Beverley Brommert
Not even a demanding schedule of rehearsals and interviews can diminish the energy, nor the zest, which Ukrainian maestro Kirill Karabits brings to his forthcoming Rhythms of Hope concert tour in this country. He will conduct South Africa’s national orchestra, the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Only a few hours into his first visit to these shores, Karabits is already enthusing about his initial contact with the enormous orchestral ensemble of 80 musicians to perform under his baton.
“A special orchestra”
“There is something magical in that first meeting with an unfamiliar orchestra,” he comments. “You look into their faces as you would a child for the first time, with pleasure; calm before starting to rehearse, and knowing that you must build a relationship with them, test their energy to establish the climate of the concert ahead .”
Not all the instrumentalists he will conduct are strangers to him, as two hail from Bournemouth, where for 15 years Karabits was Chief Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO), a position he filled with distinction.
He describes the MNPO as “a special orchestra” because its players are recruited from different parts of South Africa, so have not had the opportunity to generate a “signature sound” to identify their ensemble. He finds it both exciting and challenging to create that sound while eliciting the best from them.
Eclectic programme
Regarding the repertoire chosen for these concerts, the conductor was not involved in its compilation: “I was given it late, after agreement had been reached with the promoters.” The eclectic programme includes familiar favourites like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for piano and orchestra and Rimski-Korsakov’s colourful Scheherezade Suite, together with the première of a composition by South African Philip Miller, the uShaka iLembe Suite.
Karabits remarks what a small world it is, since Miller studied at one time at the University of… Bournemouth! Interpreting his new work is, according to the conductor, “a great responsibility; no one has ever heard it before, and there are no references to consult. If you do it well, it will have life for future performances. If not,….” an eloquent silence says it all.
Theodore Akimenko
Apart from this virgin territory which will offer audiences a new experience, there will be another short work which Karabits has had accepted into the programme at his own request: a Nocturne for strings by Ukrainian composer Theodore Akimenko, whose inclusion has a certain logic given that he was a much-esteemed student of Rimski-Korsakov. “It personalizes it for me having his work in this programme,” says Karabits, describing the piece as “very gentle.”
Gentleness is a quality conspicuous by its absence in Ukraine’s present struggle for survival in a violent and unpredictable war, and the title of the three concerts of this tour resonates strongly with Karabits: “Music is a unifying force in a troubled world, it is especially valuable in times like these.”
Rhythms of Hope emphatically underscores this wise pronouncement.
Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra’s Rhythms of Hope concert takes place at the Sand du Plessis Theatre in Bloemfontein on Sunday 1 December, 2024, at 3pm with tickets through Webtickets and at the City Hall in Cape Town on Wednesday, 4 December, 2024 at 7:30pm with tickets through Quicket.
What: Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra Rhythms of Hope
WS
