2025 CONCERTS and EVENTS
FREYA FRANZEN (violin)
SAUL LEWIS (french horn)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
BANKS - Horn Trio
KOECHLIN - Quatre petites pièces
BRAHMS - Trio for Violin, French Horn and Piano Op.40
The combination of French horn, violin and piano creates a versatile sound-world, radiating robust warmth, impressive power and delicate subtlety. This intimate performance features three works for this delightful trio in a program inspired by the late Barry Tuckwell, a Melbourne-born horn player who became one of the world’s most recorded horn soloists
Saturday 15 MARCH 2025
KRISTIAN CHONG and FRIENDS - Concert 1
Liebeck and Chong
PRIMROSE POTTER SALON
MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE
JACK LIEBECK (violin)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
UK violinist Jack Liebeck is one is the leading violinists worldwide, and is artistic director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. He is the Émile Sauret Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music, and has performed with many leading orchestras as soloist including all of the major UK orchestras, as well as the Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Symphony. He reunites with pianist Kristian Chong in iconic works of Schubert, Ysaye, Mendelssohn alongside a world premiere by Paul Dean, written for Jack.
SCHUBERT - Sonata for Violin and Piano in A D 574
YSAYE - Poème élégiaque for Violine and Klavier op.12
DEAN, Paul - Sonatina for Violin and Piano (WORLD PREMIERE)
MENDELSSOHN - Songs without Words No 1 op.19 (1809-1847) (arranged for Violin & Piano by Hermann)
MENDELSSOHN - Sonata for Violin and Piano in F
SATURDAY 22 MARCH 2025, 730pm
BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3
ZELMAN MEMORIAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JAMES TATOULIS AUDITORIUM, METHODIST LADIES COLLEGE
SMYTH - The Wreckers: Overture
BEETHOVEN - Piano Concerto no.3 in C minor
SHOSTAKOVICH - Symphony No. 5 Op.47
Kristian returns to the Zelman Symphony with conductor Rick Prakhoff in Beethoven's dramatic C minor Piano Concerto. This is the youthful Beethoven at his most spiritual and profound, with the key of C minor already definitively connected as a key related to foreboding and angst.
THURSDAY 10 APRIL 2025, 11am
AMEB SOUND INSIGHTS
PIANO RECITAL & LECTURE
PRIMROSE POTTER SALON
MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE
BACH - Invention No. 14 in Bb major
CHOPIN - Nocturne in C# minor (posthumous)
MOZART - Rondo in D major K485
HILL - Berceuse
KATS-CHERNIN - Cinema
KATS-CHERNIN - Get Well Rag
Sound Insights offers learners the opportunity to hear Level Two piano syllabus favourites performed by concert pianist Kristian Chong. Enjoy in-depth discussions on the pieces, featuring descriptions by composer Elena Kats-Chernin of her works, along with valuable insights designed to support and inspire developing musicians.
Oxford May Music is a music, science and arts festival that celebrates culture and human achievements in a truly unique way. The festival's ethos of combining the very cutting edge of science alongside world-class concerts has for the last 15 years attracted visitors from all over the world. They come for the wide ranging and fascinating programmes put together by artistic director and award winning violinist Jack Liebeck and renowned particle physicist Prof. Brian Foster.
MAY 2 2025 - 8pm
Concert 1 - "Vive l'Empereur!"
GLIERE: Octet in G Major, Op. 5
SCHUBERT - Die Befreier Europa's in Paris, D104
SCHUBERT - Einsamkeit (fromWinterreise), D. 911
SCHUBERT - Die Liebe hat gelogen, D. 751
SCHUBERT - Nacht und Traüme, D. 827
SCHUBERT - Die Allmacht, D. 852
A. SCHOENBERG - Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte Op. 41
BRAHMS - Three Intermezzi, Op. 117
CRABB - Scottish Traditional Folk Music
Alex Aldren - tenor
Jack Liebeck - violin, Alexandra Raikhlina - violin
Tatiana Berman - violin, Julian Schad - violin
Benjamin Roskams - viola, Laurie Anderson - viola
Dragan Djordjevic - cello, Adrian Brendel - cello
Stacey Watton - double bass
Kristian Chong - piano, Danny Driver - piano
James Crabb - accordion
MAY 3 2025 -2pm
Concert 2 - A Baroque Afternoon
HANDEL - Sonata in D major for violin and basso continuo HWV 371
VIVALDI - Triple Concerto for violin, cello, organ (accordion) and strings in C major RV 554
BACH - Double Keyboard Concerto in C minor BWV 1060. arranged for accordion, piano and string quintet
HANDEL - Concerto Grosso in A Major Op. 6 No. 11, HWV 329
Jack Liebeck - violin, Alexandra Raikhlina - violin
Benjamin Roskams - viola, Laurie Anderson - viola
Dragan Djordjevic - cello Adrian Brendel - cello
Stacey Watton - double bass
Kristian Chong - piano
James Crabb - accordion
The first afternoon concert is a treasure-trove of baroque music in chamber-music arrangements from three of its greatest masters. It features our resident accordionist, James Crabb in concertos and joining our Musical Director, Jack Liebeck, in one of Handel’s famous Op. 1 group of violin sonatas.
MAY 3 2025, 8pm
Concert 3 - From the Centre of Europe
KURTAG Selected String Trio and Solo Cello Miniatures
Virág az ember
A Flower for Dénes Zsigmondy
Hommage à J. S. Bach
Perpetuum mobile
Homage a John Cage and In Folk Style
LIGETI - Selected pieces for four hands at piano
Three Wedding Dances
Sonatina
Polyfönetüd
SCHUBERT - Fantasie in F minor for four hands at one piano, D. 940
BRAHMS - Piano Trio No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 101
BACH - Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043
Jack Liebeck - violin, Alexandra Raikhlina - violin
Benjamin Roskams - viola, Laurie Anderson - viola
Dragan Djordjevic - cello, Adrian Brendel - cello
Stacey Watton - double bass
Kristian Chong - piano, Danny Driver - piano
James Crabb - accordion
The Festival Players
Kurtag and Ligeti make an acerbic introduction to Schubert’s haunting Fantasie. Its mood changes, from melancholy to grandiose and back again, are as quicksilver as the composition is inspired. The second half is much sunnier, with Brahms’ final string trio and the well-known Bach “Double” Concerto.
MAY 4 2025 - 2pm
Concert 4 - Contrasts
BEETHOVEN - Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 16
BARTOK - Contrasts for Violin, Piano and Clarinet
POULENC - Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (arr. Accordion)
Jack Liebeck - violin, Alexandra Raikhlina - violin
Benjamin Roskams - viola, Dragan Djordjevic - cello, Adrian Brendel - cello
Kristian Chong - piano, Danny Driver - piano
James Crabb - accordion
Julian Bliss - clarinet
Beethoven’s Op. 16 was originally inspired by Mozart’s Piano and Wind Quintet, K442 and appears in a version with the same forces and indeed key. Simultaneously however Beethoven produced the version we hear this afternoon, modified for piano and strings. This contrast in wind compared to strings is exploited to the full by Bartok in his piece, hence its title. Benny Goodman commissioned the Bartok work; the Poulenc sonata was also commissioned by him. He intended to perform the premier with the composer but Poulenc died just before the performance.
MAY 4 2025 - 8pm
DVORAK - Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81
P. VASKS - “Lonely Angel”
ELGAR: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 85 (chamber music arrangement, Carle Hinde/St George’s Chamber Ensemble)
Jack Liebeck - violin, Alexandra Raikhlina - violin
Benjamin Roskams - viola, Dragan Djordjevic - cello, Adrian Brendel - cello,
Katherine Jenkinson - cello
Stacey Watton - double bass
Kristian Chong - piano
The Piano Quintet is one of Dvorak’s most monumental and engaging works. The Peteris Vasks “Lonely Angel” is a breath-takingly lovely meditation for violin and strings. The Elgar Concerto, his last major work, needs no introduction - although you have almost certainly never heard it in this arrangement!
MAY 5 2025 - 2pm
E. Ysaye: Poème élégiaque, Op. 12
P. Dean: Homage to Bartok (UK Premiere)
F. Mendelssohn: Songs without Words op.19 No. 1 (arranged von Hermann)
F. Mendelssohn: Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in F Major
Jack Liebeck - violin
Kristian Chong - piano
A violin and piano recital to conclude this festival featuring a UK premiere, another great violinist’s impassioned masterpiece and two Mendelssohn pieces, the sonata being only published way after his tragic early death in 1953.
MAY 5 2025 - 6pm
J.P. Jofre: Tangodromo String Quartet and Bandoneon No. 1
R. Strauss: Four Last Songs, Op. Posth, (arr. James Crabb)
M. Bonis: “Ave Maria”
George Crumb: Three Early Songs
F. Mendelssohn: 6 Gesange - Auf Flügeln des Gesanges - Op. 34 No. 2
R. Hahn: 12 Rondels - No.9, “Les etoiles”
W.A. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K622 (arr. Marnix van den Berg)
Jack Liebeck - violin, Alexandra Raikhlina - violin
Benjamin Roskams - viola, Laurie Anderson - viola
Dragan Djordjevic - cello, Adrian Brendel - cello
Stacey Watton - double bass
Kristian Chong - piano
James Crabb - accordion
Carolyn Sampson - soprano
Julian Bliss - clarinet
A concluding concert with a heady mix of Modern & Classical, Lieder and String Quartet, Clarinet and Bandoneon, Early Songs and Last Songs. Few things in music are more sublime and moving than the Strauss and Mozart pieces - a fitting finale!
Kristian returns with Corpus Medicorum after his performance of Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 in 2023 to play Shostakovich's charming second piano concerto under the baton of Fabian Russell. The piece was written as a birthday present for Shostakovich’s nineteen-year-old son Maxim – himself an accomplished pianist. The middle movement is a heart-wrenching Andante, and on either side are two vivacious movements, both full of style and an overwhelming sense of fun. Shostakovich apparently hid all sorts of family references within the music – jokes that only he and Maxim would truly understand.
GLINKA - OVERTURE to RUSLAN and LYUDMILA
SHOSTAKOVICH PIANO CONCERTO No. 2
TCHAIKOVSKY - SYMPHONY NO. 4
TUESDAY 27 MAY 2025
HANSON DYER HALL SERIES
BEETHOVEN AND SUTHERLAND
HANSON DYER HALL, MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
SOPHIE ROWELL (violin)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
Margaret SUTHERLAND - Sonata for Violin and Piano (1925)
BEETHOVEN - Sonata for Piano and Violin Op.47 in A major (Kreutzer)
Violinist Sophie Rowell is one of Australia's leading musicians. She is the artistic director of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and previously has been co-concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony and first violinist in the Australian String Quartet, and is newly appointed at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music as Associate Professor in Violin. Sophie and Kristian have been playing together for many years, having grown up together in their home town of Adelaide. They play a program of epic proportions – starting with Australian Margaret Sutherland’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, written almost 100 years ago in 1925. This is followed by the great Beethoven Kreuzter Sonata for Piano and Violin, one of the highlights of the sonata repertoire; a beautiful, passionate and mesmerising journey.
SUNDAY 22 JUNE 2025
SOUTH COAST MUSIC SOCIETY
CELLO and PIANO SONATAS on ICE
BATEMANS BAY, AUSTRALIA
SIMON COBCROFT (cello)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
BEETHOVEN - Sonata for Piano and Cello Op.69 in A major
BARBER - Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 6
Tristan COELHO - Ice Monuments (2021) for solo piano
MENDELSSOHN - Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2
Simon Cobcroft is the new Associate Principal Cellist of the Sydney Symphony, former principal cellist of the Adelaide Symphony and current artistic director of the Coriole Music Festival in SA. He partners again with Kristian Chong in Sonatas by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Barber, alongside a new prize winning work for solo piano by Australian composer Tristan Coelho 'Ice Monuments', which Kristian picked as his judges choice in the Sydney International Piano Competition's 'Composing the Future' Award in 2021.
WEDNESDAY 30 JULY 2025
CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS
SIDE BY SIDE PROJECT
MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
DALE BARLTOP (violin)
RICHARD NARROWAY (cello)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
BEETHOVEN - Piano Trio in C minor Op.1 No. 3
DVORAK - Piano Trio in F minor No.3, Op.65
The outstanding Dale Barltop and Richard Narroway return with Kristian in exhilarating piano trios by Beethoven and Dvorak. The Beethoven is one of the exciting and thrilling trios in existence, being dramatic and yet charming in it’s faster movements, and with a set of variations as its second movement which ingeniously unfold. It is paired with Dvorak’s Op.65 Trio, regarded as one of the most innovative and important works of its genre. The opulence of this symphonically conceived work almost transcends the chamber music genre itself. In terms of its expression, this composition is exceptional in Dvořák’s oeuvre: instead of the warmth and spontaneous joy of life typical for Dvořák, the music here conveys dark and sombre thoughts, a sense of uncertainty, uneasiness and defiance, intriguing for a winter’s night.
BEETHOVEN - Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op 11
DE FALLA - Suite Populaire espagnole
CLARA SCHUMANN - Three Romances, Op 22
BEETHOVEN - Sonata for Piano and Cello Op.69
SULKI YU (violin)
ROHAN de KORTE (cello)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
Join pianist Kristian Chong, violinist Sulki Yu and cellist Rohan de Korte, three of Australia’s most distinguished musicians as they present a veritable banquet of Romantic works. The concert will culminate with Beethoven’s early Clarinet Trio Op 11. Also featured will be works by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla and Clara Schumann.
SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER 2025
KRISTIAN CHONG & FRIENDS - Concert 3
PRIMROSE POTTER SALON, MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE
TRANSCRIBED SONATAS WITH TIPI
BEETHOVEN - Sonata for Piano and Horn in F (transcribed for cello and piano)
SCHUBERT - Arpeggione Sonata
The legendary Timo-Veikko Valve from the Australian Chamber Orchestra reunites with Kristian in these two sonatas that were not intended for performance by the cello. Beethoven's Sonata for Piano and Horn was written for the Natural Horn, and Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata was for the Arpeggione - essentially a bowed guitar! The Schubert in particular is revered and played by many other instruments, and Beethoven an early masterwork that shows vitality and vibrancy.
KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY (piano)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
RICHARD DAVIS (conductor)
SAINT-SAËNS - Carnival of the Animals
Join the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music's Master of Music (Orchestral Performance) students for their annual showcase concert. You will hear the entire cohort perform alongside elite musicians from our city’s professional orchestras and the Faculty of Music in performances of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals.
11 and 12 OCTOBER 2025
MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC PIANO FESTIVAL
HANSON DYER HALL
KRISTIAN CHONG, KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY
LIGETI - Sonatina for piano/four hands,
LIGETI - Three Wedding Dances for Four Hands
Many other works performed by other piano staff.
Pianists at both the pre-tertiary and tertiary level are invited to spend the weekend with our Keyboard Area staff at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. The festivities will culminate in a gala concert on Saturday 11 October titled An Evening of Song and Dance. This program will include an eclectic array of solo and duo repertoire and features the Conservatorium Keyboard Area staff. These pianists are amongst the most distinguished in Australia.
The festival also includes masterclasses given by Jerry Wong, Glenn Riddle, Konstantin Shamray and Andrea Lam. Selected participants will perform in these classes and observation of any class is available via registration.
Lastly, there will also be a roundtable discussion with the staff on Sunday 12 October. Topics will include successful practise tools, taking auditions and choosing repertoire. There will be time for questions and answers between participants and teaching staff.
TUESDAY 14 OCTOBER 2025
HANSON DYER CONCERT SERIES
2 PIANOS and PERCUSSION
HANSON DYER HALL, MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
BRENT MILLER (percussion) Other percussion TBC
KRISTIAN CHONG, PETER DE JAEGER (pianos)
Iannix XENAKIS - Komboi (Duo for harpsichord and percussion)
Sofia Gubaidulina - Rumore E Silenzio (for harpsichord and percussion)
Karen TANAKA - Jardin des herbes (for harpsichord solo)
J.S. BACH - Selection of harpsichord works (arranged for harpsichord and percussion)
Francois COUPERIN - Selection of harpsichord works (arranged for harpsichord and percussion)
BERNSTEIN - West Side Story Arranged for two pianos and percussion.
Join pianists Peter de Jager and Kristian Chong, head of percussion Brent Miller, and percussion students from the Melbourne Conservatorium for an enticing exposé of music for keyboards of all types - harpsichord, celeste, percussion and piano. The first half includes the iconic Komboï by Iannix Xenakis for harpsichord and percussion, paired with stellar works by J.S. Bach, Francois Couperin, Sofia Gubaidulina and Karen Tanaka. The second half of the concert features a dazzling reading of Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, for two pianos and a full complement of percussion.
THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2025
ARKINSTALL, MOORE and CHONG
TEMPO RUBATO, AUSTRALIA
PHILIP ARKINSTALL (clarinet)
CHRISTOPHER MOORE (viola)
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
BRAHMS - Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Op.120 No. 1
MICHAEL BAKRČEV - new world premiere
BRAHMS - Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Op.120 No. 2
This recital features both Brahms Sonatas for Clarinet/Viola and Piano - one on the clarinet, the other on the viola in this case alongside a world premiere by composer Michael Bakrnčev. Philip Arkinstall is one of Australia's premiere clarinettists and likewise, Christopher Moore is one of Australia's finest musicians; both musicians are principals in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2025
SOLO PIANO RECITAL
HOBART TOWN HALL, AUSTRALIA
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
SCHUBERT - Sonata in B flat major D960
In the words of pianist Stephen Hough; ‘The opening movement of the Sonata in B flat major goes beyond analysis. It is one of those occasions when the pen has to be set down on the desk, the body rested against the back of' a chair, and a listener's whole being surrendered to another sphere. This Sonata is considered one of the greatest solo piano works - written at the end of his life and with his awareness of morbidity coming very quickly. A recital that showcases and highlights the huge range of human emotions relating to life and death.
WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2025
SOLO PIANO RECITAL
PRINCESS THEATRE, LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
SCHUBERT - Sonata in B flat major D960
In the words of pianist Stephen Hough; ‘The opening movement of the Sonata in B flat major goes beyond analysis. It is one of those occasions when the pen has to be set down on the desk, the body rested against the back of' a chair, and a listener's whole being surrendered to another sphere. This Sonata is considered one of the greatest solo piano works - written at the end of his life and with his awareness of morbidity coming very quickly. A recital that showcases and highlights the huge range of human emotions relating to life and death.
THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2025
SOLO PIANO RECITAL
BURNIE ARTS CENTRE, BURNIE, AUSTRALIA
KRISTIAN CHONG (piano)
SCHUBERT - Sonata in B flat major D960
In the words of pianist Stephen Hough; ‘The opening movement of the Sonata in B flat major goes beyond analysis. It is one of those occasions when the pen has to be set down on the desk, the body rested against the back of' a chair, and a listener's whole being surrendered to another sphere. This Sonata is considered one of the greatest solo piano works - written at the end of his life and with his awareness of morbidity coming very quickly. A recital that showcases and highlights the huge range of human emotions relating to life and death.