The Age
'Kristian Chong is a pianist of impressive talent and sensitivity...'
'...a true chamber musician at work...'
Limelight Magazine
'The soloist, Kristian Chong, was nothing short of brilliant, giving a heartfelt performance of extraordinary beauty and sensitivity with finely controlled expression, tempi and touch.
The Adelaide Advertiser
'This was playing with finesse and strength in the best proportions' -
Silver Skies COMING SOON - release date MAY 29.
Silver Skies traces a luminous dialogue between flute and piano, spanning over a century of music from Paris to contemporary Australia. Flautist Megan Sterling and pianist Kristian Chong weave together the wit and elegance of Poulenc, the refined lyricism of Gaubert, and Martin’s introspective modernism with distinctive Australian voices—Vine’s rhythmic brilliance, Boyd’s meditative stillness, and Hyde’s vivid miniatures. This collection celebrates the French flute tradition’s enduring influence and the instrument’s timeless capacity for colour, line and song.
Two preview tracks will be released May 1 and 15! Stay tuned!
THURS 12 AUGUST 2021
In True Romantics, two of Australia's most accomplished musicians, clarinettist Philip Arkinstall and pianist Kristian Chong, bring new light and lyrical warmth to Brahms's Clarinet and Piano Sonatas, Op.120 and Clara Schumann's Three Romances, Op.22 (here transcribed for clarinet by Roger Young).
This album explores the late flowering of two intertwined musical souls: Johannes Brahms, whose inspiration was rekindled by the playing of clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, and Clara Schumann, whose influence and artistry shaped Brahms's creative life. The result is a recording steeped in tenderness, nostalgia and expressive intimacy - music where, in the words of Brahms's friend Eusebius Mandyczewski, "it is as though the instruments were in love with each other."
Recorded with clarity and warmth, True Romantics reveals the natural partnership between Arkinstall and Chong, two of Australia's leading interpreters of Romantic chamber repertoire. Together they capture both the intensity and inward grace of these works, highlighting the lyrical introspection and passionate dialogue between clarinet and piano.
Available at:
UPCOMING CONCERTS
THURSDAY 30 APRIL - SUNDAY 3 MAY 2026, 5pm
CONCERT 1 - THURSDAY 30 APRIL 2026 5pm
WAGNER LIEDER with ANNA LOUISE COLE
WAGNER - Wesendonck-Lieder
WAGNER - TAUSIG - Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, arranged for solo piano
WAGNER - Isoldens Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde (Mild und leise, wie er lächelt)
WAGNER - LISZT - O du mein holder Abendstern (Evening Star) from Tannhäuser, arranged for solo piano
WAGNER - Ewig war ich, ewig bin ich from Siegfried (Act III)
WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
CONCERT 2 - FRIDAY MAY 1 2026 - 530pm
SCHUBERT and SYRAH
SCHUBERT - Sonata in B flat Major D960
This intimate experience places Schubert’s final sonata at the heart of a curated journey through some of Australia’s most characterful wines. Each movement is paired with wine not for novelty, but for its resonance with the work’s character, emotional landscape and architectural beauty.
Featuring Cullen, Clonakilla, Chalmers wineries
GANDEL HALL, NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA, CANBERRA
CONCERT 3 - SATURDAY MAY 2 2026, 730pm
TISSAGES DU TEMPS
ENSEMBLE CONTRECHAMPS (Switzerland)
LYREBIRD BRASS
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
TIMOTHY YOUNG (piano)
Maurice RAVEL (arr. Gryzanov) Daphnis et Chloé Suite No.2 for two pianos
The shimmering landscape of French impressionism with Maurice Ravel’s intoxicating Daphnis et Chloé, performed in a sumptuous two-piano realisation by Kristian Chong and Timothy Young, conjuring the work’s sensuous harmonies, expansive vistas and mythic lyricism, illuminating the colours and gestures that would inspire a seismic shift in French composition.
SNOW CONCERT HALL, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
CONCERT 4 - SUNDAY MAY 3 2026, 630pm
PIANOS AND PERCUSION - FESTIVAL FINALE
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
TIMOTHY YOUNG (piano)
EUGENE UGHETTI (percussion)
KAYLIE MELVILLE (percussion)
VERONICA BAILEY (percussion)
RACHMANINOFF - Symphonic Dances (1940), original version for two pianos
Fiona HILL - new work (2026) for two pianos & percussion (Festival commission)
Igor STRAVINSKY - The Rite of Spring (1913), version for pianos & percussion
This Finale unites towering 20th century works and an exciting Festival commission to reveal the two-piano-plus-percussion ensemble at its most visceral and expressive.
SNOW CONCERT HALL, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2026, 8PM
SYDNEY MOZART SOCIETY
VIOLIN and PIANO recital
THE CONCOURSE CONCERT HALL CHATSWOOD, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
SOPHIE ROWELL (violin)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
Kristian returns with leading violinist Sophie Rowell for a program featuring four canonic duo Sonatas by Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven and Ravel. The exquisite gracefulness of Mozart's G major Sonata is paired with Brahms elegant and yet passionate 2nd Sonata, with Beethoven's highly dramatic and epic C minor Sonata alongside Ravel's charming 'Blues' Sonata, nicknamed due to its heavy blues influenced 2nd movement.
MOZART - Sonata for Piano & Violin in G K301
BRAHMS - Sonata for Violin & Piano in A Op.100
BEETHOVEN - Sonata for Piano & Violin Op.30 no. 1 in C minor
RAVEL - Sonata for Violin & Piano No.2 in G
The CONCOURSE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
THURSDAY 28 MAY 2026, 7PM
CAMERON ROBERTS (piano)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
Nightingale Performing Arts Australia presents the inaugural concert of the Nightingale Performing Arts Piano Series, Fantasies and Mystical Schubert: A Concert of Four Hands, featuring Kristian Chong and Cameron Roberts.
The Nightingale Piano Series showcases Australian and international pianists of exceptional calibre, carefully curated for their artistry, depth, and expressive voices.
This all-Schubert program explores the composer’s introspective and transcendent late style. Cameron performs the late Klaverstücke, before joining long-time colleague and friend Kristian Chong for the Fantasie in F-minor for four hands. Kristian concludes the program with Schubert’s final piano sonata, bringing this profound musical journey to a close.
SCHUBERT - 3 Klavierstucke D946
SCHUBERT - Fantasie in F minor for 4 hands D940
SCHUBERT- Sonata in B flat major D960
LATEST REVIEWS and ARTICLES
Review: Classic Melbourne: Kristian Chong and Friends: Jack Liebeck and Kristian Chong 15 March 2025
Review: THE AGE: Majestic Celebrations: Kristian Chong & Friends 9 November 2024
Review: MAGAZINE: Kristian Chong & Sophie Rowell (Musica Viva Tasmania) 31 Oct 2023
Review: MAGAZINE: Caitlin Hulcup, Fiona Sargeant and Kristian Chong 3 Oct 2023
Review: ADELAIDE ADVERTISER: Li-Wei Qin & Kristian Chong - 9 July 2023
Review: INDAILY: Coriole Music Festival 2023
Meet the performers! Interview for Coriole Music Festival in May 2023
Review: MAGAZINE: War and Peace, Canberra Symphony Orchestra - 15 Sept 2022 - Malcolm Williamson's Piano Concerto No.2
Australian pianist, Kristian Chong announced as YAMAHA Artist - 19 April 2022
