The University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra, under the auspices of UP Arts, will be opening the second semester with a programme that encompasses a diverse spectrum, spanning from Beethoven to contemporary compositions. Beethoven and Bursting Beyond will showcase not only the talent of local instrumentalists, but the compositional talents of local writers too.

The programme opens with Beethoven’s formidable Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano. The soloists will be Calayade Davey on violin, Niel van Zyl on cello and Stephan Gericke on piano. This work showcases the flair and gentle nuance of each solo instrument and being a concerto for piano trio, it is Beethoven’s only concerto for more than one solo instrument together.

Concertino for Piano and Orchestra follows the Triple Concerto. This is a piece written and played by Pieter Bezuidenhout, a fourth-year Music student at the University of Pretoria.

Aptly befitting the FIFA theme for the year, the Orchestra will play John Simon’s Dance to Freedom which was written for the ten-year anniversary of South African democracy. Ending the programme for the evening will be Liszt’s much-loved Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, a plethora of Hungarian melodies, rhythms and gypsy scales.

This concert can be heard on Sunday, 12 September 2010 in the Musaion, University of Pretoria Main Campus, at 15:00. Tickets will be available only at the door, so come early to guarantee a seat! Tickets are R70,00 and R40,00 (students and pensioners). For more information, contact 012 420 4183 or email [email protected].