Glen Publisher_Dainfern In Focus_Issue 0717

DNA NEWSLETTER
Dear Friends
What a month it has been. All I can say is I have never experienced a fire such as the one which ravaged
Knysna and, along with all of South Africa, my heart goes out to all those who have lost their homes, their
livelihoods and so much more. The huge storm in the Cape was also frightening. Is nature is telling us
something?
SITTING ON THE STOEP
When I was a student in the 1950s the Cape Town City
Orchestra was a major attraction and its concerts were
regularly broadcast on Thursday nights. Just after the
war it had a famous conductor Enrique Jourda which
added to its glamour. In the 50s my wife used to
babysit for the Principal Clarinetist, Wolfgang Simon
when his wife wanted to attend a concert and I, who
had recently come on the scene, joined the baby
sitting team one night. I remember being given quite a
critical ‘once over’ by Mrs Simon to see if she thought I
was good enough to babysit her child and, even more,
if I was good enough to go out with their family’s
favourite babysitter! Ruth Simon was a fairly direct and
outspoken lady so I never felt I could get away with
anything. It was almost like having to be on the sort of
special behaviour you try to be on when you meet your
prospective/possible/probable future parents-in-law
for the first time. I always felt I had to go through the
process twice!! Anyway they were very kind to Tricia
and then to me; we became close friends and kept in
touch for years afterwards until they both died. Their
‘baby’ graduated from Oxford and became a world
authority with geography as his interest.
South African pianist who plays across Europe, north
and south America, Africa and Asia) described as
possessing a ‘wonderful sound’ and a ‘polished and
refined technique’ and we will be specially watching
the lead clarinetist and thinking of concerts of over
sixty years ago.
These 60 members of the orchestra, all of whom have
devoted most of their lives from a young age to their
instruments, practising, practising, practising, will
be playing together in harmony and unison under
the baton of a famous conductor – it really becomes
a miracle. It’s one of the peaks of world civilization,
a glorious feast of human talent and intellect in a
universal language understood by us all – east or west,
north or south.
…….and its right here in Grahamstown on the
night of 7 July!
…….and I first heard them play in the opera ‘La
Boheme’ at the Alhambra Theatre in Cape Town
in 1947.
……. years later I remember an evening of three
concertos in the Cape Town City Hall with soloists
from the Art Vivo Trio when they played
So when I saw that the Cape Town Philharmonic
the Beethoven Violin Concerto
Orchestra is the highlight of the Festival in
the Grieg Piano Concerto
Grahamstown it brought back some poignant
memories. They will be playing the Franck symphony
the Brahms Cello Concerto
in D minor and the Beethoven piano concerto No. You know it’s quite something when you can go to a
3 with pianist Luis Magalhäes (Portuguese-born symphony concert and it stays with you for the rest
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