UCT’s Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts’ (GIPCA) next Music in the City concert at the historic Hiddingh Hall takes place on Wednesday 22 September and features the acclaimed Russian ensemble the St Petersburg Virtuosen, which includes the gifted 8-year old violinist Emanuel Meshvinski. They will be accompanied by renowned South African pianist Albie van Schalkwyk.

This promises to be a not-to-be-missed evening of chamber music, with works by Ravel, Mozart, Bach, Boccherini, Daken, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and South African composer Hendrik Hofmeyr. It will be the Cape Town premiere of Hofmeyr’s Trio for violin, cello and piano. The St Petersburg Virtuosen have toured in South Africa on three previous occasions; this free Music in the City concert under the auspices of GIPCA is an opportunity for all to enjoy a musical treat.

Initially established in Russia in 1988, the St Petersburg Virtuosen have been based in Hamburg, Germany since 1991, and from there they teach and perform all over the world. Developing young musical talent is a hallmark of the ensemble, which is led by the ensemble’s founders, cellist Pjotr Meshvinski and his wife Natalia Alentiysyna on violin and viola. As Pjotr and Natalia were both accepted into the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory for musically gifted children at young ages it is no surprise that their son Emanuel’s favourite toy as a toddler was a violin, and he was delighted to start formal violin studies at the age of four. Emanuel first performed on the public stage at the age of six and is a violinist in the ensemble’s present family formation. Emanuel attends a primary school in Hamburg, speaks Russian, German and English, and loves aircraft and sport. During his month-long visit to Cape Town he has been attending the German School.

Albie van Schalkwyk, an Associate Professor at UCT’s South African College of Music is one of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa. He has been a member of several well-known SA ensembles such as the Endler Trio and the Potch Trio and a founder member of The Chamber Music Society and The Songmakers’ Guild. In 2009 he was awarded the Huberte Rupert Prize for classical music by the SA Academy of Arts and Sciences for his contribution to ensemble playing and teaching over the past 30 years.

The concert will be held in Hiddingh Hall, on UCT’s Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street, central Cape Town. GIPCA’s Music in the City represents a welcome opportunity for Cape Town music lovers to rediscover the exceptional acoustics and warm ambience of this historic building. Admission is free and parking is available on the campus.

Music in the City is one GIPCA’s initiatives to enhance the arts within the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the broader community. For more information on this concert and GIPCA www.gipca.uct.ac.za / (021) 480 7156 or e-mail fin-gipca@uct.ac.za.

Start: 22 Sep ’10 8:00 pm

End: 22 Sep ’10 10:00 pm

Cost: Free

Category: 

Organizer: GIPCA

Email: fin-gipca@uct.ac.za

Venue: Hiddingh Hall 

Phone: +27 21 480 7156 

Address: Google Map UCT Hiddingh Campus, 31 Orange Street, Cape Town, Western Cape, 8001, South Africa