GORINI’S SONATA FOR 7 CITIES ARRIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA

From August 21 to September 26, the pianist will be in residence between Cape Town and Stellenbosch, with concerts and masterclasses at universities and music schools in rural areas

After the intense Vienna residency in February 2025 – which involved schools, a retirement home, a soup kitchen, and cultural institutions, culminating in two concerts at the Konzerthaus – pianist Filippo Gorini makes his African debut, bringing his project Sonata for 7 Cities to Cape Town and Stellenbosch from August 21 to September 26. Over the course of more than a month, the program will include concerts, free masterclasses, public talks, and activities in schools, academies, and local communities.

Throughout his stay, Gorini will serve as a guest professor at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, where he will mentor six young pianists in an intensive training program. Alongside this – including the pivotal solo recital at Stellenbosch University on September 19 and the solo concert on September 2 at Cape Town Cathedral, the city’s historical and spiritual heart – he will also perform in chamber and symphonic settings. Highlights include a trio concert with violinist and cellist Suzanne and Peter Martens – two of South Africa’s most renowned musicians – on September 7 at the historic Old Nectar estate, and a concert on September 14 with the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Daniel Boico.

A core focus of the project is educational outreach in schools and music centers for youth, particularly in under-resourced or rural communities. Gorini will lead masterclasses and workshops with students from some of the region’s most active music organizations: Masi Violin Outreach, which provides free training to young violinists in the high-density Masiphumelele township with limited access to the arts; the Handevat Music Project, created to give children in the rural Overberg region access to classical music; the Kronendal Music Academy in Hout Bay, which combines music teaching with social inclusion in one of the Cape’s most diverse areas; and Beau Soleil Music Centre, a key institution for music education in Cape Town with a strong public mission. Additional partner organizations include MusicWorks, Field Band Foundation, and Cecilia Wines.

Each event is designed as a true recital, with the same artistic quality as the core concerts, because – as Gorini himself explains – “there’s no such thing as a repertoire that is ‘more appropriate’ for one audience than another. What matters is how music is offered. And the deep wish that it might reach everyone.”

The Italian pianist’s program reflects this vision: alongside masterworks of the Romantic repertoire such as Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana, op. 16, and Franz Schubert’s final Sonata in B-flat major, D.960, the concerts will include the world premiere of Sonata d’Altura by Federico Gardella, written for Gorini between 2021 and 2024 and commissioned as part of the project. The premiere of the work’s final version will take place on September 19 at Stellenbosch University, marking one of the most significant artistic milestones of the South African leg of the journey. «The work took three years to reach this definitive version in three movements. I asked myself: why compose a Piano Sonata? I think that, for those (like me) who have dedicated many years of practice on the piano, composing a Piano Sonata means returning home after a long journey» explains Gardella, who will be present for the recital and a series of public seminars between September 19 and 22.

Awarded the Franco Buitoni Award in 2023, Sonata for 7 Cities is a multi-year project that blends music, social engagement, and audiovisual production. In each city, a new piano sonata is commissioned from a contemporary composer. After the Vienna chapter (with a sonata by Stefano Gervasoni) and the South African chapter (with Gardella’s Sonata d’Altura), the project will also feature works by Beat Furrer, Michelle Agnes Magalhães, Oscar Jockel, and Yukiko Watanabe. Future residencies will take place in Hong Kong (November 2025), Portland, Oregon (March 2026), Medellín (summer 2026), and conclude in Milan in 2027.

The documentary dimension is also a fundamental part of the initiative. Like the Vienna edition, the South African residency will be filmed by director Ruggero Romano for a seven-episode series produced by Movies Move Us, portraying the encounters between music and the soul of each city.

«I cannot wait to be in Cape Town and South Africa for the second residency in Sonata for 7 Cities. This project represents all that is dearest to me: art, culture, education, music not as entertainment but as a true nourishment of the soul, that should be performed to as many people as possible. I am grateful for a chance for my music to touch so many people in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and surrounding rural communities, and to live and discover a completely new corner of the world» concludes Gorini.

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