Gerhard Joubert returns to South Africa for Huberte Rupert Memorial Concert

The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra will present its annual Huberte Rupert Memorial Concert on Saturday, 28 November, at 19:30 in the Endler Hall, Stellenbosch.

Through the generosity of the Rupert Music Foundation, the annual concert provides an opportunity to bring home an outstanding young South African musician who is studying or building a career abroad.

This year’s featured artist is pianist Gerhard Joubert, who returns from Switzerland to perform Rachmaninoff’s spectacular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Gerhard Joubert returns from Switzerland

A graduate of the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town, where he studied with François du Toit, Joubert is currently pursuing a Master of Performance at the Musik-Akademie Basel while also specialising in the fortepiano.

An accomplished chamber musician, he has appeared several times with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and has won first prizes in numerous competitions, including the National Youth Music Competition and the Seventh UNISA National Piano Competition.

Most recently, he performed with Basel’s Ensemble Diagonal and presented a recital of Arnold van Wyk’s solo piano works to mark the composer’s 110th anniversary.

Pietari Inkinen to make CPO debut

The concert will also mark the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra debut of internationally acclaimed Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen.

One of the leading conductors of his generation, Inkinen has performed with many of the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

He will also make his South African debut conducting three concerts in the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s Summer Symphony Season at Cape Town City Hall.

Programme features Sibelius, Rachmaninoff and Beethoven

The evening opens with Sibelius’s evocative tone poem Pohjola’s Daughter, inspired by Finnish mythology.

Joubert will then perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a work that combines breathtaking virtuosity with some of the composer’s most memorable melodies.

The concert concludes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, renowned for its iconic four-note opening and triumphant finale.

Celebrating South African musical talent

The annual Huberte Rupert Memorial Concert honours the memory of one of South Africa’s great patrons of music while celebrating the country’s exceptional young musical talent through the continued support of the Rupert Music Foundation.

Tickets are available through Webtickets.

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