A rare feat –experience six of Australia’s best pianists playing six grand pianos in a virtuosic kaleidoscope of music. 

Beginning with the genius of Bach, the program also features past and present Australian composers and a generous helping of Latin dance rhythms.

For a concert pianist isolation is the norm: practising alone and performing solo –so what happens when six of them come together in Sydney’s Town Hall?

In 12 Hands 6 Grands, the Sydney International Piano Competition’s Artistic Director, Piers Lane, has invited six of Australia’s best female pianists to join in a rare collaboration. Some are laureates of the competition, all are luminaries of the piano. 

Bach’s compositions provide the foundation, beginning with a simple prelude passed around the circle, before the program pivots to Australian music, with arranger and composer Grainger taking his cue from Bach’s dancing rhythms and weaving melodies. 

There’s reflective calm in music from Kats-Chernin’s Lebewohl concerto; Robert Keane introduces a Latin spirit; and the fabulous Jamaican Rumba inspires a flurry of fingers.

A collaborative performance of duos, trios and quartet, 12 Hands 6 Grands culminates in a musically complex performance by all six pianists –unleashing the sheer power and sublime expressive beauty of concert grand. 

The 6 Pianists:

Tamara-Anna Cislowska

Bernadette Harvey

Natalia Ricci

Stephanie McCallum

Sonya Lifschitz

There will be two performances of 12 Hands 6 Pianos at the Sydney Town Hall playing at 2pm and 7pm on Tuesday 19 January, 2021.

Duration 70 minutes.

Ticket prices $62-$69. 

Featured image: Pianist Sonya Lifschitz

http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au