Years
2019 2018
Symphony Concert
2018-09-22

FSSO’s 4th Symphony Concert presented in collaboration with the OSM:

International guest pianist and FSSO virtuosi promise an evening of musical poetics

Conductor: Alexander Fokkens
Soloists: Vitaly Pisarenko (piano),
Odeion String Quartet,
Paul van Zuilenburg (trumpet),
Kobus Malan (oboe),
Danrè Strydom (clarinet),
Brahm Henkins (bassoon) and
Shannon Armer (French horn)
Date: Saturday, 22 September 2018
Time: 19:30
Venue: Odeion, UFS

On Saturday 22 September 2018, the Free State Symphony Orchestra’s (FSSO’s) fourth symphony concert of the year brings to the stage international piano virtuoso, Vitaly Pisarenko, and places a spotlight on the local talent of the Odeion String Quartet as well as a number of the FSSO’s principal players.

Regarded as one of the finest young musicians of his generation, Pisarenko has been dubbed as a ‘poet at the piano’ and is performing as guest piano soloist with the FSSO as part of the South African leg of his current world tour. After performing in a series of recitals and concerts with local orchestras, he moves on to the UK, Belgium, Hong Kong and Argentina. The concert in Bloemfontein will be his second last performance in South Africa.

Described by the New York Times as an “immensely gifted pianist… with prodigious technique, myriad shadings and scrupulous accuracy”, the Russian-born pianist already had his first public recital at the age of six. After winning the 8th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in 2008, he took his place in the musical world as a pianist “of unusually soft touch and captivating expressiveness”, rapidly gaining worldwide recognition. His style has prompted more than one critic to compare his playing to that of “a young Franz Liszt”.

This evocative pianist will perform Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Opus 31 with the FSSO’s Paul van Zuilenburg as the trumpet soloist. Shostakovich originally composed the concerto as an experimentation with a neo-baroque combination of instruments. Despite the title, the work might more accurately be classified as a double concerto rather than a piano concerto in which the trumpet and piano command equal prominence. The trumpet parts frequently take the form of sardonic interjections, leavening the humour and wit of the piano passage work.

The Odeion String Quartet with Samson Diamond (violin), Sharon de Kock (violin), Jeanne-Louise Moolman (viola) and Anmari van der Westhuizen (cello) are the soloists in Elgar’s masterpiece, Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and Strings. Scored for a string quartet and string orchestra, Elgar originally composed it to show off the players’ virtuosity. The score soon came to be recognised as a masterpiece and is likened to a multi-layered symphonic poem for string orchestra.

The programme concludes with Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat major which is scored for solo oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. The soloists for the Sinfonia Concertante will be four principal players of the FSSO: Kobus Malan (oboe), Danré Strydom (clarinet), Brahm Henkins (bassoon) and Shannon Armer (French horn).

When asked how he felt about joining the FSSO for this concert, Pisarenko responded by saying that this performance would represent a number of firsts for him: “Although this is my third visit to South Africa, it will be the first time that I perform in Bloemfontein. I’ve also always loved Shostakovich’s piano concerto and have wanted to play it for a long time. It is such a beautiful and expressive concerto, and I’ll be playing this fantastic piece for the very first time with the FSSO.”

Alexander Fokkens, CEO and Creative Director of the FSSO, concludes: “It’s very exciting to be able to showcase our immensely talented local orchestral musicians alongside a musician of Vitaly’s calibre. The programme for the evening will not only show off individual talent, but create an orchestral experience that will feel musically varied and poetically moving.”

Fokkens will also be conducting the concert on the evening. The FSSO’s fourth symphony concert for this year is presented in collaboration with the Odeion School of Music.


Admission:

Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults - R150; Pensioners and block bookings of 10 and more - R100; Children 3 to 18 years - R50.

Tickets are available at any Computicket outlet or online at online.computicket.com. For enquiries, contact Ella Kotze at the FSSO on 051 401 2342, Ninette Pretorius of the OSM on 051 401 2504, or visit the FSSO’s Facebook page (@ Free State Symphony Orchestra) for more information and regular updates.

For media enquiries and visuals, contact Daphney Teffo on 082 506 3551 or e-mail rdteffo@gmail.com


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André van Daalen (oboe) & Albie van Schalkwyk (piano)

11 August 2011
Odeion
19:30

South African born André van Daalen started studying oboe under Sergei Burdukov in 1996. In 2002 he obtained his B.Mus. degree (cum laude) from the University of Stellenbosch. He won the category prize for wind instruments at the 1997 ATKV Prelude competition. In 2004 he won the category prize as well as the overall first prize at the ATKV Muziq competition. He played as soloist with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stellenbosch University Symphony Orchestra and the Free State Youth Symphony Orchestra.

From October 2002 until June 2005 he studied under the former solo oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Hansjörg Schellenberger at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid (Spain). During his studies he performed as a soloist with orchestra in various cities in Spain with conductors Antoni Ros Marbà and Hansjörg Schellenberger. He also gave regular solo and chamber music recitals. In June 2005 he was invited to participate in the Encuentro de Música y Academia in Santander (Spain), where he played under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy and gave several solo and chamber music recitals. Later in the same year he played as soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra under Bernard Gueller and gave solo recitals in various cities throughout South Africa.

Since October 2005 he has been studying under Prof. Matthias Bäcker, former principal oboist of the German Opera Berlin, at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar (Germany). In 2006 he won the University of Stellenbosch’s Mabel Quick Overseas Scholarship Competition. He received his Diploma in 2008 and is currently preparing for his Concert Diploma. He has received master classes from Prof. Ingo Goritzki, Hansjörg Schellenberger, Gordon Hunt, Dominik Wollenweber and Karl-Heinz Steffens.

He was a member of the Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra from 2007 until 2010 and has also worked with orchestras in most of the major German cities. His wind quintet “Ménage à cinq” won a scholarship at the 2007 German Music Competition in Berlin and subsequently toured Germany with some of the concerts broadcast on national radio. In 2010 he assumed the position of principal cor anglais at the Hessian State Theatre Orchestra in Wiesbaden (Germany).

Albie van Schalkwyk has established himself as performer in a number of fields over the past 30 years. One of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa, he has also performed as soloist with SA orchestras, performed solo recitals, given master classes for singers and accompanists, worked as a music producer for the SABC, arranged music for various combinations from orchestral works for small ensembles to orchestral works for eight pianos.

After completing his B.Mus. degree at the University of Cape Town with Lamar Crowson, he spent five years in London studying with Geoffrey Parsons, Gwenneth Pryor and Martino Tirimo. During this period he won the UNISA Overseas Scholarship as well as first prize in the SABC Music Prize Piano Competition. Upon his return to SA he took up a position as Official Accompanist and Producer at the SABC in Cape Town and became the regular partner of many South African singers and instrumentalists. He has been a member of several well-known SA ensembles, like the Endler Trio and the Potch Trio and a founder member of The Chamber Music Society, and appeared as guest artists with others like the Rosamunde String Quartet and the Sontonga Quartet.

His partnership with Austrian cellist Heidi Litschauer has produced two major tours through South Africa as well as annual visits to Austria where he is invited to play concerts and work as repetiteur at the summer school of the International Neuberg Kulturtage since 1988. He has also performed all over South Africa with visiting overseas artists such as Elly Ameling (soprano), Maarten Koningsberger (baritone), Peter-Lukas Graf (flute), Emma Johnson (clarinet), Christian Altenburger (violin) and Raphael Wallfisch (cello).

He was a regular guest professor in chamber music at the University of Cape Town, taught at the Franschhoek Chamber Music Workshops and at the International Chamber Music Workshops in Stellenbosch in 2007.

After 12 years at the University of the Free State, he returned to Cape Town in February 2009 to take up a post as Associate Professor at the College of Music, University of Cape Town. He is the 2009 winner of the Huberte Rupert Prize, awarded by the SA Academy of Arts and Sciences to him for his contribution to ensemble playing and teaching over the past 30 years.

Programme:
Robert Schumann: 3 Romances, Op. 94
Stille Tränen (Op. 35 No. 10), Ihre Stimme (Op. 96 No. 3), Abendlied (Op. 85 No. 12)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Allegro and Adagio (edited posthumously)
Camille Saint-Saëns : Sonata in D major, Op. 166 (1921)
Carlo Yvon: Sonata in F Major for English horn and piano
Gabriel Fauré: Sicilienne, Op. 78 (arranged for oboe and piano)
Maurice Ravel: Pièce en forme de Habañera (arranged for oboe and piano)
Amilcare Ponchielli: Capriccio for oboe and piano, Op. 80

Admission:
R120 (adults)
R80 (pensioners, students and learners)
Tickets available at Computicket (at all Shoprite / Checkers shops, Mimosa Mall / Waterfront information desks) and at the doors.

Enquiries:
Ninette Pretorius (tel. 051 - 401 2504)

 

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