The biennial Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium aims to bring the foremost piano teachers and learners together at Stellenbosch University, for a week of lectures, public master classes and concerts. The Symposium has introduced many international artists to the South African concert public and offers local pianists unequalled access to an event they would otherwise have to travel overseas for.
The Hennie Joubert Piano Competition, that runs simultaneously, was founded in 1984 to prepare young pianists for larger competitions and a concert career. The competition has been presented under the banner of the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium since 2012, in collaboration with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of maestro Bernhard Gueller, who will accompany the finalists in the Endler Hall on 6 April.
The symposium format is packed with public masterclasses, lectures, and recitals. All concerts will be held in the Endler Hall at the Music Department of Stellenbosch University. The daily highlights will no doubt be the evening concerts held in the Endler hall at 20:00. The opening concert on Wednesday 3 April features international concert pianist Jan Jiracek von Armin, currently guest professor at Elisabeth University in Hiroshima, Japan and visiting professor at Yale University in the USA. On Friday 5 April the Finnish pianist Henri Sigfridsson will take to the stage. Sigfridsson’s popularity with audiences soon catapulted him into a concert career spanning prestigious venues across the world. He is currently a professor at Essen Folkwang University, Germany.
View the programme for the full selection of concerts by internationally renowned pianists and respected local artists.
The solo rounds of the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition, in which South Africa’s top young pianists will compete for the chance to perform in the finals with the CPO are open to the public on 1 and 2 April, free of charge. Tickets for the finals on 6 April are available at Webtickets.
The final concert will be the climactic “Piano Extravaganza” held on Sunday 7 April, where all Symposium artists perform together in a fun-filled programme with as much as 10 pianos together on the Endler stage.
To gain access to the Symposium, attendees can visit the symposium website to register for a day pass, a full observer’s pass or a school group pass. Those who only wish to buy tickets for individual concerts can do so on Webtickets.
