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Music duo Rowland-Bogdanović perform at Old Nectar

Staff Reporter|Published

DanielRowland and Maja Bogdanovic PICTURE: Sarah Wijzenbeek

DanielRowland and Maja Bogdanovic PICTURE: Sarah Wijzenbeek

The Rowland-Bogdanović duo consists of two renowned soloists and chamber musicians, who are also partners in life: violinist Daniel Rowland and cellist Maja Bogdanović.

The duo have been highly praised for having exquisite chemistry, both on stage and on recordings, and Maja and Daniel are no strangers to Stellenbosch audiences, after many years of performing at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival.

Old Nectar concerts welcomes them back to Stellenbosch for an afternoon at Old Nectar gardens historic wine cellar in Jonkershoek, on Sunday November 3, at 4pm, with a concert programme full of unique, magical works, several of them written for this duo.

Starting with the delightfully brilliant Halvorsen Passacaglia, the audience can look forward to the fascinating juxtaposition of Bach inventions (arranged by the artists), and eclectic contemporary composer Jörg Widmann.

The charming Raindrops by 9-year-old Sibelius takes us to the emotional heart of this concert: the profoundly moving Castillo interior by the great Peteris Vasks - a piece of greatest depth and spirituality.

Vasks, a good friend of the artists, described this piece as a picture of the search for sublimity, in the face of interruptions by the forces of darkness, with love prevailing.

Kodaly’s Duo is one of the most viscerally exciting pieces in the repertoire, using the full emotional range of both instruments. Infused with the vivid dance rhythms of his native Hungary, the piece is both a virtuoso tour de force and also full of nostalgia, intimacy and tenderness.

After the breathtaking climax of the Kodaly these two beloved tangos by Piazzolla, written as a young man in Paris in the 1950s will be sure to enchant.

Tickets are available at Quicket for R200, and include selected wines from Banhoek’s renowned Oldenburg Wine Estate, and finger food at interval. Students pay R50.

Guests are invited to arrive early or stay after the concert to enjoy the tranquility of the Old Nectar gardens.