Highlights of the 2016 Stellenbosch Internatonal Chamber Music Festival

Highlights of the 2016 Stellenbosch Internatonal Chamber Music Festival

28.06.2016  Ten days of exquisite chamber music lies ahead as the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) kicks off this coming Friday, 1 July. The festival – the biggest of its kind in Africa – draws some of the best musicians from across the world to perform in its evening concert series.

About 300 mostly South African music students will attend the 2016 SICMF to participate in master classes, coaching sessions, lectures, as well as to perform in concerts. The festival faculty consists of 30 musicians of international acclaim who will perform in the concert series while also working with the students.

“It is a privilege to present this festival each year. It is an intense ten days of training for these talented music students, giving them the opportunity to work with some of the world’s best musicians. Our faculty members enjoy sharing their knowledge and sharing their talent with the audience in our evening concerts,” says Peter Martens, Festival Director.

The SICMF’s concert series includes a number of South African premieres as well as the world premiere of a commissioned work by local composer Matthijs van Dijk.

Says Nina Schumann, Artistic Director: “The festival’s concert programmes include music that will seldom be performed elsewhere in the world. The works range from those by well-known composers to fascinating music by lesser-known composers. There are always musical gems to discover at the SICMF.”

Concert highlights of the 2016 SICMF, held at the Stellenbosch University Konservatorium, include:

• The acclaimed student ensemble Furiant String Quartet (photo) from Germany will perform works by Haydn, Beethoven and the Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942). The quartet, founded in 2011, won the second prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Italy in 2012. Their performance is on Saturday, 2 July at 17:00 in the Fismer Hall.

• The Chamber Symphony by contemporary American composer John Adams (born 1947) will be performed for the first time in South Africa. This extremely difficult and engaging work can be heard in concert on Tuesday, 5 July at 20:00 in the Endler Hall.

• Matthijs van Dijk’s work, Moments in a Life, pays tribute to anti-apartheid activist Denis Goldberg. The work is written for strings, clarinet, percussion, piano, and overtone singer. Goldberg will perform as narrator in this work, which relates the story of his life. It will be performed on Wednesday, 6 July at 20:00 in the Endler Hall.

• Also in this concert on Wednesday, 6 July, is a rare performance of Russian composer Sergei Taneyev’s (1856–1915) Piano Quintet in G minor, Op.30. It is a highly Romantic work, which will be played by Luis Magalhães (piano), Andrej Bielow (violin), Alissa Margulis (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola) and Alexander Buzlov (cello).

• Austrian clarinettist Ferdinand Steiner will play Mozart’s popular Clarinet Concerto in A major on a replica of the instrument this work was initially written for. He will be accompanied by the Festival Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kazem Abdullah. The concert is on Friday, 8 July at 20:00 in the Endler Hall.

• French violinist Nicolas Dautricourt performs Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No.3 with the Festival Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kazem Abdullah, on Sunday, 9 July at 16:30 in the Endler Hall.

Tickets are available from Computicket, or call  021 808 2358 to purchase a festival pass. Visit http://www.sicmf.co.za for more information.

SICMF Faculty 2016
Conductors: Kazem Abdullah (USA); Daniel Boico (Israel/USA)
Violin: Daniel Rowland (UK); Andrej Bielow (Ukraine); Suzanne Martens (SA); Alissa Margulis (Germany/Russia); Farida Bacharova (Russia/SA); Nicolas Dautricourt (France)
Viola: Gareth Lubbe (SA); Juan-Miguel Hernandez (USA); Xandi van Dijk (SA); Tobias Breider (Germany)
Cello: Alexander Bouzlov (Russia); David Cohen (Belgium); Peter Martens (SA); Anzél Gerber (SA)
Double Bass: Uxía Martínez Botana (Spain)
Piano: Ilya Friedberg (Russia/Israel); Pieter Grobler (SA); Luis Magalhães (Portugal/SA); Nina Schumann (SA); Megan Geoffrey Prins - apprentice (SA)
Flute:Paulo Barros (Portugal)
Oboe: James Austin Smith (USA)
Clarinet: Ferdinand Steiner (Austria)
Bassoon: Billy Short (USA)
Trumpet: Billy Rae Hunter (USA)
Trombone: Weston Sprott (USA)
Horn: Pamela Kierman (SA); Jeff Nelsen (Canada)
Percussion: Robert Knopper (USA)
Composer: Matthijs van Dijk (SA)

Invited Groups
Certificate Programme Brass Quintet (SA - Stellenbosch)
Furiant String Quartet (Germany)
Face Two Phase (Spain)
University of Pretoria Quintet (SA - Pretoria)
US Trio (SA - Stellenbosch)
Vorarlberg State Conservatory String Sextet (Austria)


Daily Programme

FRIDAY 1 JULY 2016
13:00 Guest Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: US Piano Trio
15:00 Public Master Class: Daniel Rowland (Violin)
17:00 Guest Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Face Two Phase Duo
18:30 Festival Opening

SATURDAY 2 JULY 2016
13:00 Guest Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: UP Piano Quintet
15:00 Public Master Class: Uxia Martinez Botana (Double Bass)
17:00 Guest Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Furiant Quartet
19:00 Alissa Margulis In Conversation with Nicolas Dautricourt

SUNDAY 3 JULY 2016
13:00 Guest Student Ensemble Lunch Hour : Vorarlberg State Conservatory String Sextet
15:00 Public Master Class: Gareth Lubbe (Viola)
17:00 Guest Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: US certificate course
19:00 Daniel Rowland in conversation with David Cohen

MONDAY 4 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 1
15:00 Public Master Class: Billy Short (Bassoon)
17:00 Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Festival Ensembles 2
19:00 Gareth Lubbe in conversation with Andrej Bielow

TUESDAY 5 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 3
15:00 Public Master Class: David Cohen (Cello)
17:00 Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Festival Ensembles 4
19:00 Xandi van Dijk in conversation with Matthijs van Dijk

WEDNESDAY 6 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 5
15:00 Public Master Class: Alexander Buzlov (Cello)
17:00 Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Festival Ensembles 6
18:30 Mark Gevisser in conversation with Denis Goldberg
19:30 Kronendal Music Academy curtain raiser

THURSDAY 7 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 7
15:00 Public Master Class: Nicolas Dautricourt (Violin)
17:00 Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Percussion Ensembles
19:00 Nicolas Dautricourt in conversation with Uxia Martinez Botana

FRIDAY 8 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 8
15:00 Public Master Class: Billy Hunter (Trumpet)
17:00 Music for Dummies Part 4
19:00 Luis Magalhães in conversation with Daniel Boico

SATURDAY 9 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 9
15:00 Public Master Class: Ferdinand Steiner (Clarinet)
17:00 Student Ensemble Afternoon Concert: Festival Ensembles 10
19:00 James Austin-Smith in conversation with Ferdinand Steiner

SUNDAY 10 JULY 2016
13:00 Student Ensemble Lunch Hour: Festival Ensembles 11


Evening concerts

20:00 Endler Hall

Evening / Faculty Concerts 1 - 7 (1 - 7 July)
Tickets for R125 and R90 (pensioners and students) at Computicket.
Orchestral concerts (8 - 10 July)
Tickets for R140 and R100 (pensioners and students) at Computicket.
See below for concert details

1 July, Faculty Concert 1
Connesson: Techno Parade
Britten: Simple Symphony Op.4
Dvořák: String Sextet in A major, Op.48

2 July, Faculty Concert 2
Hummel: Piano Septet No.1 in D minor, Op.74
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No.6 in F minor, Op.80

3 July, Faculty Concert 3
Varèse: Octandre
Mozart: Wind Serenade in E flat major, K.375
Vasks: Distant Light (Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra)

4 July, Faculty Concert 4
Dvořák: Piano Quintet No.2 in A major, Op.81
Enescu: String Octet Op.7

5 July, Faculty Concert 5
Bowen: Fantasia for four violas in E minor, Op.41 no.1
Babadjanian: Piano Trio in F sharp minor
Adams: Chamber Symphony

6 July, Faculty Concert 6
Van Dijk: Moments in a Life
Taneyev: Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 30

7 July, Faculty Concert 7
Dvořák: Nocturne in B major, Op.40
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 in D major, Op.19
Gulda: Concerto for Cello (Violin) and Wind Orchestra

8 July, Festival Symphony Orchestra 1
Conductor: Kazem Abdullah | Clarinet: Ferdinand Steiner
Debussy: La Mer
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra

9 July, Festival Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Daniel Boico
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2
Holst: The Planets – 2nd & 3rd movements Mars & Jupiter
Hanson: Symphony No. 2, Op. 30
Glass: Symphony No. 4 “Heroes” 2nd, 3rd, 4th movements
Ellington: The River - Riba & Meander
Elgar : Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39, no. 4

10 July, 16:30 Festival Symphony Orchestra 2
Conductor: Kazem Abdullah | Violin: Nicolas Dautricourt
John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No.3
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra


Booking info

Daily Events (at the door)
PUBLIC MASTER CLASSES:
R20 (Tickets available at the door)

STUDENT CONCERTS: 1-3 JULY
R20 (Tickets available at the door)

STUDENT CONCERTS: 4-10 JULY
Free Admission

IN CONVERSATION WITH:
R20 (Tickets available at the door)
  Festival or Day passes via our website
The FESTIVAL PASS includes: - Admission to all Festival concerts, talks and Master Classes
- Premier seating, specifically reserved for each concert
- Festival Program Adult: R1050 (20% Discount)
Student / Pensioner: R750 (20% Discount)

The DAY PASS includes:
- Admission to all student concerts (13:00 & 17:00)
- Admission to all Master Classes
- Admission to all talks
Adult: R105 per day
Student / Pensioner: R75 per day

For more information visit our website: http://www.sicmf.co.za

All Evening Concerts can be booked through Computicket.

What's On

January 2017
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 1 2 3 4