Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival

SICMF opening night promises an eclectic mix of music including George Walker’s luscious Lyric for Strings and Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto in a new chamber music arrangement from Beethoven’s era featuring internationally acclaimed pianist, Emanuil Ivanov as soloist. The sublime Adagietto from Mahler’s fifth symphony will be followed by Caroline Shaw’s Blueprint, a gorgeous new take on the string quartet music of the past.

*South African Premiere

Schubert’s much loved virtuoso flute piece “Trockne Blumen” will be performed by Russian flautist Ekaterina Kornishina in a special arrangement for flute and strings. Delius, the quintessentially English composer’s Suite for violin will feature Nicolas Dautricourt as soloist. Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most revered composers today whose timeless music seems to resonate with all peoples. His octet “Ever Yours” will be performed for the first time in South Africa.

*South African Premiere

Works by the great Romantic era composer Sergey Taneyev have been enthusiastically received at the SICMF in recent years. This year his piano quintet will feature SICMF Artistic Director, Nina Schumann at the piano. Valery Coleman’s Tzigane for winds will receive its South African premiere and Gershwin’s much-loved American in Paris will be performed in a special arrangement for brass quintet.

*South African Premiere

The featured work commissioned by the SICMF by Pieter Bezuidenhout will be performed by a large ensemble incorporating many of the esteemed international faculty members of the SICMF directed by Michael Repper. This will be the work’s world premiere. It will be flanked by Jörg Widmann’s catchy “180 beats per minute” and Mendelssohn’s vivacious and beautiful third string quartet

**World Premiere

*South African Premiere

Whilst the first half of this programme is one of novelties, the Dvorak piano quintet in the second half will surely be balm for the soul of those who particularly love music from the Classical and Romantic eras. The aural tapestry of Garth Knox’s Viola Spaces will delight those with a more adventurous spirit. Mark Hampson will be the featured soloist in Daniel Schryder’s bass trombone concerto, a piece that is guaranteed to excite with its hip and often jazzy rhythms.

*South African Premiere

Saint-Saëns’ Caprice is a wonderful opportunity to hear this much-loved French composer in a somewhat less popular guise. Staying in France, the wind faculty of the SICMF will play Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin arranged for Wind Quintet, whilst members of the string faculty will play Woldemar Bargiel’s 1850 Beethovian style octet under the leadership of Andrey Baranov.

*South African Premiere

Vivaldi’s concertos are a favourite from the Baroque period. Soloists, Daniel Rowland and Maja Bogdanovic are not only a married couple, but also a formidable musical duo! Vassily Brandt’s Konzertstück is a beautiful and strident traditional Classical style piece that will feature Marco Silva (trumpet) as soloist, backed by the winds and brass of the SICMF. Carl Maria von Weber is well known for his two brilliant clarinet concerti. His no less virtuoso and charming Concertino will be played by YaoGuang Zhai.

**World Premiere
*South African Premiere

Sensemayà by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas opens this concert with the pulsating rhythms of South America. Soloists Andrey Baranov (violin) and Boris Andrianov (cello) join forces for the much-loved Brahms Double concerto. Borodin is known as one of the great five Russian nationalist composers that sought to avoid the influence of his European counterparts in creating music that was quintessentially Russian. His second symphony is arguably his most popular work.

Rossini’s overture to William Tell begins with a wonderful solo for 5 celli, followed by an instantly recognizable gallop that has become one of the favourite pieces of classical music of all time. Two pieces from Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus follow. The second of these, Saber Dance, is also one of the genres most popular classics. Dvorák’s beautiful symphony number eight needs no introduction.

Sensemayà by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas opens this concert with the pulsating rhythms of South America. Viola concertos are relatively scarce, but the one by Bartok is a true masterpiece for the instrument. Jennifer Stumm is the featured soloist in this performance. Borodin is known as one of the great five Russian nationalist composers that sought to avoid the influence of his European counterparts in creating music that was quintessentially Russian. His second symphony is arguably his most popular work.