Peta Stewart
Pianist Tinus Botha is one of two soloists in the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s second concert in Winter Symphonies at the City Hall on 19 June, 2025. With Megan-Geoffrey Prins, he will perform the Concerto for Two Pianos, K 365, a work he grew up with.
“My mother’s cassette tape collection included a recording, and I found it absolutely magical to listen to, even as a young child. The concerto exudes joy, and I remember being very impressed by the glittery passagework. It was only much later that I realised that Mozart is hard to play! The transparent textures don’t provide any hiding places, and expose wobbles and glitches mercilessly. Nonetheless, playing Mozart is always a special experience.”
This is his second time of playing with the CPO – he performed in Stefans Grové’s Raka with the CPO in 2008. “At the time I was very occupied with Grové’s music, both as a pianist and analyst. It was exhilarating and nerve-wracking in equal measure!
“The Mozart double concerto is an absolute gem, and the opportunity to play it in such a glorious venue and with such a fantastic orchestra, pianist and maestro Thomas Sanderling an honour.”
Botha and Prins have often performed together – once as “the orchestra” at the Aardllop Festival and then with four hands and two pianos in works by Tchaikovsky, Kapustin, Arnold van Wyk, and Grant McLachlin.
“Megan is not only a world-class pianist, but also a wonderful human being,” he says.
Inspirational teachers
Although Tinus always knew he wanted to be a musician, he did consider other options … psychology, astronomy, medicine, languages, and he was lucky to be surrounded by music in the home.
“My mother is a gifted amateur pianist, and as I grew progressively more serious about my own piano studies, my parents decided that I should attend Pro Arte high school in Pretoria in order to focus more seriously on developing as a pianist.
“I was fortunate to study with some inspirational teachers. Joseph Stanford, with whom I studied since I was in high school, and he was instrumental in shaping my approach to music. I also received my DMus (Performing Arts) from the University of Pretoria under hi tutelage. He taught me to delve deeper into the score and to keep searching for less immediately apparent layers of meaning. He was a tireless and dedicated teacher who always had time for his students, and he had a wonderful gift for nurturing young talent.”
After his B Mus, Tinus went on to America and studied at the Music Academy of the West in California before enrolling for an MMus at the Texas Christian University, and where he also held a graduate assistantship.
Teaching at NWU School of Music
“I am lucky that they are very supportive of creative work in general, and I have very accomplished colleagues to make music with. My time is divided between teaching (not only piano, but also some music theory and introductory keyboard skills) collaborative work, and solo playing. Helping students to find their own artistic voice is one of the more transcendental goals to strive for in teaching, but in most instances the daily nitty-gritty involves much less grandiose things. Working out fingerings, finding solutions to technical hurdles, gentle (and sometimes not gentle) encouragement, and being an amateur psychologist are amongst those things. Sometimes the really nice students bring coffee and cookies to their lesson – behaviour that I fully endorse!”
In his spare time, Tinus spends time with his adored dogs, Karools and Japie, in the Kruger Park, gaming when time permits, following tennis, and traveling to new places. In music, he is finding Lied accompaniment immensely gratifying, and is working on some of the great song cycles with his friend and colleague, Thomas Erlank.
Next up will be learning book 2 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (“medicine for the hands, mind, and soul, not necessarily in that order”) and finding an opportunity to perform Mozart’s piano quartets and wind quintet. Long term goals are to keep learning and growing as a musician, and to keep sharing music with others.
What: Winter Symphonies at the City Hall
Who: Tinus Botha and Megan-Geoffrey Prins, piano with the CPO
When: 19 June 2025, 19:30 ; dress rehearsal 11:00
Where: Cape Town City Hall
Tickets Concert: Here or Artscape Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695
Dress rehearsal: Here
WS
