Musica Viva Presents Chopin’s Piano On Tour

Musica Viva Australia presents Chopin’s Piano, a dramatic fusion of chamber music and theatrical performances honouring Frederick Chopin’s revolutionary 24 Preludes, as well as the history of a small craftsman’s pianino.

In this performance, the brilliant pianist Aura Go, a Musica Viva Australia FutureMakers alumnus, returns to the stage, accompanied by voice artist Jennifer Vuletic, directed by Richard Pyros, to tell the story of this singular instrument, the pieces composed on it, the artist who created them, and the changing value of music over time.

Written by Musica Viva Australia’s Artistic Director, Paul Kildea, author of the definitive novel on the topic, Chopin’s Piano: A Journey Through Romanticism with Richard Pyros, this rare production draws on a cast of real-life characters, weaving together a complete performance of the spellbinding 24 Preludes with a narrative that traces the rich history and ultimate fate of the Majorcan piano on which Chopin composed his Preludes.

Paul Kildea’s starting point was the only instrument at hand, a small Majorcan piano, when Chopin was inspired to write his Preludes. Says Kildea, “This is a theatrical staging a book I wrote about the instrument on which Chopin completed his twenty-four Preludes, great miniature-monuments of the nineteenth century, and the fate of this sacred relic in the face of collectors, both benign and evil, in the hundred years or so following their composition. It’s a detective story, a meditation on Romanticism, and an exploration of the changing meaning of music over time.”

Chopin’s piano took on talismanic qualities in the following century, with a cast of characters obsessed with its provenance, heritage and symbolism – from harpsichordist Wanda Landowska to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels – completing this miraculous story.

The national tour opens in Melbourne on Saturday 8 July before performances in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Perth, ending with a final performance in Adelaide on Wednesday 26 July.

Paul Kildea talks to SoundsLikeSydney about Musica Viva Australia’s 2023 program.

Tickets 

ARTISTS: AURA GO Piano/ JENNIFER VULETIC Actor/ RICHARD PYROS Director/RICHARD VABRE Original Lighting/ KELLY RYALL Sound/CHRISTINA SMITH Costumes
PROGRAM: CHOPIN 24 Preludes, Op. 28

Adapted from Paul Kildea’s book Chopin’s Piano by the author and Richard Pyros.
DATES AND TIMES
Melbourne Recital Centre, Saturday 8 July 7:00pm
Melbourne Recital Centre, Tuesday 11 July 7:00pm
QPAC’s Concert Hall, Brisbane, Thursday 13 July 7:00pm
City Recital Hall, Sydney, Saturday 15 July 7:00pm
City Recital Hall, Sydney, Monday 17 July 7:00pm
Llewellyn Hall – ANU, Canberra, Wednesday 19 July 7:00pm
Perth Concert Hall, Monday 24 July 7:30pm
Adelaide Town Hall, Wednesday 26 July 7:30pm