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The Cape Town Club presents the Isaac Van Der Merwe RecitalSouth African pianist Isaac van der Merwe, winner of several national competitions including the 2022 Hennie Joubert and Atterbury National Piano Competitions, began learning piano when he was 11 under Tessa de Groote. In 2015 he took up cello with Maya Maille, playing in the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for a number of years.
In 2021, at the age of 17, Isaac started piano lessons with Albie van Schalkwyk, won first prize in the Senior Piano Category of the Johann Vos, and was overall winner in the Pieter Kooij competition. In 2022 he embarked on a BMus at UCT underFrançois du Toit, won the Hennie Joubert and Atterbury National PianoCompetitions, and participated in the final round of the National Youth Music Competition. He appeared as a soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in the finals of the 5th SA Conductors’ Competition and performed Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Gauteng Philharmonic Orchestra in Johannesburg in June 2022. In July 2023 he placed second overall in the 7th UNISA National Piano Competition, playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Boico in the final round, and in August that year he won the open category of the Johann Vos Piano Competition.
Isaac, now 22, regularly plays concerts in Cape Town, as well as participating in events such as the Stellenbosch Piano Symposium and Chamber Music Festivals. He often plays orchestral piano in an ad hoc capacity with Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and on the 20th of June 2024 he made his debut as a soloist with CPO, performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Last year Isaac won the Human Naudé Music Scholarship competition at the Odeion School of Music inBloemfontein, as well as the Lionel Bowman Prize for Beethoven Playing at UCT, and in September he was awarded the Hofmeyr Prize for a performance of his own music at the South African Music Showcase, in addition to which he won the SCHOCK Foundation Prize for Chamber Music playing Shostakovich’s String Quintet with other SACM students and alumni. In October he received the 22nd Laura Searle Prize for Piano Concerto Playing. Outside of performance, Isaac’s interests include composition, which he is currently studying under Grant McLachlan, and classic literature. He plans to pursue an Honours in performance at the University of Cape Town next year before heading overseas to further his studies in 2026 or 7.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op.109
Isaac van der Merwe (b. 2003)
Impromptu and Passacaglia in C minor
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Variations on a Theme of Corelli Op. 42
Tickets: Club Members & Students R190 | Non-members R230
Dinner available in the restaurant before or after the recital.
SATURDAY - 17 JANUARY 2026 - 18H30
18 Queen Victoria Street, Company Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, 8000
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
18 Queen Victoria Street, 8000 Cape Town, South Africa, 18 Queen Victoria St, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
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