Pianist Jan Hugo to perform at Summer Symphonies

Pianist Jan Hugo, from Pinelands, will open the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s (CPO's) Summer Symphonies at the City Hall on Thursday, November 6, performing Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5, “The Egyptian”.

“Just before I left at the age of 13 to study in Italy in 2004, I performed the concerto with the Hugo Lambrechts Orchestra on tour in South Africa,” he said. “It’s very special to perform it now, 21 years later, with the CPO, after returning to live permanently in Cape Town. It feels like coming full circle.”

Of the piece, Mr Hugo said: “It’s a beautiful work -  always a pleasure to play, and the fact that it was written on African soil gives it a subtle connection to us here. The first movement is very classical and French, but Saint-Saëns also uses surprising pianistic effects that foreshadow Debussy and lend the piece its unmistakable exotic character, an African touch, expressed with great French spirit and panache.”

The concert will be conducted by Arjan Tien, and will also feature Gideon Fagan’s Concert Overture and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2. Tien notes that Rachmaninov’s work “reflects the tension between culture, personal circumstance and politics, foreshadowing the unrest leading to the 1917 revolution, while also evoking the memory of ‘old’ Russia.”

This performance marks the first of five concerts in the CPO’s Summer Symphonies season, which includes two gala evenings:

• Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 celebrating Bernhard Gueller’s appointment as Conductor Laureate on Saturday, November 22.

• Louis’ Legacy, an all-Tchaikovsky tribute to outgoing CEO Louis Heyneman, featuring violinist Miclen LaiPang on Thursday, December 4.

Mr Gueller will also conduct two additional concerts with Austrian pianist Philipp Scheucher performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 on Wednesday, November 26,  while Tien returns to the podium on Monday, November 24, alongside British violinist Jack Liebeck.

Tickets are available via Artscape Dial-A-Seat at 021 421 7695) or Webtickets. Subscriptions for all five concerts, offering a 10% discount, are available through Artscape Dial-A-Seat only.