Cape Town Summer Music Festival

Posted by admin on April 20th, 2009 filed in Art and Culture, Travel

In 2007 Cape Town hosted its second International Summer Music Festival. The festival was a huge success and the second presentation of it was eagerly awaited. Concerts took place in a variety of venues including the Cape Town City Hall, the Joseph Stone Auditorium, and the New Apostolic Auditorium. The program included three recitals by visiting international artists, such as cellist Maria Kliegel. Many out of town visitors were in attendance at the festival and stayed at a Cape Town Luxury hotel while they were there.

Maria Kleigel is recognized as one of the world’s leading virtuoso cellists. She was born in 1952 in Dillenburg, Germany and plays the ex Gendron cello. This magnificent instrument was made by the legendary maker Antonio Stradivari in the year 1693. Kleigel studied cello with renowned cellist and teacher Janos Starker at Indiana University in the United States. While she was a student she won first prize at the American College Competition. She also won at The First German Music Competition. She has toured across the world and has been invited to perform with many great world symphonies. She has traveled to France where she performed with the Orchestra National de France with Mstislav Rostropovich conducting. Composer Wilhelm Kaiser-Lindemann wrote a cello piece in honor of Nelson Mandela specifically for her to play. Her versatility and dynamical interpretation lead to the performance becoming a great success, and she was invited to give a private recital in the home of South Africa’s President as a result.

The festival also included many performances by locally based companies. The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra were both there to represent the Cape Town music community. David Earl, a South African born pianist and composer performed the world premier of his Piano Concerto No 2. Olga Kern, a Russian pianist, is enormously popular in South Africa, and is steadily becoming internationally known and respected. He was the solo pianist during the symphony’s opening performance.

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