Music in Jozi to diarize for 2026 - Liz at Lancaster Guest House

Posted on 8 January 20268 January 2026

Mostly Classical – but jazz venues to follow

Although Jozi is hardly a St. Petersburg, a Vienna (or any other European capital) or a New Orleans … there is always some musical event that is happening. But one does have to sometimes know where to look to find these events! And all these event spaces are within a 10km radius of Liz at Lancaster except for the Centre for the Good Idea in Maboneng which is an easy 13km drive. Best to get an Uber to Maboneng as it’s through a gritty part of town so you do need to know you way around locally.

Johannesburg International Mozart Festival (JIMF); Wandering Minstrels 24th January to 8th February

The Mozart Festival, which started on 2006, takes place annually under the leadership of South African musical doyen Richard Cock. Most performances take place in the historic location of Villa Arcadia in the splendid wood-paneled music room. Built on the Parktown Ridge for Sir Lionel Phillips one of the mining Randlords, the home has had several owners over the years and in 2003 was bought by Hollard who are great supporters of arts and culture.

In addition to organ recitals with Franz Danksagmuller (at St Georges Church on 24/01 and Pretoria University Chapel 29/01), this year’s festival includes

a taste of Indian classical music and dance 31/01 (from which this year’s festival takes its name)
a woodwind ensemble 01/02
a jazz-classical crossover concert with pianist Charl du Plessis, bassist Werner Spies, and drummer Peter Auret 03/02 (NB Pieter Auret is with the Scullery Quintet – see below)
a piano recital with Gustavo Romero 07/02
piano quartets 08/02.

This performance looks particularly intriguing ….

Composer-organist Franz Danksagmüller “creates a live, improvised soundtrack to a silent film, blending historic instruments with modern electronics. In this one-of-a-kind performance, music and image interact in real time — a thrilling fusion of cinematic history and contemporary creativity”. Now how tantalizing does that sound?

And finally, there is a light-hearted concert which includes Viennese waltzes, polkas, and popular operetta arias with the Phoenix Orchestra conducted by Richard Cøck on 25th January at the Linder Auditorium.

JPO (JOHANNESBURG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA) Summer season Thursdays 26th February to 26th March

If you haven’t been to a JPO concert at the Linder Auditorium lately, you’re missing out on one of Joburg’s premier cultural treasures. The JPO have 4 seasons a year and the summer season is coming up with 4 weekly Thursday night concerts starting in late February. The auditorium itself is a joy — excellent acoustics that make of even the tiniest triangle tinkle a crystal-clear note! And thanks to the generosity of funders like Carolyn Steyn, the orchestra keeps welcoming world-class conductors and soloists who bring serious star power to Thursday nights in Parktown.

Arrive a bit early and you get an added treat: the free 6.30–7pm pre-concert talks by Deano Maduramuthu, familiar to anyone who listened to Classic 1027. He has that rare gift of being both deeply knowledgeable and completely accessible, and his insights make the music land in new, surprising ways. Add to that the JPO’s consistently well-crafted programmes — genuinely useful notes that go beyond the usual boilerplate — and you’re very well set for the evening.

It’s no wonder the concerts are selling out faster than ever. More and more Joburgers seem to be realising that we have a musical jewel right under our noses, and season tickets are becoming hot property.

And, of course, there’s the canteen: unfussy, welcoming, with outdoor tables where you can grab a light bite and a glass of wine before the music begins — the perfect prelude to an always memorable performance.

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN OPERA 2025-2026 Season LIVE IN HD

There are still 4 Live in HD NY Met operas from the 2026/6 season to be screened at Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank over the next 6 months. We so privileged that we still have access to these wonderful films where one can experience the grandiose space of the NY opera house; the buzzing hum of audience anticipation; the extraordinary performances (both acting and vocal); the breathtaking stage sets; and the fascinating “behind the scenes” titbits and interviews in the various intermissions between acts. There are 2 screenings of each opera: 2.30 on a Sunday and 12.15 on a Tuesday.

8th and 10th February I Puritani, the 1835 opera by Bellini Set in the English Civil War, there is ample political and religious context for doomed love. This is a brand-new Met production with soprano Lisette Oropesa, tenor Lawrence Brownlee, and baritone Artur Ruciński, conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Many of the stage sets of the New York Met Opera productions are compelling and powerful in their stark simplicity.

5th and 7th April Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde is also a new production starring soprano Lise Davidsen as Isolde and tenor Michael Spyres as Tristan, conducted by music director Yannick Nézet‑Séguin and staged by Yuval Sharon — a director making his Met debut.

17th and 19th May Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky

Regret, missed opportunities and tenderness are central to Tchaikovsky’s operatic adaptation of Pushkin’s novel. Soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine and baritone Igor Golovatenko potrays the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. This production is directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner.

14th and 16th June El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego by Gabriela Lena Frank. This is for me a must-see. A brand-new, contemporary opera inspired by the iconic artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera whose real-life story reads like an opera script: a case of Life imitating Art. Frida (mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard) returns from the underworld on the Day of the Dead and reunites with Diego (baritone Carlos Álvarez) in one last emotional reckoning — a tale of art, identity and farewell.

St FRANCIS MUSIC FESTIVAL 3rd to 9th May

Every May, St Francis Anglican Church on Tyrone Avenue holds a marvelous music festival. From intimate piano recitals to choral anthems, the festival is a beautiful showcase of styles and eras, combining classical, baroque, romantic and even contemporary repertoires — often with a local twist. One of the festival’s great strengths is variety. For 2025, for instance, the Apple Green Orchestra offered a refreshingly modern spin on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons — specifically two movements from a re-imagined version by Max Richter — alongside baroque concertos and contemporary pieces.

The Chanticleer Singers, South Africa’s leading chamber choir, formed in 1980 by Richard Cock, focused on music from the Romantic ere while the African Renaissance Ensemble delivered “Musica Mantovana: The Birth of the Baroque,” celebrating early-Baroque repertoire. More on the African Renaissance Ensemble below. If you are a church-goer (and even if you are not) you can enjoy the Johannesburg Bach Choir at a sung Eucharist service. On another day, you’ll find a piano recital by accomplished soloists like Michael Watt, performing works from Brahms to Stravinsky or a guitar recital by the Gauteng Guitar Quartet. Newly established in 2024, this group features guitarists Dillon Davie, Ryan Kirsten, Jonathan Moolman, and Nathalie Roue.

There’s something wonderfully communal and unpretentious about this festival. It doesn’t seem like a flashy mega-event — it feels like a neighbourhood secret, shared among people who love good music. The church setting gives everything a reverent yet welcoming atmosphere, informal enough for a casual afternoon concert, but with performances worthy of serious concert-goers. And most importantly of all, the acoustics are truly excellent – crystal clear yet resonant and intimate.

FRIDAY LUNCH HOUR CONCERTS

Regular weekly concerts are held every Friday at 1 pm at the Sandton Theatre on the Square with leading local and international musicians. Unreserved tickets are available at the box office from 12:30 at R100 (R60 for members) and the revenue goes to the artists. Enquiries: 011 883 8606

AD HOC ONCE-OFF’S

SA SYMPHONIC JAZZ SONGBOOK – an annual event in September

September saw the 3rd annual collaborative performance between the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Marcus Wyatt‘s ZAR Jazz Orchestra. In 2021 Marcus Wyatt and jazz musician Siyabonga Mthembu collaborated with the Dutch Metropole Orkest for a series of performances in the Netherlands. This resulted in the South African Jazz Songbook being commissioned in 2022 by the BBC as part of their Proms concert series performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall. In 2023, Wyatt and Mthembu brought the Songbook home, and it was performed in Johannesburg’s Linder Auditorium, with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO), and Wyatt’s ZAR Jazz Orchestra as SA Symphonic Jazz Songbook Chapter 1. Watch out for the fourth annual performance which will be held in September 2026.

**Siya Makuzeni’**s rendition of the Click Song (Qongqothwane – most famously performed by Miriam Makeba), along with Justin Sasman on the tuba, was goose-bump stuff. Their rendition was sensual, at times near violent in its intensity and almost sexual in its passionate climax and denouement. The combination of Siya’s explosive relentless clicks, and the rich and, at times, deep growl of the tuba, were completely spell-binding.

SCULLERY QUINTET

If you ever get the chance to hear the Scullery Quintet live, grab it — they’re one of those groups that prove genre lines are mostly imaginary. (Their marketing is a little hapazard so it is often by chance that one finds one of their gigs!) On paper they look almost like a classical string quartet, with Waldo Luc Alexander on first violin, Hana Yim-Wahl on second, and Tiisetso Mashishi on viola. But then things take an interesting turn: instead of a cello, you get the deep, earthy rumble of Vive Mkitwana’s contrabass, and rounding it all out is Peter Auret on percussion, giving the whole ensemble a rhythmic zappy jazz pulse you don’t usually associate with chamber music.

Auret’s arrangements explain why their setlists slide so effortlessly between classical textures and contemporary grooves, with a huge dollop of jazz improvisation. One moment you’re in Baroque territory, the next you’re in a smoky late-night club, and somehow it all fits — tight, classy, and quietly adventurous. They’re the kind of group that makes you rethink what “chamber music” can sound like, and they do it with charm, finesse, and just enough swing to keep you leaning in for more. And walking out with a smile on your face and a bounce in your step.

The Scullery Quintet’s most recent gig at Chiesa di PAZZOLUPi in Melville. I went with a friend who had never heard this group before, and she was completely bowled over – both by their arrangements and skill, and by Peter’s self-effacing playful humour and easy charm. He is very funny! Photo: Scullery Quintet Facebook

AFRICAN RENAISSANCE ENSEMBLE

If you haven’t caught the African Renaissance Ensemble live, you’re in for something deliciously unexpected: early music (ie 15th and 16th Century Renaissance) played with South African heart. The group was started by Adam H. Golding after a formative trip back from a festival in Berlin — he spun that energy into a Johannesburg-based ensemble in 2017 and has steered it as founder and musical director ever since. What makes them sound so singular is their period instruments; think crumhorns and traversos, lutes and the long, resonant theorbo, sackbuts and other period winds and strings — an honest-to-Monteverdi palette of old-world textures of gut-string violins and period keyboards.

Some of the period stringed instruments. Photo from African Renaissance website

In 2025, while William Kentridge was working towards a production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo to be premiered at Glyndebourne in the UK this year (14th June to 25th July), he discovered that Golding and the African Renaissance Ensemble were also working on Monteverdi and using fragments of L’Orfeo. So, William suggested one of his famous collaborations. Neo Muyanga, the impresario at the Centre for the Less Good Idea, and a specialist in Italian madrigals, joined the project to make different interventions, giving the production a uniquely local flavour. David Mann writes: “With the introduction of playful exercises in syncopated clapping, call-and-response vocals, and the improvisatory instrumentation of the Renaissance Ensemble, a contemporary take on Monteverdi emerged. As Muyanga puts it: “I want to know what Monteverdi’s compositions would sound like if he were moving through downtown Johannesburg.”’

I was privileged enough to get MUCH sought after tickets to see the one-night performance of The Open Moment in early September 2025. This was a performance of a “work in progress”, resulting from the intensive 5-day experimental workshop at the Centre for the Less Good Idea where Golding and Muyanga’s musical interpretations, vocalists from The Centre, and Kentridge’s back drop film projections and animations were tested and developed in a process of cross-pollination giving rise to an intriguing intersection of old and contemporary, European and local, formal and street talk.

Where else would it be possible to experience, in the small intimate studio space of the Director himself, the first phase of an experimental production: *The Open Moment* for a world-class performance with all the brilliance of a Kentridge collaborative process. Photo: Zivanai Matangi

And with serious advance warning …. THE DEAN’S CONCERT University of Johannesburg 7th November

The Dean’s Concert at University of Johannesburg on the first Saturday of November has become an annual event on the music calendar. Started by Prof Federico Freschi, the Dean of the Arts Faculty, it supports a bursary fund to aid academically deserving students with limited financial resources. Freschi, who has the most wonderful rich baritone voice (he is a trained opera singer), is affectionately known as the “Singing Dean” and is a star of the concert. Please read this Johannesburg In Your Pocket article on him – he is truly a Renaissance man! Along with the renowned UJ choir and acclaimed pianist and composer Christopher Duigan, this concert is always a really special event, NOT to be missed.

Some of the UJ Choir members with the Singing Dean, Prof Federico Freschi . Photo Courtesy of UJ Arts Centre published in *Johannesburg in Your Pocket.*

The Wits Chris Seabrooke Music Hall was launched in 2022 with great University fanfare as the only purpose-built live music hall with a modern acoustic design in Johannesburg. And it does look like an amazing auditorium. But to be honest I have never seen any notification of any concerts or performances taking place there, so either Wits in-house community is the targeted audience, or their marketing is not very good.

SITES TO FIND ONCE-OFF PERFORMANCES

With relatively few dedicated music venues, there are often single performances which are easy to miss if you don’t keep your eye open .. or should I say ears. Ask to be put on their mailing lists and then you will always be “in the know”. So, for example, I have heard the Scullery Quintet in three different venues: The Goethe Institut, Glenshiel, and chiesa di PAZZO LUPi.

I’m sure I have left out loads of sites, so please let me know if I have left you out or others that should be here.