"It’s our job to bring the listener in through our portal. A numinous moment when, hopefully, we can make time stand still." - Richard Tognetti
Experience the electrifying synergy of Richard Tognetti AO, the visionary Artistic Director of the ACO, and Konstantin Shamray, Australia’s most formidable pianist. This powerhouse duo delivers a recital of breathtaking virtuosity—Bach, Schubert, Brahms— performed with an unmistakedly fresh approach and infused with passion.
Tognetti, wielding his rare 1743 Guarneri del Gesù, is a force of nature on the violin, while Shamray, the only pianist to win both First and People’s Choice at the Sydney International Piano Competition, commands the keys with fearless brilliance.
Prepare to be spellbound.
Programme Highlights:
BACH – Fugue from Violin Sonata No. 3
SCHUBERT – Fantasie in C Major
BRAHMS – Violin Sonata No. 1
Richard Tognetti has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism. He began his studies in Wollongong NSW with William Primrose, then with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium, and Igor Ozim at the Bern Conservatory, where he was awarded the Tschumi Prize as the top graduate soloist in 1989. Later that year he led several performances of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and that November was appointed as the Orchestra’s lead violin and, subsequently, Artistic Director. He is also Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia.
Richard plays a 1743 Guarneri del Gesu worth over $15m, an instrument that Paganini himself has played.
Described as an exhilarating performer with faultless technique and fearless command of the piano, pianist Konstantin Shamray enjoys performing on an international level with the world’s leading orchestras and concert presenters.
In 2008, Konstantin burst onto the concert scene when he won First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition. He is the first and only competitor to date in the 40 years of the competition to win both First and People’s Choice Prizes, in addition to six other prizes. He then went on to win First Prize at the 2011 Klavier Olympiade in Bad Kissingen, Germany. In 2013 he was awarded the Kissinger Sommer festival’s coveted Luitpold Prize for “outstanding musical achievements”.
Since then, Konstantin has performed extensively throughout the world. In Australia recent and future season highlights include engagements with the Queensland Symphony, West Australian Symphony and twice with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, with whom he enjoys a special relationship. Konstantin has also undertaken a prestigious nationwide tour for Musica Viva with players of ANAM directed by Sophie Rowell. Outside of Australia he has performed with the Russian National Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Orchestre National de Lyon, Prague Philharmonia, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic.
