Famed Westhuizen Duo Headline CIM's Summer Sonata June 28

The Westhuizen Duo, an international piano duo known for playing at major festivals and venues throughout the US, will perform the works of Mozart, Brahms and Ravel, among others, at the Cleveland Institute of Music on Friday, June 28, at 8pm in Mixon Hall. Tickets are on sale now online or at the CIM Box Office.

Married couple Sophié and Pierre van der Westhuizen’s piano performances have been hailed throughout the world as “… music making that rewards you seventy times seven” and “charming, lyrical and brilliant.”

Natives of South Africa, the van der Westhuizens have strong ties to Northeast Ohio. Pierre van der Westhuizen formerly served as president and CEO of the Cleveland International Piano Competition; Sophie van der Westhuizen taught at Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Music Settlement and at her own local piano studio. They have also been regular guest artists and faculty for CIM’s Summer Sonata, an annual, week-long immersion program for talented young pianists designed to cultivate and nurture the aspirations of serious young musicians.

The Steinway artists are both graduates of the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and have served on the music faculties of Youngstown State and Heidelberg universities.

Their performances have been heard on WCLV (Cleveland), ClassicFM (South Africa), WFMT (Chicago) and many others. Their interest in new music has led to premiere performances of works written for the duo by young composers. Other performance highlights include the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory’s Bach Festival, the Cleveland Art Song Festival and the Chautauqua Piano Institute. They were the first piano duo to receive fellowships as young artists at the prestigious PianoTexas International Academy and Festival (formerly the TCU/Cliburn Institute), as well as Shouse Artists at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, where they shared the stage with such artists as Ann Schein, Wu Han, Jeremy Denk and James Tocco.

They currently reside in Kalamazoo, MI, where Pierre van der Westhuizen was recently appointed director of the International Gilmore Keyboard Festival.

More About the Event:

Pierre and Sophié van der Westhuizen present a duo piano concert as part of the Summer Sonata Program on Friday, June 28 at 8pm in Mixon Hall. Repertoire includes:

MOZART Fantasy No. 2 in F minor, K. 608
BRAHMS Waltzes, Op. 39
POULENC Sonata for Piano Four Hands
RAVEL Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite)
CORIGLIANO Gazebo Dances

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Purchase tickets at cim.edu/event/summer-sonata or by calling 216.795.3211 (Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm).