One of the world’s most experienced interpreters of Mozart on the Fortepiano, Melvyn Tan will join the Australian Haydn Ensemble to enchant audiences with a program inspired by the beauty and romance of Classical Paris at Canberra’s Albert Hall and Sydney’s City Recital Hall this June and July.
A prodigious child musical talent – Tan went to London to study at age twelve after a flight attendant saw him performing in Singapore and made it her quest to get his audition tape in the hands of the Yehudi Menuhin School in the UK. His piano teachers there included Nadia Boulanger, Vlado Perlemuter and Marcel Ciampi – who sparked his lifelong passion for French music.
Over his extensive career, Tan’s has performed as recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist at many of the world’s leading concert halls including the Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Carnegie Hall, and with such prestigious ensembles including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin’s in the Fields, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
More recently, Tan has made regular appearances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the London Chamber Orchestra, recording Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on the orchestra’s LCO Live label.
The Australian Haydn Ensemble, one of Australia’s leading period instrument orchestras, presents a program inspired by the beauty and romance of classical Paris exploring the fascinating connections of the then city that draw together Mozart, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Haydn and Marie Antoinette.
Along with Tan, they perform Mozart’s wonderful Concerto for Keyboard K. 456 No. 18, written for the Blind Parisian pianist Maria Theresa von Paradis. Audiences will also be treated to the Australian premiere of a symphony by the legendary C18th African Parisian violinist, director, swordsman and composer – Chevalier de Saint-Georges along with Haydn’s Symphony No. 85 ‘La Reine’ (The Queen) – said to be so nicknamed as it was the favourite of the doomed Queen Marie Antoinette.
“The most thoughtful, elegant, and refined of pianists.” – The Guardian
Melvyn Tan and Haydn’s Paris
Albert Hall, 100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla (Canberra)
Performance: Thursday 29 June 2017 – 7.00pm
Bookings: www.australianhaydn.com.au
City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney
Performance: Saturday 1 July 2017 – 7.00pm
Bookings: www.cityrecitalhall.com
For more information, visit: www.australianhaydn.com.au for details.
Image: Melvyn Tan