FROM CLASSICS TO JAZZ
Thursday, 30 October 2025
Odeion
19:00
An evening of musical brilliance awaits with 'From Classics to Jazz' - a concert tracing the fascinating evolution of improvisation from the Classical era to the Jazz Age. Pianist Nicol Viljoen will explore the works of three legendary composers - Mozart, Chopin, and Gershwin - representing the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, respectively.
Each of these composers, though separated by time and style, shared a common thread: a profound gift for improvisation. For both Mozart and Chopin, improvisation was often the birthplace of their greatest compositions - spontaneous creativity later committed to paper. This once-familiar practice found new life centuries later in jazz, where written scores once again gave way to inspired spontaneity.
The programme will culminate in a uniquely conceived performance of Gershwin's iconic 'I've Got Rhythm'. In this final piece, the process is reversed - transforming Gershwin's written work into a series of short, characterful jazz improvisations, each highlighting a distinct improvisational style.
Nicol Viljoen is a former Associate Professor and Departmental Chair of the Odeion School of Music, University of the Free State. Currently, he is affiliated with the institution as a Research Fellow. Having completed his graduate and postgraduate training at Stellenbosch University, he was appointed to the University of the Free State in 1978, where he later obtained his DPhil qualification. He trained under world-renowned specialists in the United States of America and is currently still our country's most intensive contact with this highly specialised music-analytical system. His research during the past decades has focused on theoretical Schenker studies and their application within musical performance practice through structuralist aural analysis. Viljoen's activities include those of a music theorist, concert pianist, chamber musician, jazz pianist, and liturgical organist.
In 2003, Nicol Viljoen produced the compact disc Franz Schubert/Johannes Brahms with the violist John Wille. In 2011, he released his second compact disc, Transcendental Schubert, on the Mukavi label.
PROGRAMME:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Sonata in F major, K332
Chopin Polonaise in A major, Op. 40 No. 1 (Military Polonaise)
Chopin Preludes Op. 28, Nos 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 20, and 23
Improvised Variations on "I've got Rhythm" by George Gershwin
ADMISSION:
R30
Tickets available at Quicket or at the door (card sales only)
Buy tickets at:
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/340885-from-classics-to-jazz/?ref=events-list#/
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