Lectures, classes and concerts are coming to Stellenbosch University with the biennial piano symposium.
A week of all things piano aims to bring the foremost piano teachers and students together.
The Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium is the only one of its kind in South Africa, which has introduced many international artists to the local concert public, and offers local pianists unequalled access to an event they would otherwise have to travel overseas for.
The Hennie Joubert Piano Competition was founded in 1984 to prepare young pianists for larger competitions and a concert career.
The competition has been presented under the banner of the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium since 2012, in collaboration with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of maestro Bernhard Gueller, who will accompany the finalists in the Endler Hall on Saturday, 6 April.
The symposium is packed with public masterclasses, lectures and recitals. All concerts will be held in the Endler Hall. The opening concert, on Wednesday 3 April, features international concert pianist Jan Jiracek von Armin, currently guest professor at Elisabeth University in Hiroshima, Japan and visiting professor at Yale University in the USA.
On Friday 5 April the Finnish pianist Henri Sigfridsson will take to the stage. Sigfridsson is currently a professor at Essen Folkwang University.
He was a medallist at the 2000 Geza Anda Piano Competition Zurich, his popularity with audiences catapulting him into a concert career spanning prestigious venues across the world.
Those interested in something unusual will enjoy the ever-popular Piano Extravaganza on Sunday 7 April featuring variable ensembles of pianos, performing popular classical numbers, ending in a climactic finale with 10 pianos on the Endler stage.
The solo rounds of the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition, in which the country’s top young pianists will compete for the chance to perform in the finals with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra are open to the public on 1 and 2 April, free of charge.
The festival will broaden its scope in 2024 to appeal to both high-school and university students as well as their teachers.
- Tickets to individual performances as well as the option of a full festival pass is available on Webticket or visit www.stellenboschsymposium.com.
