Sunday 26 April at 2.30pm

We are privileged that John chooses to perform in Waikanae during his infrequent return visits to New Zealand. John started piano lessons when he was three and made his official orchestral debut at the age of fifteen, performing Prokofiev’s third Piano Concerto with the NZSO. In 2004 he became the youngest-ever winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition. Since then his schedule has taken him around the world, including performances at prestigious festivals and a period with the award-winning Saguaro Trio.

Passionate about teaching, John gives masterclasses and presentations on music education and from 2011 to 2013 was Lecturer in Chamber Music at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hamburg. He now lives in Zambia, where both he and his wife teach at Chengelo Secondary School. Teaching music and maths in Zambia might be an unexpected career move for a supremely talented concert pianist, but as he put it in an Upbeat interview, he’s “a bit of a radical when it comes to life.” Nothing, however, has lessened his commitment to the piano, as we heard at his magnificent recital for us in 2018.

Now we look forward to hearing him again in a romantic feast of Chopin, plus Schumann’s ferociously difficult third sonata.

Sunday 29 March

“Marshev’s vibrant, fluent and tastefully inflected pianism fuses power and poetry at every juncture” – Classics Today

Because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, our performer, Oleg Marshev, was unable to come to New Zealand. The Committee considered carefully whether to provide a substitute artist, but given the fast-moving developments in New Zealand, including the first case appearing in Wellington, we have decided that a public gathering of our members at this time is too great a risk. Refunds were provided for tickets already purchased, including season ticket holders.

Born in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1988 and winning the Pilar Bayona International Piano Competition in Zaragoza. In 1990 he took the Gold Medal at the AMSA World Piano Competition of Cincinnati. Many other illustrious competition successes followed, including four first prizes, confirming his reputation as one of the most talented Russian pianists of his generation. In 1991, Oleg made his New York debut at the Lincoln Center, and he has performed regularly around the world since then.

Resident in Italy, he gives masterclasses in many different countries and is a Professor at the Anton Bruckner University in Austria. He is a prolific recording artist with more than 45 CDs to his name, all received with widespread critical acclaim by leading international publications.

His fascinating programme called “Dialogue: Chopin and Scriabin” will offer a comparison between these two composers’ approach to similar musical forms. Like Chopin (although fifty years later) Scriabin was primarily a piano composer. His earliest pieces resemble Chopin’s and include genres that Chopin himself employed, such as the waltz, the polonaise, the nocturne and the mazurka.

Sunday 9 February at 2.30pm

Michael Houstoun. Amici: Donald Armstrong, Emma Barron, Anna van der Zee (violins), Andrew Thomson (viola), Ken Ichinose (cello), Oleksandr Gunchenko (double bass), Bridget Douglas and Kirstin Eade (flutes), Douglas Mews (harpsichord)

Michael Houstoun’s concerts have been a constant joy to Waikanae audiences since he first played for us in 1986. Now we have reached the end of an era with his final appearance on our stage. Joining him for this very special occasion will be Donald Armstrong’s popular Amici Ensemble in a programme devoted to the music of J S Bach. We have many memories of Michael playing Bach for us, including his unforgettable performance of the Goldberg Variations in 2012. And one of the Amici Ensemble’s most successful and enjoyable concerts was their all-Bach programme in 2015.

The Amici Ensemble will open the concert with a delightful Trio Sonata for flute, violin and cello with harpsichord continuo, preparing the way for Michael’s solo performance of the great D Major Partita. After the interval the nine-strong Amici Ensemble will play the well-known Brandenburg Concerto No 4 with its solo parts for two flutes. Then all performers join forces for the highlight of the concert – Michael Houstoun playing the Keyboard Concerto in D minor, to end a memorable concert and to provide a stirring farewell to Waikanae Music Society’s much-admired favourite pianist.

This concert is generously supported by the Deane Endowment Trust