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Wednesday,
April 23, 2008, 12:15 pm
Westhuizen Piano Duo
Pierre van der Westhuizen, Sophié Grobler, Piano Four Hands
Romance, Op. 11 No. 5
Scherzo, Op. 11 No. 2
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
Fantasy
in f minor, Op. 103
Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Rhapsodie
espagnole
I. Prélude à la nuit
II. Malgueña
IV. Feria
Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937)
South African-born pianists Pierre van der Westhuizen
and Sophié Grobler, formed the Westhuizen Duo
in 2001, after a highly successful debut with Bartók’s Sonata
for Two Pianos and Percussion in Youngstown’s Ford Theater. They
completed their graduate studies under the guidance of Frank Weinstock
at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music,
where each received the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance.
Both pianists made their debut as soloists with the National Chamber Orchestra
while still in South Africa. Between them they have garnered top prizes
at national and international competitions, and have received multiple
awards such as the M.C. Rhoode Memorial Piano Prize, and a grant from
the National Research Foundation. As a duo, the performances of this husband-and-wife
team have taken them across the U.S.A. and also South Africa.
Recent highlights include their debut at the Great Lakes Chamber Music
Festival in June 2007. They were also featured at the Max M. Fisher Center
as part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s festival Eight Days
in June, at the Fontana Chamber Arts Series in Kalamazoo, and Kerrytown
Concert House in Ann Arbor. They continued their summer performances in
South Africa, where they were featured at the UNISA (University of South
Africa) concert series in Pretoria. They have performed at major South
African venues such as the Grahamstown, and Volksblad National Arts Festivals,
and have appeared on all the prominent concert platforms at universities
in South Africa. In June 2006, they were the first piano duo to be accepted
into the TCU-Cliburn/PianoTexas International Academy and Festival.
The duo’s performances have been heard on WYSU, WCLV, WGTE, RSG
Afrikaans Radio and ClassicFM Radio. They have received master classes
from artists such as Emanuel Ax, Janos Starker, Awadagin Pratt, the Pridonoff
Duo and the Alan&Alvin Chow Duo. Upcoming performances include a European
and South African tour for the summer of 2008, as well as a planned recording
of two-piano music by Francis Poulenc for Centaur Records. Pierre and
Sophié both serve as Assistant Professors of Piano at Heidelberg
College in Tiffin, Ohio.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Apr 30 Minsoo Sohn, Piano
May 7 Benjamin Wager, Bass-baritone and Scott Gilmore, Piano
May 14 Baroque Band
May 21 Inna Faliks, Piano