David Barnard (piano), Hamish Robb (piano & typewriter) & Jian Liu (piano)

Piano duet collaboration is one of the most enjoyable, yet potentially troublesome performance experiences for any pianist to engage in. Ken Young’s Variations on a Prayer is testament to these experiences, with its complex cross-rhythms, physical positioning at the keyboard and time-signature changes - it demands the ultimate ensemble skills from both players. In this concert, some of this repertoire is written by composers in their late teens or early 20’s and with no political or religious agenda behind it. Highlighting the desire to write music for personal meaning, friendships or for a particular person in mind, it simply showcases the joy of performing with two to three pianists at one piano (four to six hands), and the perils or humour with which this collaboration style creates.

This is a repeat of the 2020 Hunter Council Chamber concert.