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World Expo 2020 - Australia PavillionWe are so excited to be partnering with the 2020 World Expo - Australian Pavilion. Once again, Stuart and Sons pianos will have pride of place in the Pavilion VIP event space. Resident musicians will bring the piano to life during the World Expo Dubai event that runs from 01 October 2022 through to 31 March 2022.
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Christopher Moore - The vertical Colour of SoundStuart and Sons Piano Owner, Christopher Moore, explaining the reason for his purchase and the vertical color of sound. Link will take you to sound cloud. A transcript can be downloaded using the other link provided.
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2021 Program - Tempo RubatoTempo Rubato is a live classical music venue in Brunswick, VIC. Tempo Rubato work in partnership with Piano Project, a Melbourne charity that supports projects that provide access to musical education. A performance space for ticketed concerts with a 102 key Stuart & Sons concert grand piano. And a bar which hosts other musical meals. All profits made at Tempo Rubato are donated to Piano Project.
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2021 Program - Beleura House and GardenThe Pavillion is an intimate salon for audiences to hear Australia's finest musicians. Beleura commissioned Stuart and Sons to build two pianos that both have an extended range. These instruments attract pianists from around the world.
Events for 2021 include: Paul Grabowsky, the Kaleidoscopic Trio, Stefan Cassomenos, Ensemble Francaix, Andrea Keller, Tony Gould, Mark Fitzgibbon and Barney McAll, Sage with Troy Rogan as well as four concerts in the ANAM Concert Series.
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Faust: a Mortals TaleRecorded, engineered and mixed by Ashley Hribar. Recorded at The Tallis Pavillion, Beleura House in Mornington, Australia.
The Australian-made “Big Beleura” is the chosen instrument for this disc, the world’s first 9-octave piano and a fearless hallmark in the development of the acoustic piano. Expanding the keyboard range down to the booom C, (an extra 9 keys) and up to the B (an extra 11), this piano, so typical of Stuart & Sons, offers an expressive quality ever so different to conventional 88 key grands. Pianist Ashley Hribar uniquely re-imagines each work specifically for the “Big Beleura”, exploiting its full range, all four pedals, culminating in a disc of unchartered explorations in colour, sonority and depth. |
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Journey Home - Andrea Keller - Named one of the
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Ashley Hribar explores the Big Beleura
www.theflowersofwar.org
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The Flowers of The Great WarThe Flowers of the Great War commemorates a century since the 1914/1918 armistice. Over the past decade Christopher Latham has forged a remarkable cultural legacy through the arts to join the canon of Anzac and atonement for the trials and tribulations of mankind. Stuart & Sons are deeply honoured to have been able to collaborate in the realisation of the piano works of Frederick Septimus Kelly. His music compositions are a poignant reminder of the waste and loss of war.
For lovers of piano music, Kelly’s complete piano works are a revelation. Recorded for the first time, the works are brought to life by outstanding pianists on two 102 key Stuart & Sons concert grands at Beleura House and Garden, Mornington, Victoria. |
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Isaiah Firebrace - SpiritIsaiah Firebrace embarked on an extensive national tour called ‘Spirit and Beyond’ which will see him travel to all corners of Australia over 2019. He will sing ‘Spirit’ with communities across the country, bringing people together to celebrate humanity. This substantial tour starts in July and spans into October, travelling across Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria.Isaiah will personally connect with young people in each community through his workshop called BEYOND. After having run this workshop successfully across Australia over the last 2 years involving thousands of young people, Isaiah will take the discussion to country Australia and talk about his journey and how he overcame diversity to reach his dream. As a leading indigenous mentor, Isaiah will be sharing his ‘no shame’ message to indigenous kids so that they can learn to follow their creative path with confidence.
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SLEEPING ORCHARDS and "Two Deep Breaths" (Richard Vaudrey, cello and Ashley Hribar piano)Ashley Hribar and Richard Vaudrey have spent many hours exploring their compositional prowess at Beleura House. The almost perfect environment with the world's first 9 octave concert grand pianos has inspired a flood of beautiful, multi genre music of worthy listening and review. Bravo Ashley and Richard for what is truly a 21st century soundscape by 21st century artists...you are way ahead of the pack!
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Beleura House and Garden Programme - 108 Key Piano26 June - Discover Rachmaninov's monumental Third Piano Concerto (featured in the Australian film Shine and known affectionately as the 'Rach 3') in this intimate two-piano performance with soloist and ANAM alumnus Nicholas Young accompanied by Hoang Pham, performing on the Pavillion's two beloved Stuart & Sons grand pianos.
Download the latest Beleura House and Garden Programme to see the calendar of events showcasing the 108 key piano.
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Tempo Rubato
June 2019 - The first performance at the Tempo Rubato concert space in Brunswick VIC. Working in partnership with Piano Project, a Melbourne charity that provides piano lessons for children who have recently immigrated to Australia. The Tempo Rubato concept was borne from recitals held by Piano Project, A performance space for ticketed concerts with a 102 key Stuart & Sons concert grand piano and a front bar which is open before and after every concert. All profits made at Tempo Rubato are donated to Piano Project.
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Brenda Jones and the AMEB Series 18 piano recordings
Brenda Jones has captured 85 videos of the AMEB series 18 for piano. An amazing set of videos that will inspire as you practise for your AMEB exams.
Brenda is highly regarded as a music educator. Her enthusiasm, expertise and unique teaching style has produced students who love to play piano far beyond their childhood years. Brenda also enjoys a diverse career as a solo/collaborative pianist and adjudicator. After achieving some of America’s highest honours for young pianists, including being named a Gilmore Young Artist and finalist for Presidential Scholar of the Arts, she pursued further studies in the UK and performed throughout Europe. She credits her pedagogical interests to her own teachers, She believes in teaching her students a wide variety of skills in addition to performing– including improvisation, composition, theory, and music history.
Brenda is highly regarded as a music educator. Her enthusiasm, expertise and unique teaching style has produced students who love to play piano far beyond their childhood years. Brenda also enjoys a diverse career as a solo/collaborative pianist and adjudicator. After achieving some of America’s highest honours for young pianists, including being named a Gilmore Young Artist and finalist for Presidential Scholar of the Arts, she pursued further studies in the UK and performed throughout Europe. She credits her pedagogical interests to her own teachers, She believes in teaching her students a wide variety of skills in addition to performing– including improvisation, composition, theory, and music history.
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First recording of the Big Beleura- Alan Griffiths
This album consists of 14 new works recorded live at Beleura House’s Tallis Pavilion on the world’s first 9 octave 108 key, 4 pedal Stuart & Sons Concert Grand Piano. This is the world’s first live album recorded with SONY’s brand new C100 High-Definition microphones. Musicians are internationally acclaimed concert pianist Nicholas Young, Polish violinist Dominik Przywara and Australian cellist George Yang.
Digital Download. File Types are: 4,608 kb/s, 96 kHz, 24 Bits, |
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Arts in the Valley - Australian Made - May 2019Made in Australia has been adopted by KVAF as their 2019 theme. Two, 102 key Stuart & Sons concert grands will be used for solo and duo piano performances . Wayne Stuart will talk about his work and the role he has played in the continuum of Australian musical instrument makers.
Kangaroo Valley is a unique hideaway where magic seems to happen... |
Introduction to Series 18 recordingsBrenda Jones visited the Stuart and Sons factory during a 40DC plus heat wave and drought in January 2019. Brenda captured the AMEB series 18 syllabus along with some great solo works dear to her heart. This is the first time this material has been recorded on a 102 key piano. The attention to detail Brenda brings to the dissemination of this material will be of great assistance to those seeking enlightenment through the AMEB music education system.
Please feel free to browse though YouTube to find the link that interest you. |
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Big E tickles Big BeleuraMichael Johnson is a portrait artist and writer on music and cultural affairs. Born in USA, he left New York in the 80's and has resided in Bordeaux for ten years. His artwork and music critiques have appeared in the International New York Times, International Piano, Clavier Companion, American Spectator, and on the websites factsandarts, Boston Musical Intelligencer and Open Letters Monthly. He spent nine years on the board of the London International Piano Competition and has written four books. His recent publication of caricatures: Portraits Chefs D'Orchestre Pianistes Et Compositeurs was given to Wayne Stuart who was delighted with such a precious gift of humour and responded so only to be returned his very own caricature of The Big Beleura being played by a dear friend of his.
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Excerpts from 'Cakewalk from Hell'Excerpts from 'Cakewalk From Hell', from World Premiere of Alan Griffiths' second album Rare View, performed by acclaimed concert pianist Nicholas Young, on the Big Beleura, the world's first 9 octave 108-key Stuart & Sons Concert Grand piano. This was also the World Premiere of the Big Beleura. Alan re-scored this work for the 9 octave range. Bravo Alan! Wayne Stuart believes that more new works will be rescored once composers hear and realise what they are missing in their adherance to the old 88 key range hoax.
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Book Release - Keys to the PianoDr Ziad Kreidy’s new release Keys To The Piano is a collection of essays and articles by specialists from around the world discussing the role and future of the acoustic piano. The work is in both English and French. Being a contemporary discussion and analysis it is a must read for those interested in piano matters.
Copies can be obtained from Piano Australia $95.ooAUD including GST and postage Email or phone direct. |
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Audio Technology Magazine - 22nd November 2018Green explained, “For the last 30 years we have come to expect CD quality as the premium. However, with the introduction of Hi Res playback devices, speakers and headphones, for the first time in the history of music recording the microphone is actually the weak link with most commercial microphones rolling off at 20kHz whilst the Sony Hi Res mics will recognise and pick up Ultra High frequencies up to 50kHz.”
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The Diggers' RequiemA 102 key piano will be a part of The Diggers Requiem on Saturday 6th October at the Llewellyn Hall in Canberra. Performed by Chris Latham (on the World Peace Bell, Canberra) and Veronica Bailey (on vibraphone). 62,000 Bells recorded and live, one for each Australian who died in WWI. A huge symphonic work by seven living composers, discovered Australian composer Frederick Septimus Kelly, who died in WWI, and Alex Lithgow, Australian and NZ bandmaster in the early 20th Century.
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David Crombie's - World Piano News - 28th SeptemberThe Australian piano-maker Stuart & Sons has just completed a truly remarkable grand piano. It is the first acoustic piano ever to boast a nine octave keyboard… that’s 108 keys!
Most pianos have a mere 88 notes. So why do we need a piano with 20 more? Is it a case of “mine is bigger than yours”, or in the words of Spinal Tap, “this one goes up to 11”? |
108 Key at Beleura House & Garden VIC
The first 9 octave piano was successfully delivered to its new home on Monday 10th September 2018. The first concert for this new instrument is 22nd September. Tickets for the world premiere of Rare View have SOLD OUT, There will be many more concerts at Beleura where the sounds of this new masterpiece can be heard. Please look at the Beleura Calendar for all events.
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'Rare View" - Concert for first 9 octave piano
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Pre voiced
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Chris Moore - Factory experience - 108 Key CompositionEvery now and again something very special happens which makes you feel very humble and privileged at the same time. Last Thursday, Wayne and Alex Stuart completed the world’s first 108 key grand piano - nine octaves. I was the first person to play and record this piano (PRE voiced sound quality). Now as people may know, I’ve owned a Stuart & Sons piano since 2005, and have played at one time or another most of the pianos which have come out of the factory. This one takes the piano to yet another level, if such a thing is indeed possible. The sound is just incredible. My brain is still buzzing. Amazing Piano
108-note pianos cover new and unexplored musical territory, sometimes with unexpected but nonetheless logical consequences. Take musical notation, as an example. The treble and bass clefs each have only five lines, so notes and above the staves are notated using ledger lines. If these get unwieldy, such as is the case with the high and low notes, then notation such as 8va (to play one octave above the written note) and, less commonly, 15ma (to play two octaves above the written note) are used. As far as I can tell, the Stuart 108-piano is the first instrument to require this notation. For those who are interested, I’m including a link to the score below (warts and all - I was in a hurry😊). This is not the first piece written for 108 notes, but it showcases the entire frequency range of the piano from C0 to B8. It is also the first piece to consistently use 8va and 15va in the bass and treble, and 22ma in the treble. The piano, of course is unique, so it not surprising that it requires its own music notation to go with it. |
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Australian Piano Duo Festival Launch - St PetersOn Friday 24th August at 6.30pm, St Peters Lutheran College will be proud to again host the Australian Piano Duo Festival Launch Concert in our Performing Arts Centre. The concert will feature the dazzling talents of some of Brisbane’s finest young pianists (including St Peters Year 9 student Grace Sun), together with seasoned Duo pianists Brachi Tilles, Angela Turner, Anna Grinberg, Liam Viney and Director of the festival, Jenni Flemmi. Performing on a Stuart & Sons huon pine concert grand piano.
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National Arboretum - Canberra7 year old Charles Zhuang plays a Stuart and Sons Concert Grand piano at the Arboretum. A Stuart Piano was there for a weekend and young artists were invited to play.
The National Arboretum Canberra features 94 forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from around Australia and the world. Many of the trees are still young but two of the forests are over 100 hundred years old. Over 44,000 trees from over 100 countries are growing across the huge 250 hectare (618 acre) site, making it one of the world's largest living collections of rare, endangered and significant trees. |
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Flowers of War Project - Chris LathamDon't miss upcoming The Lost Jewels concert, 10th and 11th August at National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. The 102 key Stuart & Sons concert grand piano will be played by Teddy Neeman and is part of the Flowers of War project.
An extraordinary concert of musical and artistic treasures from twelve countries, lost to the Great War, curated and arranged by Christopher Latham for soprano, chamber choir, string quartet and piano to mark the centenary of the final days of WW1. The music of composers lost to war or disease are combined with the vivid projected images of paintings by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele (Austria), Umberto Boccioni (Italy), Franz Marc, August Macke and Wilhelm Morgner (Germany) who all died during WW1. |
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A Coveted Possession - Michael AthertonStuart and Sons is profiled along with the greats of Australia's piano making history. Atherton describes the role of the acoustic piano in the development of Australia. The bitter rivalry between importers and the made in Australia lobby who fought for over 70 years for the right to cultural ownership and market place over the import cargo cult. The tragedy of losing this war to importers and globalisation has seen the collapse of the complex ecosystems developed by Beale & Co,, Hugo Wertheim and others. The consequent compromise and ultimately the loss of credible training regimes for technicians. The current import figures tell a story of strong demand albeit a small industry in the scheme of things. Over the past three years more than 20,000 pianos have been imported and in Stuart's life time this figure is a staggering: upwards of some 300,000 instruments.
From the instruments that floated ashore at Sydney Cove in the late eighteenth century to the resurrection of derelict heirlooms in the streets of twenty-first-century Melbourne, A Coveted Possession tells the curious story of Australia’s intimate and intrepid relationship with the piano. It charts the piano’s fascinating adventures across Australia – on the goldfields, at the frontlines of war, in the manufacturing hubs of the Federation era, and in the hands of the makers, entrepreneurs, teachers and virtuosos of the twentieth history. |
21 mics, 2 pianos and 204 keys - Recording two piano works of FS Kelly
In June 2018 at Beleura House and Garden recording music by FS Kelly for the Flowers of War project. Recording with Timothy Young, Laurence Matheson and Chris Latham. The Flowers of War is a project to uncover, perform, discuss and celebrate the music and art produced by the many talented folk who suffered and died in WW1
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The first 9 octave piano ever constructed takes shape in our Tumut Workshops
A preview of the 108 key piano that is due for completion mid year. The huon pine lid, string scales and legs. Veneer sawn from an ancient huon pine from south west Tasmania.
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Dunkeld Festival of Music: Brenda Jones (piano)
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When two Stuarts Align...
The delivery of a second Stuart and Sons piano. Wrapped and crated in our Tumut workshop, air freighted across the Tasman Sea and carefully delivered to a beautiful home in New Zealand. One hand crafted from Australian huon pine and the other from Australian red cedar. Stunning!
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Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation - 2017 Anniversary Concert Friday September 22nd, 2017 7pmThe 2017 Anniversary Concert will be performed by Australian pianist Ashley Hribar on the Gallery's hand crafted grand piano.
Ashley comes highly commended and has developed a program of works especially for this concert and the Stuart & Sons piano. |
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Lisa Moore and Jon Rose in collaboration with New Waves Podcast Presenter Stephan Adams"Evenings at Peggy's is a special series of intimate recitals-and-interview events with some of Australia's most outstanding creative musicians. The Evenings are presented by this year's composer-in-residence at the house, Jon Rose, in collaboration with New Waves Podcast presenter Stephen Adams. Lisa Moore talks to Stephen Adams and Jon Rose about the challenges of her life as an independent classical musician. They're joined by a guest artist of another kind, Australian piano-maker Wayne Stuart to talk about the Stuart piano and carving out a distinctive Australian cultural space.
And composer Kate Moore joins them from the audience to talk about her collaboration with Lisa." |
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Grand Actions - Audio Technology Magazine"Craig Field jumped at the chance to record an Australian-made 9½-foot, 102-key Stuart & Sons grand piano, despite it being in a farm shed under the critical eye of founder Wayne Stuart."
Read the article written by Craig Field from Underwood Studios regarding the recording of Alan Griffiths Introspection. Recorded at the Crisp Galleries near Yass. |
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Crisp Galleries Spring Concert SeriesPiano Australia is pleased to announce a partnership with The Crisp Galleries Australia. A series of concerts during the next 2 years will feature the following artists
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5 Year Report Card...."Next month marks the fifth anniversary of my acquisition of a 97-key 2.2 metre Stuart & Sons grand piano. So it seemed appropriate that I write something of a report card on the current status of the piano, my playing and other relevant bits and pieces.
The piano is still in absolutely pristine condition as though it had just come out of the factory. The huon pine veneer has matured beautifully, and is now a somewhat richer golden colour than when I first acquired it. The interior of the piano looks and feels exactly like it did when I first played it at the factory five years ago. The sound if anything is better now than at any stage of my ownership. The piano has settled down well as one would expect, and the action, dampers, hammers etc are virtually as new. In fact, this piano could be sold as a new piano and no-one would be able to tell the difference. The action is still very precise and even over the entire keyboard, and there is, as always, no discernable tonal breaks or differences throughout the range. From a personal point of view, I still get a buzz simply by sitting down at the piano. My enthusiasm to play a piano has for most of my life exceeded my ability to play it, but I’m finding that my fingers are in better shape now at my current age than at any time I can remember. My eyesight is still variable, but then again it always has been and always will be – I simply have had to get used to it. The extra notes as I have said many times are no problem to me at all, and I am finding more and more that selective use of them can add immeasurably to all kinds of music, from classical through to modern"...Christopher Moore |
Ashley Hribar - Beleura House & GardenAustralian pianist, Ashley Hribar, is a prize-winning solo artist, improviser, composer and chamber musician. Combining the music of yesterday, today and tomorrow, he dazzles audiences with his technical mastery, fine musicianship and intense performance energy.
Ashley is performing at a number of concerts at both Beleura House and Garden in VIC as well as the Crisp Galleries in Yass. |
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Rode Microphones
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In 2014 Rode purchased a concert grand Stuart & Sons for their proposed recording studio at the Silverwater manufacturing facility. The development of the NTR Ribbon microphone provides a new dimension in sound capturing. Stuart & Sons pianos require sensitive and broad frequency spectrum microphones to effectively capture their unique soundscape. The new Rode NTR mic is an exciting and most welcome addition to recording piano sound.
Sonically, the NTR is capable of reproducing high frequency detail whilst addressing common limitations of other ribbon microphones and expanding potential applications. |
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Barney McAll - Pianist and Composer - Artist in Residence 2015 at the Peggy Glanville-Hicks HouseIn 2015 Barnaby Mcall was resident as the Peggy Glanville Hicks Scholar. Fortuitously, Peggy's house has a 2.2m Stuart & Sons piano. Barney was enthralled by it and what he could do with it.
Pianist, keyboardist, composer and arranger Barney McAll moved to New York City in 1997 after being invited to join the Gary Bartz Quartet. He continues to tour internationally with Bartz as well as with Fred Wesley and The JB’s, Josh Roseman, The Groove Collective and recently vocalists Daniel Merriweather and Sia Furler. Barney leads numerous ensembles including; Sylent Running and M.O.D.A.S and his new ensemble Graft which features 16 piece Invenio Choir, two pianos, vibraphone and laptop. "I had an entire year with this Stuart and Sons piano at the Peggy Glanville- Hicks house composer residency in 2015 and i really grew to love it. Every single piano is different of course but this one was a king. I actually decided to return to composing at the piano because this piano opened up a dream space and an imagining space for me. All its resonance and color was so inspirational. i wrote a large ensemble piece for the Monash Art Ensemble called "Zephyrix" almost entirely at the Stuart and Sons.It helped me imagine all the voices and instruments in an uncanny way? I also made several recordings on the piano. The top end of this model was particularly bell like and celestial and the bass notes rung out for months on end! I may never play a better piano but am deeply grateful for that one year in paradise." |
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Stuart Piano resides in the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers HouseThe Australian composer, Peggy Glanville-Hicks (1912 - 1990) gave her house to the nation as a residence for Australian and visiting overseas composers. She lived in the house from 1976 to 1990. The house was restored by the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers' Trust with assistance from Arts NSW, the Australia Council for the Arts and sponsors and was opened 1993.
There is a currently a 2.2m Studio Grand on loan to the Trust that visiting artists have access to. In 2015 pianist and composer Barney Mcall was the artist in residence. |
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Thirsty Merc - Shifting Gears RecordingIn 2015, Thirsty Merc reunited and produced a crowdfunded CD - Shifting Gears. After separating for a few years and exploring their own musical careers the group have reformed, produced Shifting Gears. Rai Thistlethwayte has been intrigued by the Stuart & Sons sound and has composed and recorded on the pianos. He produced the track "Every Now and Then' from the album at the Newcastle, factory sound room.
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St Peters Lutheran College - Brisbane AUS"The golden Stuart & Sons concert grand is the pride and joy of St Peters Lutheran College Performing Arts Centre. Purchased through the support of the College community, the piano personifies community ownership and investment in developing young musicians and furthering Australian music. The radiant hues of the cabinet enlivens the auditorium and acts as a visual exclamation of the vibrancy of The College's ethos for their students and their music program.
"Since the Performing Arts Centre opened, we have welcomed many prestigious guests to the College, some of who have performed as part of our Signature Series Concerts, including James Morrison, The Idea of North, Ian Moss, Dragon, The Black Sorrows, Deep Blue, The Australian Piano Duo Festival, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and Queensland Pops Orchestra. These performers have expressed their admiration of the Stuart & Sons piano and praised the quality and excellence of the instrument. " Christine Taylor Head of Music |
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James Morrison plays a Stuart Piano at St Peters Lutheran CollegeThe James Morrison Quintet featuring vocalist Hetty Kate and supported by St Peters Stage Bands will be performing this August at the St Peters Lutheran Indooroopilly College QLD.
Gordon Rytmeister - Drums Phil Stack - Bass James Muller - Guitar St. Peters Performing Arts Centre 7pm Saturday 6th August 2016 |
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Stephen Hough plays at Newcastle ConservatoriumRENAISSANCE MAN: Stephen Hough resides in London where he is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at the Royal Northern College in Manchester. Celebrated English concert pianist, writer and composer Stephen Hough kicked off Newcastle’s Musica Viva International Concert Season 2016 on Thursday, April 21 with a spectacular performance of works by Schubert, Frank, Liszt and his own Piano Sonata III Trinitas (2015).
"He also said he loved coming to Newcastle and particularly enjoyed the opportunity to play the local produced Stuart and Sons piano at the Harold Lobb Concert Hall." |
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First Export from our new workshops in TumutDestined for San Francisco, this concert grand is the first piano to leave our new purpose built workshops in Tumut. Tumut lies on the North South corridor for the East Coast of Australia making delivery both domestically and internationally a simple process.
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Stephen Paulello - First 102 key piano built in Europe
In December 2015 Stephen Paulello released his new 3m parallel strung and bar-less concert grand with 102 keys. This is a vindication and confirmation that the 9 octave range is the new ambitus for the 21st Century. This piano is the first 102 key to be designed and built in Europe. It has been enthusiastically received by players and composers in much the same way as Stuart & Sons entered this unknown realm 8 years previously. The message is "Composers want more keys!"
Bravo Paulello! |
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CD Launch, Fiona Joy, Signature - SynchronicityPre-order of Signature Synchronicity. You get 2 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it's released.
Signature Synchronicity: An exploration into possibility. “Synchronicity” is the coming together of inner and outer events. I appreciate the magic that emerges from collaboration and the exploration of studio techniques. This is the second album in the Signature series; the first was Signature - Solo. Please enjoy this orchestrated version - Signature Synchronicity – and all the accompanying visual interpretations I’ve created especially for you! Your pre-order will help to chart this album! View the official album trailer and ORDER your copy now!!! |
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CD Launch, Zubin Kanga and Jane Sheldon - ChiaroscuroThe recording was made at the Stuart & Sons workshop in Newcastle, NSW. The engineering and production is crystal clear and is the product of two fine and serious artists determined that modern music, while it may age, will do so gracefully.
New York-based Australian soprano Jane Sheldon has sung under the direction of William Christie, Charles Dutoit, Antony Walker, and Reinbert de Leeuw. Specialising in early music and active in the creation and performance of new works, she has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Boston Camerata, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Halcyon, Synergy Percussion, and Ensemble Offspring. London-based Australian pianist Zubin Kanga has collaborated with many of the world’s leading composers and performed at major festivals throughout the UK, Europe, USA and Australia including the BBC Proms (UK), Borealis Festival (Norway) and Manifeste Festival (France). A member of Ensemble Offspring, one of Australia’s leading new music ensembles, he has also performed as a soloist with the London Sinfonietta and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Having completed a Masters and PhD at the Royal Academy of Music, London, Kanga is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Nice and IRCAM in Paris. |
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CD Launch, Gerard Willems - Morning MoodDual ARIA Award-winning Australian pianist Gerard Willems explores the spirit of Norway in this historic Northern sojourn. Over two hours of solo piano music composed by Norway’s greatest composer, Edvard Grieg, is a double album entitled Morning Mood.
Morning Mood will also be available as a deluxe edition including Edvard Grieg: Little Great Man, a new book exploring his extraordinary life and work. Edvard Grieg: Little Great Man will also be available for download as an enhanced eBook that includes videos, photos — and audio of Grieg playing his own music. Willems chose to use the Stuart & Sons concert grand at The Sydney Conservatorium of Music to portray the range of colours and expression encapsulated in Grieg's works. The CD sets and eBook will be available 7 August 2015. |
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CD Launch, Phil Laeger - RiverPhil Laeger's River is the culmination of years of attempting to set down these beautiful cameos of musical expression. The lyricism of his compositions lifts one's spirit as if floating on a large leaf downstream with him.
The moods are reflected in solo piano and string ensemble textures. It's an amazingly evocative journey. Released January 15, 2015 the full score is also available. However, to play it true to form you will need a 102 key piano! |
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CD Launch, SANCTUARYTracks 7 and 10 were recorded using a Stuart Piano
Mir Creation wanted to record Sanctuary in a way unique to jazz recording in the world but especially in Australia. Recording engineer Ross A’Hern and musician/producer Ben Gurton felt the lush composition and obvious spiritual aspects would lend themselves to the high-resolution, surround sound, being captured in the large reverberant space of the Cerretti Chapel, in Manly, NSW. The microphones were placed at a distance which allowed the sound from each instrument to develop in the space as a listener in a concert would hear it. The lack of post production studio manipulation translates to a recording that faithfully captures the sound of Sanctuary. The choice of the Cerretti Chapel is also tied to the aim of the music to be a sonic embodiment of a sanctuary, while the chapel is the physical embodiment of a sanctuary. It is thought that this is the first jazz album ever recorded in high-resolution, surround sound in a church in Australia. |
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CD Launch, Jef Neve - OneThe second track of this album, Lush Life, was recorded on a 102 key Stuart & Sons concert grand piano in the White Room at the Newcastle factory. The other tracks were recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London.
Pianist/composer Jef Neve (1977) has become a prominent figure in his homeland Belgium, and his reputation is rapidly spreading to the rest of the world. Jef toured in Australian during January 2015. |
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CD Launch, Bill Risby - OneThis CD is an audiophile quality one hour piece of beautiful 'Risbian' extemporization. Recorded in The white Room, Newcastle, on a 102 key concert grand, this is definitely mature Risby!
The album is the product of an impulsive and spontaneous idea emanating from an evening spent with Wayne and Katie Stuart. After recording a series of short works (to be released separately), we decided to go out to dinner and wine, and when Wayne asked what I wanted to do on our return, I blurted out, "When we get back I am going to play a one hour extemporization." The result was this evocative, cinematic, melancholic, lonely, deep and moving exposé. |
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CD Launch - Zubin KangaIn his first release for Hospital Hill, internationally acclaimed pianist Zubin Kanga performs Not Music Yet for solo piano, a watercolour graphic score by leading Australian composer, David Young. Composed for Kanga in 2012, the work is featured on this disc in two versions, a 42-minute epic and a 7-minute miniature.
Young conceives the painted notation of Not Music Yet as a time-space score with the pitch on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal. The pianist plays three ‘passes’ from left to right, first playing the black parts of the painting, then the white and finally blue. A creative tension exists between the ambiguity of the swirling mixtures of paint in the score and the precision Young wants from the interpretation. Also, between Kanga’s dynamic virtuosity and Young’s desire for a Zen-like state of ‘not performing’. Recorded with incredible detail on a 102-key Stuart & Sons piano, Not Music Yet demonstrates the extraordinary variety of sounds a performer can conjure forth from a 102 key piano. Not music yet is a journey into the future of music and sound aesthetics. |
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Beleura House & Garden - Mornington VIC
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