Dancing Shadows - Steinway Gallery Sydney

Two young Australian pianists. Two recitals. One weekend of music.

Melbourne pianist Sean Kim and Sydney-based pianist Luke Zhang come together for Dancing Shadows, an independently curated concert series that brings two emerging Australian pianists to the Sydney stage. Both musicians are part of a new generation of pianists building their careers beyond the conservatorium, performing, teaching, competing, travelling, and creating their own opportunities along the way. Dancing Shadows gives them a chance to share the music they love on their own terms.

Across two contrasting recitals, music by C.P.E. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Michałowski, Ravel, and George Benjamin moves between elegance, drama, nostalgia, intensity and fantasy. Familiar sounds are transformed, melodies return in unexpected ways, and moments of dance give way to something darker and more mysterious. The title Dancing Shadows reflects the way music carries traces of what came before it. Old ideas reappear, change shape, and take on new life, much like the musicians themselves as they move between tradition and their own artistic voices.

Program:

Luke Zhang

• Frédéric Chopin — Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 4

                                   I. Allegro Maestoso

                                   II. Allegretto Menuetto

                                   III. Larghetto

                                   IV. Presto Finale

• Aleksander Michałowski — Mazurka No. 1-3, Op.5-7

  • Valse triste Op.11

  • Valse Brillante Op.13

• Maurice Ravel — La Valse

Sean Kim

• C.P.E. Bach —  Keyboard Sonata in E minor Wq 59/1 (H.281)

• George Benjamin — Meditation on a Theme by Haydn

• Frédéric Chopin —  Nocturne in C minor, Op.48 No.1

• Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 “Waldstein”

                                   I. Allegro con brio

                                   II. Introduzione: Adagio molto

                                   III. Rondo: Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo