New Mnomiya work debuts during JPO season

The JPO’s fourth symphony season will see the premiere of a new South African orchestral work, in addition to lively renderings of classical favourites.

From 5 October to 10 November, the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra will conclude its 2011 programme of symphony concerts with a summery flourish, accompanied by top international and local soloists and a trio of eminent conductors. This season sees musicians from Venezuela and Germany taking centre stage, in addition to several of South Africa’s leading lights.

Concerts take place on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Linder Auditorium in Parktown, with selected programmes repeated on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons at Unisa’s ZK Matthews Hall in Pretoria.

Among the season’s highlights is the debut of the work Afroverture by leading choral composer and conductor Simon Bhekathini Phelelani Mnomiya, affectionately known as “SBP”. Commissioned by SAMRO, the Southern African Music Rights Organisation, it takes the form of an overture with mainly Western instrumentation, apart from congas and bongos.

This new composition will be performed at the Linder Auditorium on 5 and 6 October – and at Unisa on Friday 7 October at 8pm – by the JPO under the baton of English conductor Simon Wright, who has earned widespread acclaim for his interpretations of challenging orchestral and choral repertoire.

Also on the menu is Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 , D.200, D major, and the orchestra will be joined by soloist Francois du Toit, one of South Africa’s leading concert pianists, for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73, E-flat major (Emperor).

The JPO’s resident guest conductor, Bernhard Gueller, takes over the reins for the next three weeks of the season. German musician Antje Weithaas, described by FonoForum as “one of the great violinists of our time”, makes the trip to SA to perform Berg’s Violin Concerto with the JPO on 12 and 13 October. Completing the week’s programme is Haydn’s Symphony No. 101, D major (The Clock/Die Uhr), as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No.1, Op. 21, C major.

Fellow German Maria Kliegel, a cellist and Grammy-nominated recording artist fondly known as La Cellissima, is the featured soloist on 19 and 20 October, as well as on Sunday, 23 October at Unisa at 3pm. The JPO, conducted by Gueller, will accompany Kliegel in performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Op. 85, E minor. Audiences will also be treated to renditions of Britten’s Suite on English Folk Tunes, Op. 90 (A Time There Was...) and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, Op. 70, E-flat major.

Glorious voices will ring out through the Linder Auditorium on 26 and 27 October, when Opera Africa soloists Kelebogile Boikanyo, Teresa de Wit, Chris Mostert and Otto Maidi and the Opera Africa Chorus will sing Mozart’s Mass, K. 427 (417a), C minor (Robbins Landon), accompanied by the JPO and led by Gueller. The orchestra will also perform contemporary composer Luciano Berio’s Rendering.

Rising young Venezuelan conductor Christian Vásquez, currently music director of that country’s Teresa Carreno Youth Orchestra, steps into the hot seat on 2 and 3 November at the Linder, as well as on Friday the 4th of November at Unisa at 8pm. He will be joined by the JPO and fellow countryman Edicson Ruiz on double bass, for Dittersdorf’s Double Bass Concerto, E-flat major. At 26, Ruiz is only a year younger than Vásquez, with both musicians symbolising the exciting new talent currently emanating from South America.

The programme for the three concerts on 2, 3 and 4 November also features Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella): Overture, Hoffmeister’s Violone Concerto, D major, Danzon No. 2 by Marquez and Estancia: Four Dances, Op. 8a by Ginastera.

The JPO’s final symphony concerts for the year, on 9 and 10 November, once again feature Vásquez wielding the baton and Peter Bruns, who has made a name for himself on the international stage as one of Germany’s foremost cellists, working his magic with Lalo’s Cello Concerto, D minor. The JPO will also perform Elgar’s Serenade, Op. 20, E minor and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, Op. 100, B-flat major.

The Wednesday and Thursday night concerts at the Linder Auditorium start at 8pm, with the periodic Unisa Sunday-afternoon concerts starting at 3pm and Friday-night concerts starting at 8pm. 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 .





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