Make a note of spring

Durban – The KZN Philharmonic Orchestra’s Early Spring Season features a superb line-up of national and international talent in three concerts that run in the Playhouse Opera every Thursday from August 24 to September 7 at 7pm.

In the opening concert this Thursday, Dutch stalwart Arjan Tien returns to the podium while French violinist Fanny Clamgirand promises a riveting rendition of Mendelssohn’s sparkling Violin Concerto in E minor. She will be playing on a Matteo Goffriller violin made in Venice in 1700. The programme takes in Glinka’s Valse fantastique, the nocturne and scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Schubert’s dramatic Unfinished Symphony.

On August 31, young Italian conductor Claudia Patanè from the Conservatory Santa Cecilia in Rome takes the baton. Joining her is Uzbekistan-born pianist Evgeny Konnov, winner of the Maria Canals International Music Competition in 2018, and the Unisa competition in 2020. He is playing Rachmaninoff’s massive Piano Concerto No 3. The William Tell Overture by Rossini and Schubert’s Symphony No 3 complete the programme.

The final concert on September 7 features a return of conductor Daniel Boico and features South Korean pianist Yeon-Min Park, winner of the prestigious George Enescu International Music Competition in 2021. She dazzled local audiences with Liszt’s Piano Concerto No1 in the winter season. She will perform Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor. The programme includes Prokofiev’s Symphony No 1 and Beethoven’s rarely performed Symphony No 2.

There will also be Tea and Symphony concerts for the final rehearsal every Thursday at 10am in the Playhouse Opera. Tickets R50 adults and pensioners (R30 children 5 years and older), which includes a complimentary cup of coffee or tea.