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/ 10 August 2006

uCarmen eAfrika

A local lyric theatre company is making a name abroad with its gutsy performances, writes Paul Boekkooi. And New Yorkers are currently enjoying uCarmen — not set in the traditional Seville, but in Khayelitsha.

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/ 7 May 2004

In key for a new season

The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra’s (JPO) fourth birthday is on June 21 — an unbelievable feat, because the months between January and June 2000 were some of the blackest for orchestral musicians in Johannesburg. Paul Boekkooi looks back on four years of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and previews its new season.

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/ 28 November 2003

Playing for change

Maxim Vengerov, arguably the greatest violinist of his generation, is a musician of great depth and wisdom as well as a self-effacing humanitarian who changes people’s lives through music. A latter-day shaman if ever there was one, writes Paul Boekkooi.

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/ 14 November 2003

Nourishing classical roots

The International Classical Music Festival, now in its third year, has been an effective and, at times, overpowering tool in the search for our cultural roots and identity. As many people living in this country know, it might still take a generation or two before a feeling of inclusivity is a solid part of our psyches, writes Paul Boekkooi.

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/ 11 February 2002

Stringing us along

The first three rounds in Unisa’s Fourth International String Competition have provoked controversy, but the finals on Friday and Saturday promise great opportunities for musical enjoyment, writes Paul Boekkooi.