MARRIOTT CLASSIC MUSIC FESTIVAL

(Siphamandla Yakupa)

For the past 15 years Christopher Duigan’s Music Revival has delighted classical music fans with performances by the best musicians in the country. 

This year’s Marriott Classic Music Festival in Franschhoek – which runs from October 27 to October 29– continues that tradition of excellence.

Says festival producer, Duigan: “We strive to include a range of musical styles and genres in the concerts but always with the emphasis on happy working relationships; where the friendship off the stage leads to great enthusiasm, brought together by mutual love of music, onstage.”

On the programme will be South African soprano, Siphamandla Yakupa, who will appear with her husband Lukhanyo Moyake in Grand Soiree: Grand Voices.

Yakupa graduated with her degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and then went to the University of Cape Town to do her postgraduate diploma in opera studies. She is currently a soloist at the Cape Town Opera company and earlier this year she made it to the final round of the Hans Gabor Belvedere international singing competition.

The festival gets underway with the Juliet String Quartet and Justin Carter (clarinet) on October 27 at 19h30 in NG Church in Franschhoek. The newly-formed and already fêted quartet comprises four of Cape Town’s finest musicians: Annien Shaw and Nicole D’Oliveira (violins), Emile de Roubaix (viola) and Babette Roosenschoon (cello). Well-known for their engaging and varied programmes they are joined by Carter to perform Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A major K.581. The String Quartet in C major, Op. 20 no. 2 by Joseph Haydn, Chaconne in G minor (Z 730) by Henry Purcell and Valse drom Lasse complete the programme.

The second concert in the NG Church, Conversations with my Piano, will feature international jazz pianist, Darius Brubeck, in a rare offering of solo piano music. Brubeck is most often heard as the leader of the Darius Brubeck Quartet, or with his brothers, playing the music of their father, legendary pianist Dave Brubeck, in Brubeck plays Brubeck. For this concert he will be joined in a musical ‘piano ping pong’ or back and forth by pianist, Christopher Duigan, who will play classical and popular solos, improvisations and original material off-setting Brubeck’s jazz offerings.

This conversational engagement takes place with, and around, the piano on October 28 at 11h30.

On October 29 at 12 noon, Duigan plays The Music of Chopin Vol II, a follow-up to The Music of Chopin, which he performed in over 40 concerts nationally and recorded on CD.  The NG Church programme includes a new selection of the Franco-Polish composer’s piano-dominated output, including rustic Polish mazurkas, glittering French waltzes, rhapsodic tales in Ballade and Barcarolle and a set of spell-binding piano etudes. It continues the unique exploration and presentation of Chopin’s music that Steinway artist, Duigan, has maintained over the last 20 years. This performance is dedicated to the memory of Ine van der Tak.

Tickets for the three NG Church concerts are R120 and can be booked online by credit card at via www.webtickets.co.za as well as at Pick and Pay outlets nationwide. Tickets will also be available at the door.

No music festival in Franschhoek would be complete without the famed dinner and lunch concerts at La Petite Dauphine.

Kicking things off is Grand Soiree: Grand Voices at 18h30 for 19h00 on October 28 at Café Bon Bon. This enthralling opera evening will feature three of South Africa’s most prolific voices - Violina Anguelov, who has earned a stellar reputation as SA’s top mezzo-soprano, and husband and wife team, Siphamandla Yakupa (soprano) and Lukhanyo Moyake (tenor). They will sing celebrated arias, duets and songs from Carmen, Samson and Delilah, La Traviata, Turandot and more. Tickets for this special evening are R550, which includes a three-course meal. To book phone Café Bon Bon at 021 876 3936.

Also at the venue is the Bon Bon Finale at 13h00 on October 29. Pianist Darius Brubeck, who makes his second appearance at the festival, will be joined by long-time collaborator and fellow American, Mike Rossi (sax), and other jazz musicians on bass and drums to perform a stylish selection of jazz standards and original numbers.  The concert promises to end the festival on a spectacular note.

Tickets are R450, which includes a three-course meal. To book phone Café Bon Bon at 021 876 3936. Speaking on behalf of all the participating musicians, Duigan said: “We look forward to seeing many old friends and also showing many new ones why we as artists enjoy the festival as much as the audience.

“Franschhoek is unique, and offers something special for everyone. And we enjoy bringing our own special magic to Franschhoek and being part of the extraordinary ambience the town has to offer for the duration of the weekend.”

The Marriott Classic Music Festival in Franschhoek is sponsored by Marriott, The Income Specialists. The festival is presented by Christopher Duigan’s Music Revival and supported by Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos

For more information contact Music Revival at 083 417 4473 or log on to www.franschhoekclassic.co.za or www.musicrevival.co.za