January 27 to February 19 at the Linder Auditorium.

The Johannesburg International Mozart Festival is back.

Originally organised in 2006 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthday, the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival has developed into a highly successful and well-loved annual classical music event, with popular conductor Richard Cock at the helm as Music Director, together with concert pianist Florian Uhlig as Artistic Director.

It is now in its 4th year.

This year's composer-in-residence is pianist and composer, Paul Hanmer, who has recorded albums with Tananas, Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, McCoy Mrubata and Pops Mohamed.

Workshops and Masterclasses are increasingly an important platform of the festival. The Melodi Music project held as part of the Festival in previous years will run again, but this year forms part of an intercultural education exchange scheme with a similar group of students from Germany.

In the spirit of the collaboration with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, two week-long Masterclasses will be on offer – one for organists and one for South African vocal talents focused on development of singing technique, style and interpretation. Presented in conjunction with UNISA Pretoria, it will be led by Professor Josef Protschka, who brings his experience of an international career as an opera and lieder singer, as a r enowned pedagogue, and as Director of the Music Conservatoire in Cologne, Germany.

Distinguished young South African artists such as Shannon Mowday, and Quattro Fusion, with previous Standard Bank Young Artist award winners Melanie Scholtz and Samson Diamond performing with Melvin Peters and Godfrey Mgcina will grace the stages.

Also making an appearance will be KANNA Award winner for Best Male Artist at the 2010 ABSA KKNK, and 2011 KykNET Fiesta Award winner, guitarist James Grace.

Other prominent South African musicians and ensembles such as Hans Huyssen, Jill Richards, Waldo Alexander, Feya Faku, Magda de Vries, Frank Mallows, the Chanticleer Singers, and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra will also be making appearances.