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Gems and favourites abound in JPO’s first season
Ensure your 2012 is enriched with the beauty of music by experiencing the JPO’s regular symphony concerts, which start in February.
The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra’s first symphony season of the year runs from February 8 to 15 March 2012, with concerts taking place on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Linder Auditorium in Parktown, Johannesburg.
As a special treat for Pretoria music lovers, selected programmes will be repeated on Sunday afternoons at Unisa’s ZK Matthews Hall.
The JPO has taken heed of audience feedback, and will be kicking off the year with an extremely popular repertoire, featuring a selection of well-known and much-beloved compositions performed by the orchestra and a selection of soloists and conductors drawn from the world’s top echelons.
On 8 and 9 February, Michael Roll, one of Britain’s most distinguished and perceptive pianists, will launch the season in superb style with Schumann’s Piano Concerto, Op. 54, A minor, accompanied by the JPO. Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Polonaise and Waltz will also be on the programme, as will Franck’s Symphony in D minor.
This full programme will be repeated on Sunday, 12 February at Unisa at 3pm.
The conductor for the first two weeks is the Italian-born Guido Ajmone-Marsan, now resident in London, who has chalked up a long and illustrious career in many of the world’s top opera houses.
He will also be wielding the baton during the concerts on 15 and 16 February, when the music menu will include Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, WWV 103, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, K.504, D major (Prague).
In addition, stellar South African cellist Anzel Gerber, who was tutored by some of Russia’s finest musicians and remains a dedicated exponent of the Russian school, will be adding her magical touch to Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107, E-flat major.
German-Japanese violinist Mirijam Contzen has been hailed for her “impeccable technique” and “palpable acoustic power”, and will be performing Barber’s Violin Concerto, Op. 14, on 22 and 23 February at the Linder (with the programme being repeated at Unisa on 26 February at 3pm).
Under the guidance of highly decorated and seasoned Romanian conductor Horia Andreescu, the orchestra will also deliver another Barber work, Adagio for Strings, as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Op. 67, C minor.
The following week, on 29 February and 1 March, the JPO, again conducted by Andreescu, will perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Op. 36, F minor and Ligeti’s Concerto Romanesc. They will be joined by British clarinetist Michael Collins for the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, K. 662, A major. Collins is regarded as one of the leading clarinetists of his generation, praised for his dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship.
Esteemed German conductor Bernhard Gueller, who has become a firm favourite with audiences as the JPO’s principal guest conductor, will assume the reins for the remaining two weeks of the season. On 7 and 8 March at the Linder (and on 11 March at 3pm at Unisa), the JPO will deliver a Russian- and Czech-flavoured programme featuring Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain (arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov) and Smetana’s Ma Vlast (My Fatherland), movements 1, 2, 3 and 6.
Exceptional young Russian pianist Alexander Lubyantsev (25), who hails from a family of St Petersburg musicians and is described as one of the most talented pianists of his generation, will join the orchestra for a performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, C minor.
The final two concerts for the season, on 14 and 15 March, feature charismatic young talent Pallavi Mahidhara on piano, performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 26, C major in concert with the JPO. Mahidhara (24), who is of US/Indian descent, won the fourth prize in the 2008 Unisa International Piano Competition and performed with the JPO that same year.
The programme, conducted by Gueller, also includes Dvoøák’s Water Goblin, Op. 107 (Vodnik) and Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique, Op. 14.
The Wednesday and Thursday night concerts at the Linder Auditorium start at 8pm, with the fortnightly Unisa Sunday-afternoon concerts starting at 3pm. Tickets are available at Computicket or at the door. For more information, call 011 789 2733, e-mail info@jpo.co.za or visit www.jpo.co.za
