Loading Events

The Cape Chamber Music Collective is a passion project put together by a group of South African musicians featuring different musicians in each concert ranging from established performers to new generation artists.

For this concert the Cape Town Concert Series collaborates with the SA College of Music to bring you a quintet of  well-known South African musicians, Francois du Toit (piano), Farida Bacharova (violin), Bonolo Kgaile (violin), Uliana Alekseev (viola) and David Pinoit (cello) to perform works by Shostakovich, Kodály and Dvorák.

Derived from Dmitry Shostakovich’s compositions for film, ballet, and theatre productions, the Five Pieces for Two Violins, in this concert arranged for violin and viola, present the unusually optimistic and entertaining side of the composer.

Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher, Zoltán Kodály’s Kodály method of music education is still taught to children internationally. The Duo for Violin and Cello from 1914 is a case study in the fusion of classical forms with folk melodies and rhythm, highlighting the musical writing of dialogue, and the infusion of language into music.

Dramatic, and eternally expressive, Dvorák’s Piano Quintet is one of the finest examples for this combination of instruments. The vivid and individual part-writing, mixed with Dvorák’s direct and poignant lyricism, makes this work one of the most beloved pieces of chamber music ever written.

The concert starts at 7:30pm in the Baxter Concert Hall. The Baxter restaurant and bar will be available before and during interval for refreshments.  Tickets are available from Webtickets.

Full Programme 

SHOSTAKOVICH Five Pieces for 2 violins (arr. violin and viola)

KODÁLY Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7

DVORAK Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81

MEET THE ARTISTS:

FRANCOIS DU TOIT
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. Receiving his early musical training from Merryl Preston, he went on to complete an Honours degree at the University of Cape Town, studying under the distinguished pianist and teacher, Laura Searle. Also holding diplomas up to Fellowship level from the Trinity College of Music, London, he studied for the Solistendiplom at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany, under the renowned pedagogues Arie Vardi and Bernd Goetzke.
During his period of study abroad, he rose to prominence following several international piano competitions, taking top prizes in the 1991 Hannover Music Competition, the 1992 Rotterdam and 1993 Marsala Internationals, and the 1994 International Maria Callas Competition in 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. He has performed with conductors including Bernhard Gueller, Victor Yampolsky, Omri Hadari, Alun Francis, Thomas Sanderling, Dawid de Villiers, Piero Gambo, Arjan Tien and Alexander Lazarev. He is constantly in demand as accompanist for visiting artists such as Gary Hoffman, Wolfgang David, Philippe Quint, Antje Weithaas, Ilya Gringolts, and Julian Lloyd-Webber, to name but a few. In July 2006 he released his first solo CD comprising works of Bach-Busoni, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Chopin and in 2010 TwoPianists record label released his recording of the Tchaikovsky 1st Piano Concerto and the Rachmaninoff Paganini Variations with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He has given recitals and master classes in America, Asia and Europe. He has also recorded the Babajanian & Vasks Piano Trios for Delos/Naxos
In 2017 he received the Creative Works Award from the University of Cape Town. This is the first time this award has been given to a member of the South African College of Music. In the same year, François was also presented with the Molteno Medal for his contribution to Music.
FARIDA BACHAROVA
A graduate of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Gnesin Musical Pedagogical College, Farida Bacharova enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, and pedagogue.
As concertmaster of the USSR State Maly Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Farida performed as a leader and soloist in many of the world’s major halls, and has performed under some of the most distinguished conductors of our time, including the likes of Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel etc. Farida joined the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra (after relocating to South Africa in 1995) and is currently guest concertmaster of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
Farida has appeared as a soloist with a whole host of orchestras to critical acclaim. As a recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed in the Rachmaninov Hall, White Hall and Chamber Halls of the Moscow Conservatory, at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Dance de Paris, and throughout South Arica in collaboration with renowned local and international artists.
A strong advocate for new music, Farida has premiered many contemporary compositions and has worked closely with several composers. She is a regular faculty member and performer at festivals such as the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, National Arts Festival, the Gauteng Chamber Music Festival, and she is a founding member of the UCT Piano Trio.
As Associate Professor and Head of the String Department at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town, Farida has been fundamental in the promotion of string education across South Africa. She has coached and mentored the Miagi and South African National Youth Orchestras, and is in demand as an adjudicator for national competitions. Farida’s students have featured prominently in South African competitions and hold prominent positions in orchestras and ensembles all over the world.
ULIANA ALEKSEEV
Uliana Alekseev graduated with distinction from the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town (UCT), under the tutelage of Paula Gabriel. She is the recipient of numerous awards, such as the Stephanie Garnett Memorial Prize for Strings (2017,2019), the UCT Merit Scholarship for academic excellence (2019), as well as appearing on the Dean’s Merit List for academic excellence throughout her studies.
Uliana has performed as a soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in the Artscape Youth Music Festival (2018) and with the UCT Symphony Orchestra (2018, 2019). An active chamber musician, Uliana has competed in the Schock Chamber Music Competition, where her quartet was awarded first place (2019) and second place (2018). In 2020, her quintet was awarded first place in the same competition. In 2020, Alekseev was awarded the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival Job Shadow Scholarship to receive masterclasses from Professor Gareth Lubbe and Alissa Margulis at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany.
Uliana draws inspiration from and taken masterclasses with Nathan Braude, Xandi van Dijk, Juan- Miguel Hernandez, Gareth Lubbe, Anna Krimm, Alissa Margulis, Tatjana Masurenko, Maria Suwelack and Alexander Zemtsov. She has been a participant of the Stellenbosch Chamber Music Festival where she has received chamber coachings from Anzel Gerber, Nina Schumann, Madeline Adkins and Uxia Martinez Botana. She has been a member of the South African National Youth Orchestra (2015).
In addition to a series of chamber concerts with the Cape Chamber Music Collective in 2022, Uliana enjoys being a busy freelance orchestral musician in and around Cape Town.
BONOLO KGAILE
Born in the city of roses, Mangaung; Bonolo Kgaile is a violinist currently based in Cape Town. She started playing the violin at the age of 10 and was part of the Mangaung String Programme. In 2010, she became the recipient of The Sanlam National Music Competition overall prize, now known as the Hubert van der Spuy Competition.
She was part of the Bokamosho String Quartet who were the overall prize winners of the National Ensemble Competition; and in that same year, she was part of the shadow jury team of the National Youth Music Competition.
Bonolo completed her BMus Performance and her Post Graduate Diploma (with distinction) under the tutelage of Associate Prof. Farida Bacharova at UCT in 2017 and 2020 respectively. During the duration of her studies, in 2019 she was appointed as the Sub-Principal First Violin of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. She is currently a violin teacher at Beau Soleil Music Centre and often appears as a member of the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Erik Dippenaar.
DAVID PINOIT
David Pinoit began the cello at the age of 9 in the class of Christian Wolf at the National Conservatory of the Dijon Region. After completing his Diplome d’Etudes Musicales he went to study in Lausanne, Switzerland. He obtained his Master of Arts in Music in 2014. During various courses and master classes, David also worked with Xavier Gagnepain, Roland Pidoux, Jérôme Pernoo, Arto Noras, Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman and Michael Kanen.
David Pinoit regularly performs at various festivals, including in France, Belgium, Switzerland and South Africa: Festival de Chagny, Festival Au Fil de la Vouge, Music Festival in Voûte, Pablo Casals de Prades Festival, Contemporary Concerts at Montey Castle, Musée des Montey Historical instruments of Brussels, festival Classics for All in Greyton, Woordfees Festival in Stellenbosch, Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn. David has had the opportunity to perform several times as a soloist at the Festival “Musique en Morvan”, under the baton of Pierre Cao. In 2006, he won the first prize for chamber music in the Avallon Trio Piano Competition.
In 2014 David completed his Master of Arts in Music Performance under cellist Francois Salque. David moved to Durban, South Africa in August 2014 and worked for the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra until September 2017. He then moved to Cape Town where he joined the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchetra as a cellist until 2020.
David is a regular chamber music performer and collaborates with artists such as Liesl Stoltz and Francois Du Toit in the Trio du Cap Classique, as well as Louisa Theart and Dylan Tabisher in the Mizar Trio.