The Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) is in full swing at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Music Department.
On Friday night (5 July), the 10th SICMF kicked off with a concert and book launch. On Saturday night (6 July), the SU Conservatoire inaugurated its new C7X Yahama grand piano as part of the festival.
More than 300 South African music students are currently in Stellenbosch for coaching and master classes by a faculty of 19 overseas and eight local musicians, who also perform in the SICMF's series of ten evening concerts in the Endler Hall.
The festival was started in 2004 by Prof Nina Schumann and her husband, Dr Luis Magalhães – both concert pianists and piano lectures at SU. Since then the festival has grown to become the largest of its kind in Africa.
A coffee table book that sketches the development of the festival since its inception was launched on Friday at the SICMF's opening event at the Conservatoire. The book, titled Celebrating 10 Years, contains photographs of the past ten festivals, as well as essays by musicians, sponsors and staff who were involved in the festival over the years.
Adriaan Fuchs, who worked at the festival from 2004 to 2007, is editor of the book.
At the launch, Schumann and Magalhães told the audience of the early years, after which the current faculty members also shared their memories of past festivals.
The SICMF's opening concert began with the South African premiere of Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera's Concerto for Strings, Op. 33. Then Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony no. 1 in D major was played, followed by a cheerful rendition of Peter Heidrich's Happy Birthday Variations.
Ten chocolate cakes with candles were brought onto the stage.
New piano for Fismer Hall
On Saturday night, the Conservatoire's new C7X Yahama grand piano was inaugurated. This piano was purchased specifically for the Conservatoire's smaller concert hall, the Fismer Hall.
Magalhães was instrumental in the negotiations for the piano, and as a result of the Music Department's good relationship with Yahama in Japan he negotiated a partial sponsorship to purchase the piano.
"The Fismer Hall's current Steinway grand piano is acoustically too big for the space and should be serviced. Students use the piano almost daily to practice for their performance examinations and concerts, and we therefore needed a strong piano that can handle all the hard work – the C7X Yamaha was the best choice," says Magalhães.
This piano is a new Yamaha model and is the first in this series to be sold in South Africa. It is smaller than the Steinway and therefore more suitable for the Fismer's small stage.
"The C7X is extremely well-built and is mechanically resilient enough for daily use, but it also has great sound quality that is world-class. Because of our good relationship with Yahama we were able to acquire this exceptional piano at a fraction of the cost. We also have the music store Musikhaus W. Heuer to thank, as well as Prof Johan Hattingh (Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)," Magalhães says.
Yamaha already has an established relationship with SU's Department of Music, especially after the Conservatoire purchased a total of 20 new pianos from them in 2011 for the practice rooms.
According to Magalhães the Music Department plans to acquire a Yahama grand piano, the C7X's "big brother", in the near future for the Endler Hall.
"The Endler Hall presents concerts by world-class musicians and we want to establish it as the best concert hall in Africa. In order to do this, we must be able to give pianists a choice of piano models, as elsewhere in the prestigious concert halls of the world. We cannot only offer world-class musicians our current two Bösendorfer grand pianos," adds Magalhães.
On Saturday, the Italian-American pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi, distinguished professor of piano at the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music and a member of the SICMF faculty, was the first to perform on the new Yamaha in a concert.
Prof Winfried Lüdemann, Chairman of the Music Department and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said at the inauguration that the Conservatoire is fortunate to have this new piano.
"It shows the importance of our partnership with Yamaha, which is of great benefit to our students and to music in Stellenbosch and our region," said Lüdemann.
- The SIKMF runs until Sunday, 14 July. The full programme is available at www.sicmf.co.za and tickets are available from Webtickets (www.webtickets.co.za). Call 021 808 2343 for more information.
