A PREMIER international pianist is set to delight music-lovers at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts.<\/p>\n
The 17th annual Don Huntley Memorial Piano Recital will be performed by Russian instrumentalist Konstantin Shamray.<\/p>\n
\u201cI consider him to be the greatest,\u201d said senior piano teacher at Ballarat Grammar, Bronislaw Sozanski.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won the Sydney International, and is the only pianist to have won the audience prize and the judges\u2019 prize.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very fine, elegant, stylish player, and it\u2019s going to be a very major, exciting concert, with a big program.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could play in any concert hall in the world a draw a crowd. He\u2019s someone really special. If you want to see fireworks at the piano, you\u2019re going to see them here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piano Sonata No. 8 by Sergei Prokofiev, Prelude Chorale and Fugue by Cesar Franck, and La Valse by Maurice Ravel are all set to feature on Shamray\u2019s set list.<\/p>\n
Mr Sozanski said the recital will be as good as any other you could see and hear in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the only dedicated piano recital we have in Ballarat each year, and we want to keep that profile going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of that, we have a masterclass in the morning with half a dozen students for 90 minutes to two hours, where they\u2019ll play a piece each, it\u2019s discussed, worked through, and the audience watches and might ask questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a pedagogical role, as well as the performance, and we have the best piano here in Ballarat at the performing arts centre, a Steinway D.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don Huntley was a local accountant, a member of the Ballarat Grammar board, and a driving force behind the establishment of the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts, which opened shortly after his sudden death in 2006.<\/p>\n
The memorial recital, and a fund, were established to cover the costs of the centre\u2019s Steinway international competition-standard grand piano, and to support piano scholarships at Ballarat Grammar.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to attract top people in Australia to come and play, and we\u2019ve had some absolutely fabulous concerts,\u201d Mr Sozanski said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the people that play for us also play regularly in the Sydney Opera House, or at Hamer Hall. They\u2019re top-notch professional pianists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shamray is also a piano lecturer at the University of Adelaide\u2019s Elder Conservatorium of Music.<\/p>\n
The concert will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday, 13 May at the WCPA. A champagne supper will follow. Visit bit.ly\/3V8OfIS for tickets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A PREMIER international pianist is set to delight music-lovers at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts. The 17th annual Don Huntley Memorial Piano Recital will be performed by Russian instrumentalist Konstantin Shamray. \u201cI consider him to be the greatest,\u201d said senior piano teacher at Ballarat Grammar, Bronislaw Sozanski. \u201cHe won the Sydney International, and is […]<\/p>\n