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With international and local conductors and
soloists, the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating 10 years with
some of the world's best music.
THE Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO)
kicks off its 10th year with celebration in mind: in January it received R36-million
from the National Lottery Distribution Trust for the next three years.
The celebrated English cellist Julian Lloyd Webber is regarded as one of the most creative musicians of his generation
And with this good news, it begins its first
symphony season for the year, running from 10 February to 18 March. The
concerts will be held on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Linder
Auditorium, on the University of the Witwatersrand's Education Campus in Parktown.
On 10 and 11 February, the orchestra will be
under the baton of Gerard Korsten, with Pieter Schoeman and Anmari van der
Westhuizen as soloists. The programme will include Weber's Euryanthe: Overture;
Brahms' Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op102 A-minor; as well as Schumann's Symphony
No3, Op97 E-flat major.
Schoeman is the leader of the London Philharmonic
Orchestra and has recorded numerous violin solos with that orchestra. He made
his debut at the age of 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra and went on to
win several international string competitions.
He has performed several times as a guest
concert master with the symphony orchestras of Barcelona, Bordeaux and Lyon.
Van der Westhuizen, originally from
Stellenbosch, is one of the most sought-after cellists in South Africa. She has
been the conductor and director of the University of Cape Town string ensemble
since 1999 and has made regular appearances in major concerts around Europe.
Born in South Africa, Korsten began his
career as a violinist and was a concert master for the Chamber Orchestra of
Europe for nine years. He is the music designate of the London Mozart Players
and the principal conductor of the Symphoieorchester Voralberg Bregenz.
He has also performed with the Budapest
Festival Orchestra and Salzburg Mozateum. Korsten will also conduct the concerts
on 17 and 18 February, when the music menu will include Mozart's Symphony No35,
K385, D-major (Haffner); Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No1, Op 107; and Mendelssohn's
Symphony No1, Op11, C-minor.
Soloists
The soloist for these two concerts will be English cellist Julian Lloyd Webber,
who has inspired new compositions for cello from composers as diverse as Malcolm
Arnold, Joaquin Rodrigo and Philip Glass.
Bulgaria's Emil Tabakov will conduct the
symphony concerts on 24 and 25 February and 3 and 4 March. Tabakov's vast
repertoire includes a variety of styles from classical to romantic and places
an emphasis on contemporary genres.
On the February concerts, he will lead the
JPO in a programme that features Rossini's L'ltaliana in Algeri: Overture; Bruch's
Concerto for Violin, No1, Op26, G-minor; and Dvorak's Symphony No8, Op88, G-major.
The soloist for those two concerts will be
Benjamin Schmid, who is regarded as one of the most talented violinists in the
world.
Schmid is known for his chameleonic skills
in performing both classical and jazz composition. He has been quite active in
the recording studio over the years and has made numerous albums for a variety
of labels including Oehms, Arte Nova, MD&G, EuroArts and Basta Records.
Pianist
Russian pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski will perform with the orchestra under
Tabakov's baton on 3 and 4 March. Audiences will be treated to Mozart, with Don
Giovanni, K527: Overture and Concerto for Piano, No23, K488, A-major, in addition
to Beethoven's Symphony No7, Op92, and A-major.
Japan will take centre stage on 10 and 11 March
in a Japanese and South African centennial celebration concert. Yasuo Shinozaki
will conduct pianist Noriko Ogawa and the JPO in a programme that will feature
Stephenson's A Johannesburg Overture; Takemitsu's Riverrun; and Tchaikovsky's Symphony
No5, Op64, E-minor.
Shinozaki has worked extensively with
orchestras throughout Japan and has a wide ranging repertoire. He made his
opera conducting debut with Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in Tokyo in 1993. This
sealed his popularity in the opera houses of his homeland, including the Japan
National Opera Theatre.
Ogawa rose to fame as a classical pianist
after she was awarded a third prize in the Leeds International Piano
competition in 1987. She records regularly for the BBC as recitalist and
soloist, gives chamber recitals and appears with the major British, European,
Japanese and American orchestras.
Ogawa's success has inspired audiences and
young pianists in Europe, America and Japan, where she is a national celebrity.
Final concert
The final concerts of the first season of
the year will take place on 17 and 18 March, with Shinozaki once again at the helm.
American pianist Bryan Wallick will be performing Mendelssohn's Symphony No3,
Op56, A-minor (Scottish) and Brahms's Concerto for Piano, No2, Op83, B-flat
major.
Wallick has performed extensively throughout
the United States and Europe. He has a special interest in synesthesia, which
is the ability to experience two or more sensory experiences with one stimulus.
He sees the colours with each musical pitch and has created a computer
programme that projects images of his colour visions to the audience.
According to a press release from JPO, the
first season will attempt to strike a balance both in terms of the repertoire
and the choice of artists.
"For
example, we move from the familiar when we open the season with the Brahms
double concerto, to the completely unknown in week five when we perform Takemitsu's
Riverrun concerto," it reads.
"The same applies with a choice that
includes both local and international soloists - opening the season with locals
Gerard Korsten, Pieter Schoeman and Anmari van der Westhuizen and ending with
first-timers in the country such as the brilliant Japanese pianist Noriko
Ogawa."
The JPO's second symphony season runs from
5 May to 10 June, the third season from 28 July to 2 September, and the fourth
season from 6 October to 11 November. Tickets are available at Computicket outlets,
on 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000 or through the Computicket website , or
at the door. For more information call 011 789 2733, email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit the JPO website.
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