Classical music enthusiasts can look forward to a full programme of classical music at the 14th Klein Karoo Klassique in Oudtshoorn.
This celebration of classical music, art, food, and wine takes place in the Klein Karoo from Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 August, with a variety of music by some of South Africa’s foremost classical musicians. A wide range of music is performed, including unique works and combinations.
Klein Karoo Klassique is presented by the KKNK, with the support of the Rupert Music Foundation, the ATKV, Le Lude and Rosenhof Country House.
Thursday evening 3 August at 18:00 local pianist Sulayman Human plays a programme using the variation technique in Let’s change tunes. His programme includes some of the most beautiful melodies in piano literature by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Liszt. Tickets include dinner by the Tall Goose Restaurant.
Peter Martens plays a range of Bach’s suites for unaccompanied cello every morning (4 to 6 August) at 09:00 in Bach for Breakfast. It is presented free of charge in the Banqueting Hall and festivalgoers can enjoy a delicious breakfast here, prepared by Nostalgie Restaurant, while listening to beautiful cello music.
Friday morning at 10:30 flautist Louisa Theart and pianist Nina Schumann share the stage in Aquila Duo: Echoes of Arcadia. This programme uses a wide range of musical styles and tries to bring Pan, the satyr god of the wild and Undine, a water nymph to life. Their programme includes Albert Roussel’s Joueurs de flûte, Op. 27, Claude Debussy’s Syrinx, Matthijs van Dijk’s Van Hunks, Carl Reinecke’s Sonata Undine, Op. 167 and Gabriel Fauré’s Fantaisie. The recital is followed by the festival’s first music discussion (free entry).
At 14:00 Theart (flute & alto flute) shares the stage with Dylan Tabisher (marimba & vibraphone) when the Mizar Duo uses a unique combination of instruments which allows the audience to explore a colourful sound palette with Bach’s Partita in A-minor for solo flute, Klatzow’s Figures in a Landscape, Piazzola’s Histoire du Tango, Abe’s Wind Sketch for solo marimba and Sicilienne by Von Paradis. Recital followed by a free music discussion.
Erik Dippenaar (organ & harpsichord) and Ralitza Macheva (baroque violin) present a programme of virtuoso sets of variations from the Baroque in Variations at 16:30, including music from Corelli and Buxtehude. The programme includes a collection of newly composed sets of variations for solo violin, in a Baroque style, by Montreal based composer and early music specialist Matthias Maute, as well as an improvised set of variations on the organ by Dippenaar.
Friday evening at 19:00’n Karoonag met die Suid-Kaap Kinderkoor en vriende concludes the music programme on a high note. Coenie de Villiers joins the South Cape Children’s Choir, under direction of Jan-Erik Swart, on stage to perform “Katedraal” and “Karoonag”, after which Alida Scheepers and Brittany Smith, sopranos from Cape Town Opera, respectively perform Le Roux Marais’s “Heimwee” and Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” with the choir. It promises to be an unforgettable musical highlight.
Pianist Megan-Geoffrey Prins, cellist Peter Martens and violinist Suzanne Martens perform some of Arvo Pärt’s most beloved works on Saturday morning at 10:30 in Harmony of Serenity: Arvo Pärt’s Musical Meditations. This tribute is not to be missed for both long-time admirers of Pärt’s work, as well as those who are new to his music. Recital followed by a free music discussion.
In Sublime Sextets on Saturday afternoon 14:00 Suzanne Martens (violin), Matthew Stead (violin), Petrus Coetzee (viola), Jana Smit (viola), Peter Martens (cello), Rosamund Ender (cello), Fèroll-Jon Davids (clarinet), Shannon Thebus (French horn) and Nina Schumann (piano) play Brahms’ first string sextet in B-flat Major. This is the first significant work composed for this combination of two violins, two violas and two cellos. Ernő Dohnányi’s sextet in C Major, Op. 37 is an awesome work for the unusual combination of violin, viola, cello, French horn, clarinet and piano and is also included. Recital followed by a free music discussion.
Saturday evening at 19:00 four singers from Cape Town Opera will mesmerise the audience during the ATKV-Galakonsert. Brittany Smith (soprano), Alida Scheepers (soprano), Lukhanyo Moyake (tenor), Conroy Scott (baritone) and José Dias (piano) bring arias and ensembles from some of the greatest operas to life, as well as hits from well-known musicals. They will draw the audience into the realm of lovers’ first ecstasy in La traviata, the sublime “Flower Duet” from Lakmé and the famous Rigoletto, share the breathless excitement in West Side Story, as well as the melodies of “Some Enchanted Evening” and Phantom of the Opera, performed by Africa’s leading opera company.
An evening of jazz ends the festivities on Saturday evening at 20:30. It promises to be a mesmerising evening of soulful jazz melodies and rhythmical enchantment.
In Take Four Piano Quartet Zanta Hofmeyr (violin), Susan Mouton (cello), Elna van der Merwe (piano) and Jeanne-Louise Moolman (viola) performs two major works by Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvořák: Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 and Dvořák’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 87. This recital on Sunday morning at 10:30 is a celebration of friendship and the uplifting power of music. Recital followed by a free music discussion.
The team that performed the award-winning Handel at Home programme returns to Klassique for Handel’s Roman Cantatas on Sunday afternoon at 14:00. Members of the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra – Ralitza Macheva (baroque violin), Rosamund Ender (baroque cello & viola da gamba), Dale de Windt (chamber organ) and Erik Dippenaar (harpsichord & Director) – are joined on stage by sopranos Lynelle Kenned and Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi for a selection of Handel’s dramatic and expressive cantata gems. Recital followed by a free music discussion.
Coenie de Villiers joins us at Klassique for the first time. Following selected recitals on 4 and 5 August he discusses the performance with artists, as they share their insights into the music with him and the audience.
Three book talks, made possible by NB Publishers, are presented during the festival. Tom Dreyer is in discussion about his volume of poetry Nou in infrarooi on Friday 4 August 12:30. On Saturday 5 August 12:30 Wisani Mushwana shares more about his debut novel A Soft Landing and Nicole Jaekel Strauss discusses her novel Deelfontein on Sunday 6 August 12:30. Elna van der Merwe leads the discussions.
Established and emerging visual artists from the Klein Karoo exhibit their work at Klassique in an exhibition titled Earth has Music for those who Listen, curated by Janet Dixon. This exhibition is a celebration of the intricate relationship between nature and music from a Klein Karoo perspective. Works from amongst others Liza Grobler, Hermann Niebuhr, François Tiran, Ina Marx, Lisl Barry form part of this exhibition that can be visited in the Banqueting Hall for free daily.
The Oudtshoorn Civic Centre and Banqueting Hall form the centre of the Klassique activities, with various opportunities to be festive in the area. Festivalgoers can look forward to delicious food prepared by Nostalgie Restaurant, wines, coffee, and other delicacies to stave off the winter cold. Books, classical music DVDs and CDs will also be on sale here.
Historiese wandeltoere are presented by Roydin Engelbrecht for the first time during Klassique every morning at 08:00. Visitors can experience the uniqueness of some important architectural buildings across Oudtshoorn.
An exclusive Klassique Package is available offering festivalgoers the opportunity to attend nine recitals at a total saving of 30%. Packages are limited. As an additional benefit for Klassique Package ticketholders, the Queen’s Hotel in Oudtshoorn is offering a 30% discount on festival accommodation for festivalgoers with this package. Rooms are limited.
For more accommodation options in and around Oudtshoorn, festivalgoers can visit Klassique’s accommodation partner LekkeSlaap.
The complete programme is available at www.klassique.co.za and tickets are available at Webtickets, Pick n Pay or the KKNK office. Available tickets will also be sold at the venue before every recital, subject to availability.