Sunday 10 May 09:30
Dutch Reformed Church Greyton
R200
This concert celebrates a remarkable musical milestone: the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Schubert’s iconic string quartet Death and the Maiden (D810). The programme also features one of his most profound chamber works, the String Quartet in C minor (Quartettsatz, D703). Together, these masterpieces offer a deeply moving journey through Schubert’s chamber music, highlighting both his dramatic intensity and his lyrical brilliance. Composed in 1820, the Quartettsatz marks Schubert’s transition from youthful experimentation to mature expression—an ideal opening work, charged with tension and dazzling vitality. Death and the Maiden, written during a period of personal turmoil, stands as one of the most powerful and enduring works in the string quartet repertoire. The 2026 Classics for All Festival coincides with its first performance in 1826, making this programme a historic and commemorative highlight. With Miroslav Chakaryan (violin I), Annien Shaw (violin II), Karin Gaertner (viola), and Susan Mouton (cello).
ANNIEN SHAW
Dr Annien Shaw is a soloist, chamber musician, Baroque violinist and teacher based in Cape Town. She holds a PhD in Performance Practice from the University of Cape Town, a PGDip and FRSM in solo performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester UK, a Masters in Chamber Music from the University of Stellenbosch, and an Honours in Psychology from UNISA. As a chamber musician she led the award-winning Stellenbosch University String Quartet on two international tours as well as being a founding member of the renowned Juliet String Quartet. She has been actively involved in the developing Baroque scene in Cape Town as a member of the Cape Consort and a Guest Concert Master and soloist of the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra (CTB). Annien is the founding member of The Flat Mountain Project and lectures at Stellenbosch University in repertoire studies, teaching methodology, chamber music, orchestral studies, musicology, violin and viola.
KAREN GAERTNER
Karin Gaertner was a full-time member of the former Cape Town Symphony Orchestra for many years and subsequently Principal Viola of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra until its closure in 2000. She studied viola in Cape Town with Pierre de Groote and graduated from UCT with a BSc degree, later furthering her viola studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She obtained her viola performance diploma with distinction from the conservatoire “Claudio Monteverdi” in Italy, where she worked full-time for 5 years as an ad hoc member of both the “Orchestra del teatro lirico di Cagliari” (Sardinia, Italy) and “Orchestra Haydn” (Bolzano, Italy). During this time she also participated in several masterclasses in France, Belgium and Italy.
Karin is a regular member of the Amici string quartet as well as a more recently-formed quartet currently involved in an ongoing project to perform the entire Beethoven string quartet repertoire.
MIRO CHAKARYAN
Miroslav was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. His father was the Principal viola of the Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for many years and Miroslav started violin lessons at the age of 6, making his first public appearance at the age of 8, playing concertos by Vivaldi and Bach. After graduating from the Sofia Music School in 1984 he was accepted into the National Music Academy in Sofia, from which he graduated in 1990. He performed regularly as a soloist in Bulgaria and worked with the best Bulgarian orchestras and chamber music groups, touring with them worldwide.
Miro came to South Africa in 1991, where he was Concert Master of the Bophuthatswana Chamber Orchestra. After completing his 2-year contract he joined the National Symphony Orchestra in Johannesburg where he was appointed Assistant Concert Master in 1995. After the demise of the NSO in 2000 he was one of the founding members of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he became Concert Master in 2001. In 2019, together with Zanta Hofmeyr, he won a Fiësta award for the best Classical Music Performance. Miro is also very involved in teaching and one of his pupils was the first South African student to be accepted to study music at the Moscow Conservatoire in Russia.
SUSAN MOUTON
Susan Mouton began cello lessons at the age of 10 and studied at the University of Pretoria under Professor Gerard van de Geest. Here she was the recipient of the Pretorium Trust bursary on three occasions, as well one of the winners of the Unisa SA Music Scholarship. After graduating she joined the National Symphony Orchestra in 1983, and was appointed Principal cellist in 1987. She studied with Marian Lewin while completing her Performer’s Diploma at Wits University and won a Unisa Overseas Study Bursary which she used to spend three months attending masterclasses in Europe. She was also fortunate to attend a Cello Congress in Washington at this time, where she was able to meet one of her heroes, Mstislav Rostropovich.
Since 2000 Susan has been Principal cellist of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to orchestral playing, she is active as a chamber musician. Together with her husband, Miroslav Chakaryan, she is a member of the JPO quartet, and in 2022 became a member of the newly formed Take 4 piano quartet. In 2001, she was on the jury for the National String Competition, and in 2010 was chosen as the only South African string specialist on the jury for the International String Competition. This honour was hers in 2022, too, when she was again on the jury for the 6th International String competition.
