piano recital

Kim + Kuo: de Laroccha & Schnabel

A CELEBRATION OF TWO PIANISTIC GIANTS

A Celebration of Two Pianistic Giants presents a program of rarely heard works by two incomparable giants of twentieth-century pianism, Alicia de Laroccha (1923 - 2009) and Artur Schnabel (1882-1951). These artists each had a uniquely different sound: de Laroccha followed the Spanish school of Enrique Granados and Schnabel was the beloved disciple of Theodor Leschetizky. Yet fascinatingly, these two pianists held in common a quiet interest in composition and each left behind a small collection of relatively unknown piano works.

Performed by Sangmi Kim and Winnie Chih-Wei Kuo, these rare gems will be presented in this varied and colourful program on the Melba Hall stage.

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Bowman: JS Bach

A CONTRAPUNTAL CORNUCOPIA: WELL-TEMPERED KLAVIER, BOOK 2

Revered by the greatest musicians of every age since their composition, the two books of Bach’s Das wohltemperierte Klavier are considered contrapuntal masterworks. A series of forty-eight preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys, both books are celebrated and beloved by keyboardists and audiences alike.

While regarded as one of the most influential works in Western music, the books are rarely performed in their entirety due to the significant demands placed upon the performer. However, over two performances in the Primrose Potter Salon, expert performer on all Baroque keyboard instruments, Dr Calvin Bowman will venture through the world of Bach and present each book, one at a time, for audiences to savor and enjoy.

With over thirty-five years of careful consideration and performance, Dr Bowman will draw out the colour and intricacies of Bach’s vision to create a musical experience unique to the modern piano – a wonderful conclusion to his two-part exploration..

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Soo: Beethoven

David Soo presents a collection of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Beethoven was arguably one of the most influential composers during the classical period. His innovative approach towards form, textures, harmonies and surprises embodies a new spirit of individualism that dominated pianism and musicianship in the romantic period.

Opening with the grand and dramatic ‘Pathétique’ sonata, Soo recites this work of great emotional depth, which echoes Beethoven’s strength of character. Followed by Beethoven’s first piano sonata, which was composed in 1795 and was dedicated to his teacher and mentor Franz Joseph Haydn. The recital concludes with the composer’s penultimate piano sonata No.31, which explores human sympathy to rough country humour, then finally from operatic despair to the safe harbour of consolation, resolve and triumph.

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Leslie: Beethoven

LATE WORKS II: BEETHOVEN'S 33 VARIATIONS ON A WALTZ BY DIABELLI

"We shall not cease from exploration,
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.“
T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Beethoven returns us, in the final minuet, to our beginning, now seen afresh and transfigured "by that refining fire, Where you must move in measure like a dancer."
T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

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Hooke: Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Boyd & Ginastera

Originally from country Victoria, pianist Joshua Hooke is currently completing a PhD in Music Performance at the University of Melbourne, under the guidance of Professors Ian Holtham and Paul Kildea. Previously, Joshua was invited to undertake periods of intensive private study in Vienna with Paul Badura-Skoda, and was among his last students. He also studies regularly in London with Imogen Cooper.

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Munro: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Schubert & Strauss-Godowsky

Ian Munro is one of Australia’s most distinguished and awarded musicians with a career that has taken him to thirty countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia. As a composer, Ian is the only Australian to have been awarded the Premier Grand Prix at the Queen Elisabeth Competition for Composers (2003), and was in 2011 the Featured Composer for Musica Viva Australia. After completing his early training in Melbourne with Roy Shepherd, Ian furthered his studies in Vienna, London and Italy with Noretta Conci, Guido Agosti and Michele Campanella, launching his international career in the UK.

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