A brand new South African classical composition premières the inaugural five concerts by the Cape Chamber Music Collective (CCMC). Conveniently for locals one of the concerts is in Franschhoek.
Supported by the National Youth Music Foundation (NYMF), the CCMC, a registered non-profit organisation, consist of musicians, ranging from young students to professionals, doing performances in a way that is approachable and informative to all audiences.
These concerts take place as follows:
- Wedesday 19 January at 19:30 at 6 Spin Street in the Cape Town CBD.
- Friday 21 January 2022 at 19:00 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Franschhoek
- Saturday 22 January 2022 at 16:00 and 19:00 at the Old Tannery, Wellington
- Sunday 23 January at 14:30 at Erin Hall in Rondebosch.
The CCMC commissioned local composer and arranger, Matthijs van Dijk (39), to complete the sole surviving work of chamber music by Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, Gustav Mahler. Matthijs is the son of acclaimed South African composer, Peter Louis van Dijk.
In the new composition, Matthijs has taken the themes and motifs in his artistic way to sketch out two additional movements to follow Mahler’s movement.
Mahler’s works are generally designed for large orchestral forces, symphonic choruses and operatic soloists. The Piano Quartet in A minor is the first movement to an abandoned piano quartet. The new work is aptly dubbed ‘part ii: a Mahler Fanfiction’.
Two of the four musicians for these concerts are well-known faces of the annual National Youth Music Competition NYMC. They are violinist Jeffrey Armstrong the overall winner and gold medallist of the 2014 NYMC and pianist Tertia Visser, a regular accompanist at the competitions.
The other two are viola player Stéphanie Lawrenson (25) and cellist Graham du Plessis (38).
The concert programme includes the first movement of Mahler’s Piano Quartet, Van Dijk’s part ii: a Mahler Fanfiction and the Piano Quartet No 3 in C minor Op 60 by Johannes Brahms.
The CCMC initially planned to launch in January last year but had to be put on hold when the third wave of Covid-19 hit the country.
Tickets range from R120 to R200, depending on the venue. All tickets include some wine, beer at the Old Tannery and canapes at the Spin street venue and can be booked on Quicket via the CCMC website at www.capechambercollective.com.
“These inaugural concerts fit hand in glove with the NYMF’s vision to identify, expose and develop young classical musicians in South Africa,” says Michael Maas, chairman of the NYMF.
