Benedict Kloeckner Cello Recital

The Cape Town Concert Series 2024 presents new generation artist Benedict Kloeckner in the Baxter Concert Hall at 11am on Saturday 17 February 2024.

FULL PROGRAMME:
Beethoven: A Major Sonata op.69
Bongani Ndodana – Breen: Soweto Cello Riffs
Dvorak: Polonaise A Major
– intermission –
Pärt – Fratres
Grieg – Cello Sonata A minor

for more information on the the music, please journey  Inside the Concert with Albert Combrink

ABOUT THE CONCERT:
Described by Daniel Barenboim as “Remarkable, really remarkable, perfect playing! Absolute control of technique, intonation and color” and he was reviewed in Rheinpfalz as ‘He is a young rock god with a cello … convinces on world class level…what he transports to the public is remarkable…one is completely under the spell of the soloist… he enchanted the audience with his cello magic.”

This will be his first recital in Cape Town and he will be collaborating with pianist Francois du Toit for a programme entitled ‘Fratres’.

The concert starts at 11am – as always the Baxter restaurant and bar will be available before and after for refreshments.

Tickets are available at Webtickets from 14 December 2023. R250 regular, R220 pensioner, R100 student

This concert is hosted by the Kramer Jubilee Concert Series Trust in memory of Norman Sulcas who was a Trustee and long time supporter of the Concert Series.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Benedict Klöckner, born in 1989, is one of the outstanding artists of his generation. He has won numerous competitions and awards, most recently the OPUS Klassik 2021.

He performs worldwide as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, the Kremerata Baltica, the Camerata Oslo and the Munich Chamber Orchestra and has worked with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Cristian Măcelaru, Ingo Metzmacher, Michael Sanderling, Clemens Schuldt, Heinrich Schiff and Sir Simon Rattle.

He has appeared in concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall New York, Kennedy Center Washington, Symphony Hall Chicago, Arts Center Seoul, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Musikverein Vienna, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Tonhalle Zurich, Gasteig in Munich, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rudolfinum Prague, Athenaeum Bucharest and the Wigmore Hall London.

In the 2022/2023 season he performed all 6 Bach Suites at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Alte Oper Frankfurt. 2023 he will also make his debut at the Philharmonie Paris and the Kölner Philharmonie and return to Kennedy Center Washington, Festspielhaus Baden- Baden and several times to Philharmonie Berlin. Among others, he will be also on Europe tour with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.

Benedict Kloeckner is a welcome guest at festivals all over the world.

His chamber music partners have included Emanuel Ax, Lisa Batiashvili, Yuri Bashmet, Christoph Eschenbach, Vilde Frang, Gidon Kremer, Anne Sophie Mutter and Sir András Schiff.

Benedict Kloeckner regularly works with the great composers of our time. In 2018 he performed the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Double Concerto for 2 Cellos and Strings. At the Seoul Arts Center, he premiered Eun Hwa Cho’s Cello Concerto together with the Korean Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Poppen. With the Mozarteum Orchestra under Peter Tilling, he also gave the Austrian premiere of Dai Fujikura’s Cello Concerto in Salzburg. 2024 he will premiere a new cello concerto by Bongani Ndodana-Breen together with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
His CD recordings have been highly praised by the international press and won prizes such as the OPUS Klassik award and the Supersonic Award, among others.

His recordings were made in collaboration with artists such as Gidon Kremer, the conductors Heinrich Schiff and Michael Sanderling , the pianists and the composer Wolfgang Rihm. Most recently in 2023, he released a CD with Brahms Cello Sonatas with YU Kosuge on Sony.
Since 2014, Benedict Kloeckner has been also the founder and artistic director of the “International Music Festival Koblenz” IMUKO.

Benedict Kloeckner received his artistic education from Martin Ostertag at the Karlsruhe University of Music and from Frans Helmerson and Gary Hoffman at the Kronberg Academy, made possible by the Angela Winkler Scholarship. He received important impulses and valuable support for his artistic development from Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Michael Sanderling and Sir András Schiff.

Benedict Kloeckner plays the “Ex Maurice Gendron” cello by Francesco Ruggeri (1680), a generous loan.

Acknowledged as one of South Africa’s leading concert pianists and musicians, François du Toit is an Associate Professor of Piano and Head of Practical Studies at the University of Cape Town. He received tuition in South Africa with Merryl Preston and Laura Searle and with Arie Vardi and Bernd Goetzke in Germany.

During his period of study, he distinguished himself in several international competitions, taking top prizes in Hannover, Rotterdam and Athens.

He has over 40 concertos in his repertoire, ranging from Bach to Scharwenka and has also performed the concerto premieres of South African composers, Hendrik Hofmeyr and Adrian More, collaborating with conductors including Bernhard Gueller, Omri Hadari, Alun Francis, Thomas Sanderling, Piero Gambo, Arjan Tien and Alexander Lazarev.

Francois recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Victor Yampolsky. In 2017 he received the Creative Works Award from UCT.