A solo piano recital, performed by the young virtuoso pianist Gerhard Joubert, will be the Baxter’s first fundraising event for the new year.
Scheduled for Saturday 12 February, the fundraiser for the Baxter Theatre Centre will be held in support of music and other art forms.
The debilitating impact of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have necessitated that the Baxter finds new and innovative ways of generating income to offset the financial losses over the past two years.
Joubert, a third-year student of Prof Francois du Toit at the University of Cape Town’s College of Music faculty, explains: “This is to ensure the continued existence and sustainability into the future of an environment like the Baxter Concert Hall, where I have been studying music and performing over the past few years.”
The programme comprises: Bach’s Adagio in A minor from Organ Toccata in C major; Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.7 in D major, Op.10 No.3; Chopin’s Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 and A selection from Préludes, Op. 28 and Prokofiev’s Toccata in D, Op.11, as well as a special tribute to South African composer Peter Klatzow, who passed away at the end of last year.
Joubert has appeared as soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) on several occasions, playing first movements of piano concertos by Mozart, Schumann and Chopin.
In September last year, he recorded the full Schumann Piano Concerto with Bernhard Gueller conducting the CPO. He also performed the Schumann Concerto twice with the Namibian National Symphony Orchestra (NNSO) in the same month.
In May/June last year, he collaborated with Cape Town City Ballet as the pianist for nine performances of Les Sylphides, where he performed several piano compositions of Chopin, with the dancers.
Joubert is a laureate of many national music competitions, including first prizes in the Johann Vos (2019) and the Pieter Kooij (2018) competitions.
He also received the first prize in Pretoria at the Atterbury National Piano Competition held during October last year and received the Laura Searle Prize for Piano Concerto Playing in November.
In December last year, he received the first prize and other special awards at the National Youth Music Competition, after performing Liszt’s first piano concerto with the CPO.
He has also received a series of masterclasses from Albie van Schalkwyk and was a member of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir from 2011 to 2014, touring to Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa and Europe.
Tickets cost R150 and there is an “early bird special” of R125 for early bookings. Proceedings will begin at 19:00.
All proceeds will go to the Baxter Theatre.
Performances are regulated by lockdown restrictions at the time, with all Covid-19 protocols in place and to be observed. These include the availability of hand sanitisers, tracking and tracing recorded, temperature checks, mandatory wearing of masks and practising of physical distancing. Audience members are advised to arrive early to avoid delays.
- Booking is through Webtickets online at www.webtickets.co.za or at any Pick n Pay store.
