It is some time since I wrote on this blog. But perhaps I should mention the next concert in which I am involved. Date: Sunday 26th October, 2018 (afternoon - time to be announced) Venue: 6 Spin Street Restaurant, Cape Town Celebration of Brad Liebl's Birthday with a Dinner-Concert all-Brahms programme featuring Brad himself (baritone) and 4 pianists: Alex Gabriel, Sylvia Schulman, Victor Tichart, Albie van Schalkwyk. Each pianist will accompany a number of songs and play one solo. There will also be some piano duets involving all the pianists in different combinations of pairing! Proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross Children's Hospital.

Piano Teaching

I have been looking into group piano teaching and am contemplating offering such a service. I will start offering it soon. The children enjoy learning together and it is good for them to vie with each other. It encourages them to do better. Keep and eye on this blog.

It's a long time since I posted anything. My niece Lorraine Schulman who is a brilliant clarinetist with the Oxford Philomusica in England came out here and we had been practising separately for some months to do three concerts the weekend after she arrived in April. Unfortunately I tripped in the car park at the airport when fetching her and fractured my wrist. That put paid to the concerts. I had arranged also to have a music appreciation evening at my house before the concerts and we were going to play some of the pieces. The music appreciation group came and we did some playing with me using only my right hand! There was also load-shedding so we all had a lot of fun by candlelight and torches! My arm was bound up for 5 weeks and then I could take the bandages and splint off. I was so sorry for Lorraine who could only come for 10 days just for the concerts. She hopes to be able to come again and do those concerts with me! My 90th birthday was coming up on 21st May and I was arranging a big concert for that - 3 days later so as to have it at the weekend - with about 12 or 13 people performing. These were all musicians I had worked with in the past and present who were still around! This had to be postponed and we are now hoping to do it on 29th November. In the meantime, Marcelle Volckaert who is a soprano I have done many concerts with, asked me to play for her at two concerts this month. I love challenges so was determined to do them. As soon as the bandages came off, I began practising exercises at the piano, very cautiously at first, and learning the new music. It was a great programme of Spanish and Portuguese songs and I also had to play a Spanish solo piece. We did these concerts on 6th September in Barrydale at Tim and Clive's house where we have played many times before, and on 12th September at the Old Town House in Greenmarket Square, Cape Town, for the Friends of the Michaelis Collection. Both went off very well and we had extremely enthusiastic audiences.

Recital at Wahnfried, McGregor

On 7th December 2014 Brad Liebl and I will be performing at Wahnfried, McGregor with almost the same programme as at Casa Labia a week earlier. It will be slightly longer and will include songs by Glück and Strauss to recognise their anniversaries.

Wahnfried is also a beautiful venue in a small town in the Western Cape inhabited by many artistic people! Booking for this is also essential. Phone 072 601 1616.

Brad Liebl and I will be performing at this beautiful venue, Casa Labia in Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa, on 30th November 2014.
The programme includes the Gellert Lieder of Beethoven, Bach Preludes, Gounod's Ave Maria, plus others and featuring Brad's Christmas Fantasia - a selection of Christmas Carols interspersed with excerpts from Debussy's Clair de Lune.
Booking is essential by phoning Casa Labia - see their website
www.casalabia.co.za

 SONG RECITAL  AT  WAHNFRIED, McGREGOR Sunday 28^th April, 3:30 for 4:00 p.m.

Two song cycles will be performed at the excellent venue in McGregor known as Wahnfried at the end (or beginning!) of Bree Street.  Berlioz wrote the first piece “Les Nuits d’Été” for piano but later orchestrated it. It is more often performed with orchestra but the piano version is very beautiful. The second cycle is by Turina which has 5 pieces, the first being for solo piano. The music is extremely Spanish and runs a whole gamut of emotions. It is called “Poema en forma de canciones”. There will also be a solo piano piece by Manuel da Falla – Danse du Meunier which is part of the ballet “The Three-Cornered Hat” and of course, was originally written for orchestra. A very “flamenco” piece! There is also a beautiful Brazilian song.

The programme will be performed by Marcelle Volckaert, soprano and Sylvia Schulman, pianist.

Seats are R80 and booking can be made by phoning 072 601 1616

Piano Life Saver System

News of the Piano Life Saver System has just reached me and may interest those of you who have valuable acoustic pianos needing to be humidified. My Steinway has had a basin filled with water on the floor under the piano for years, that being the only method I knew to try to keep the soundboard humidified! I will now invest in one of these systems that have had an unrivalled reputation since the 1950's! The suppliers have fitted them to pianos all over South Africa with consistently excellent results. There has been a dramatic improvement in the tone and tuning stability of these pianos, from small uprights to new Model D concert grand Steinways. Contact me for more information. Phone 028 514 2904 or 082 855 0534. You may also email me at sylbenat@futurejhb.co.za