurika is already doing this with some of the various other music activities she’s involved with. She also runs and produces Cool Classic Kidz, a music club and radio programme on Fine Music Radio 101.3 that helps inspire youth through music. (It is currently being restructured but will relaunch in 2015). Her work is all part of that philosophy that classical music needs to be enjoyed in whatever way people want to. Some audiences are jubilant, with people dancing and clapping to the music. “It’s about creating a safe space,” says Steenkamp. “Who are we to say they can’t experience it this way? Whether they are from Khayelitsha or Constantia, in music they are the same.” Steenkamp’s greater goal is to create a true classical musical loving culture in South Africa. “We want to open people’s eyes to something new and create a music industry that has a footprint in the community. We are a musicloving culture. Music gives access to touch people’s lives; you can’t measure that in monetary terms.” She must be doing something right; it’s rare the CPYO has a show that isn’t sold out. “We’re working on changing perceptions, and helping people love classical music even though they may be experiencing it differently,” Steenkamp says. “I will only put head my down to rest when that happens.” 09
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Calendar
The details were correct at the time of going to print. The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra reserves the right to alter programmes and replace conductors and/or soloists as may become necessary, but will endeavour to give notice of such changes in the media.
Calendar
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CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL // JANUARY 2015
22
JAN 2015 THURSDAY 8 PM, CITY HALL
CONDUCTOR: MARTIN PANTELEEV SOLOIST: STEWART GOODYEAR (PIANO) TCHAIKOVSKY FRANCESCA DA RIMINI, OP. 32 RACHMANINOV PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 IN D MINOR, OP. 30 STRAVINSKY THE RITE OF SPRING
RISE COCKTAIL CURTAIN RAISER | 7PM
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JAN THURSDAY 8 PM CITY HALL CONDUCTOR: MARTIN PANTELEEV SOLOIST: DEREK HAN (PIANO) WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73
Martin Panteleev
Stewart Goodyear
Considered to be one of the most dynamic young conductors in Europe, principal guest conductor Martin Panteleev has begun his fourth season as chief conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. His insightful and exciting performances have received unanimous acclaim and he was named the Bulgarian Musician of the Year in 2013. He most recently appeared with the Royal Philharmonic, Berliner Symphoniker, the Argentinian Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional, the English Chamber Orchestra, Concertgebouw chamber orchestra in Amsterdam, Orquesta Classica di Santa Cecilia, George Enescu Philharhamonic and Romanian National Radio Orchestra in Bucharest and the KZN Philharmonic.
Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear has been called “a phenomenon” and “one of the best pianists of his generation” by leading US newspapers such as The Los Angeles Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer after his performances with the Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony orchestras. He is in demand worldwide, from North America to the UK, Europe and Japan. Acclaimed in concert, recital and as a composer, Goodyear’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto and Grieg’s Piano Concerto, with the Czech National Symphony, was released to critical acclaim on the Steinway and Sons label in June 2014.
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DEREK HAN’s elegant, polished and compelling playing has dazzled audiences across six continents. Performing with an original style, Han’s lucid tones are spirited, and with technical fluidity and accuracy. He graduated from the Juilliard School of Music at the age of 18, and studied later with Gina Bachauer and Lili Kraus. After winning first prize at the Athens International Piano Competition in 1977, he rose to international fame. He first visited South Africa in 1996 on a critically triumphant tour with the Sinfonia Varsovia to celebrate the 80th birthday of Menuhin.
Autumn Symphony Season 2015
02
APR
THURSDAY 8 PM CITY HALL
CONDUCTOR: DMITRY YABLONSKY SOLOIST: OXANA YABLONSKAYA (PIANO) BORODIN In the Steppes of Central Asia RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29
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APR THURSDAY 8 PM CITY HALL CONDUCTOR: DMITRY YABLONSKY SOLOIST: OXANA YABLONSKAYA (PIANO); DIMITRY YABLONSKY (CELLO); JANNA GANDELMAN (VIOLIN) BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto in C, Op. 55 SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8 in B minor, “Unfinished”, D.759 STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1945 version)
05 FEB
THURSDAY 8 PM CITY HALL
CONDUCTOR: MARTIN PANTELEEV SOLOIST: YI-JIA SUSANNE HOU (VIOLIN) SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture Op. 96 CHEN/HE Butterfly Lover’s Concerto MAHLER Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
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FEB
YI-JIA SUSANNE HOU is the first ever violinist to capture three gold medals at three international competitions: Concours International Long-Thibaud (France, 1999), Lipizer International Violin Competition (Italy, 1999) and Sarasate International Violin Competition (Spain, 1997). No wonder the Strad wrote: “Her sound is strangely strong yet delicate; her technique near flawless…” She plays on the ex-Mary Portman, Fritz Kreisler Guarneri del Gesù, Cremona, c. 1735 on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society of Chicago.
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THURSDAY 8 PM CITY HALL
OXANA YABLONSKAYA is one of the most sought-after musicians, recording artists and teachers of our time. Now emeritus professor at the Juilliard School of Music, she became the youngest ever to start teaching at the age of 17 at the Central Music School for Gifted Children in Moscow. She has also established the Oxana Yablonskaya Piano Institute in Italy, and has played in more than 40 countries as a recitalist and soloist with prestigious orchestras and prominent conductors such as Rozhdestvensky, Rostropovich and Svetlanov.
CONDUCTOR: DMITRY YABLONSKY SOLOIST: DIMITRI YABLONSKY (CELLO); JANNA GANDELMAN (VIOLIN)
Conductor and cellist DIMITRY YABLONSKY was born in Moscow, began playing the cello when he was five years old, and at nine made his orchestral debut playing the Haydn Cello Concerto. He regularly collaborates with artists such as Boris Berezovsky and Vadim Repin (with whom he made an award-winning recording), Shlomo Mintz and Yuri Bashmet. He is also principal guest conductor of the Novoya Rossiya Orchestra in Russia, having made his conducting debut in Italy when he was 26. He has since collaborated with many important orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (principal guest conductor 2000-2004) and has a festival in Azerbaijan.
JANNA GANDELMAN, concertmaster of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, was born in Moldavia in 1967. At the age of five, she started playing violin and soon after won her first competitions in the Soviet Union. After immigrating to Israel in 1979, she joined the AmericanIsrael Cultural Foundation and embarked on studies at the Tel Aviv Music Academy, winning competitions in Israel, Italy and America. She has been a member of many great Israeli music ensembles and performed chamber music with Gidon Kremer and Isaac Stern.
APR
MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat, K. 364 (Transcribed: violin, cello) BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op. 55 (Eroica)
THURSDAY 8 PM CITY HALL
Festival Gala Concert
CONDUCTOR: MARTIN PANTELEEV SOLOIST: MARIA DU TOIT (CLARINET) MILHAUD Le boeuf sur le toit, Op. 58 FRANÇAIX Clarinet Concerto DEBUSSY Prelude á L’après-midi d’un faune RAVEL Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose) Winner of numerous national and international competitions, MARIA DU TOIT is one South Africa’s foremost
PRESENTED BY THE CPO (Not part of the subscription series) instrumentalists, and enjoys a prolific solo career. She is currently on sabbatical as principal clarinettist of the CPO and clarinet lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch. She has been invited to be a soloist with every major orchestra in South Africa, as well as various European orchestras. She has released three solo albums, all to rave reviews.
11 FEB
WEDNESDAY 8 PM, CITY HALL
SIR JAMES GALWAY, flute, in concert with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and members of the SA National Youth Orchestra. 11 11
CONCERTO, ISSUE 05, 2014/15
More magic
To order this book visit our website on
www.cpo.org.za
A Fresh night out Ring in the New Year with the sensational Freshlyground, accompanied by conductor Richard Cock and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, amidst the magical atmosphere of the historic manor house at the Nederburg wine farm in Paarl. With the dynamic Zolani Mahola on lead vocals, Freshlyground will have audiences dancing to all their favourites songs, including hits such as Fire is Low, Ma-Cherie, Pot Belly, Doo Be Doo, I’d Like, Would You Mind and The Man Moves, all played with full symphonic accompaniment. The concert is presented in collaboration with the Distell Foundation.
AFRO POP MEETS SYMPHONY WHEN FRESHLYGROUND & CPO PLAY NEW YEAR’S EVE AT NEDERBURG The concert begins at 21:30; choose your picnic spot when gates open at 17:00. Contact info@cpo.org.za or 021 410 9809 for more details about bus packages and food availability.
Tickets for the concert are R300 for adults and R175 for those 12 to-18; free for under 12s. Tickets: Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 7695.
A CENTURY OF SYMPHONY A century after Theo Wendt gave the first conducting downbeat of the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra in 1914, the music goes on. There may have been vicissitudes in funding and the orchestra’s name, but one thing remains constant: never in that 100 years did the Mother City lack an orchestra presenting the best music of the time. Names may astonish, reminiscences fascinate, photographs remind, nostalgically, of venues like the Pierhead that once were. It’s more than a history; it’s a keepsake that reminds us of how our city and its orchestra are so intertwined. It is cause to celebrate and, thanks to contributions by a host of musicians, concertgoers, board members, and dignitaries – and the input of Sjoerd Alkema and his doctoral thesis on the early conductors – the CPO is proud to present A Century of Symphony: The Story of Cape Town’s Orchestra. A Century of Symphony is published by Jonathan Ball and available through most bookstores from December 2014.
BOOK BY TELEPHONE Bookings for the international summer festival open on 8 December. Bookings for the autumn season open from 23 February 2015. Existing subscribers can renew 10 days before. Artscape Dial-A-Seat: Artscape and City Hall only on (021) 421 7695 – Credit card bookings. Advance bookings: through Computicket Mon–Fri, 9 am–5 pm/Sat 9 am–12.30 pm. For telephonic credit card bookings: call Computicket on 0861 915 8000 [Toll free]
COMPUTICKET BOOKINGS CAN BE MADE AT SELECTED COMPUTICKET OUTLETS OR ONLINE AT WWW.COMPUTICKET.CO.ZA For more details, visit: www.cpo.org.za
JOIN OUR DATABASE To receive regular newsletters and event information, simply email a request with your details to info@cpo.org.za or visit our website on www.cpo.org.za to read the online edition of Concerto. Also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 12
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