The Mzansi Chamber Music Collective Concerts in Joburg

The Mzansi Chamber Music Collective hosts a series of monthly live classical music concerts in and around the city. Their mission is to celebrate chamber music in all its depth and beauty while giving listeners an intimate experience in carefully chosen settings. Concerts take place in stunning venues such as the historic Northwards House in Parktown or the rustic Shed and Silo Country Restaurant in Benoni.

Audiences are treated to a range of works—from Bach to Beethoven, Ravel to Rachmaninoff, Smetana to Schubert. Each concert blends familiar favourites with lesser-known pieces that deserve to be heard.

It’s a chance to hear South Africa’s finest musicians, joined by select international guests, in an atmosphere that feels both personal and profound.

Jan and Clara Hugo

Renowned duo, pianist Jan Hugo and soprano Clara Hugo, present a programme of vivid musical storytelling and lyricism. Maurice Ravel’s Shéhérazade evokes the sensual imagery of the Arabian Nights through shimmering harmonies and exotic colour. T

The lively charm of Gioachino Rossini’s La regata veneziana captures the humour and excitement of a Venetian boat race, while Giuseppe Martucci’s Canzone dei ricordi offers a deeply reflective meditation on memory.

The piano solos interwoven throughout the programme provide moments of virtuosity and contrast, highlighting the expressive range of the instrument.

Cost: R275pp for adults, R225pp for pensioners and students, book via Quicket

When: Sunday, 20 July from 3pm to 5pm
Where: Northwards House, 21 Rockridge Rd, Parktown, Johannesburg

Odeion String Quartet

The Odeion String Quartet was established at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 1991 as a permanent, full-time, resident string quartet. At present, it is the only resident string quartet at a South African university.

The all-female quartet has performed to critical acclaim and will perform music by Beethoven, Feder and Päge.

Beethoven’s 2nd quartet of the “Razumovsky” set is named after the Russian Count of the same name and has set a new standard for the future of string quartet writing.

Arthur Feder is an eminent, young South African composer, who was recently commissioned by the Odeion String Quartet (OSQ) to write his 3rd string quartet, “The Tides Of…”; to be performed on the Quartet of Peace Instruments, of which the OSQ are custodians. This brilliant, evocative new work represents and tells the story of the four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of South Africa. The Quartet of Peace instruments, each of which represents one of these four important South African figures.

The programme also includes the world premiére of a work by Motshane Pege, especially commissioned for the Odeion String Quartet by the Mzansi Chamber Music Collective.

Cost: R275pp | R225pp for pensioners and students, book via Quicket