Internationally acclaimed Australian pianist
Sarah Grunstein
“Passion and Intimacy”
Sydney Opera House, Utzon Room

Thursday 3 October at 7.30pm
Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann’s Carnaval
Sunday 3 November at 5.00pm
Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin

“penetrating musical intelligence… tempestuous…imbued with a luminous calm”
– The New York Times

Internationally acclaimed Australian pianist, Sarah Grunstein, returns to the Sydney Opera
House by popular demand, to perform two concerts in 2019. While Grunstein is distinguished
for her interpretation of Bach’s works, described by The New York Times as “tempestuous”
and “imbued with a luminous calm”, the praise she has received is not limited to her
performances of this composer. Her two different 2019 recital programs include works by
Beethoven as a prelude to his 250th birthday celebration, as well as Chopin, Schumann, and
Debussy.

The first Sydney Opera House concert on October 3 presents a canvas of contrast and
textured landscapes: Beethoven’s Pastorale Sonata, Op. 28, Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata,
Op. 35, and Schumann’s impassioned and deeply personal Carnaval, Op. 9. Grunstein
remarks, “We journey through the pastoral nature of Beethoven’s Op. 28, then — in Chopin’s
2nd Sonata — through Chopin’s structure of drama and evocation of death. Finally, with
Schumann, we find ourselves amidst the parade, characters, and dances at the masked ball
depicted in his Carnaval.

Of Grunstein’s Beethoven performance The New York Times wrote: “Beethoven’s Sonata in D
was delivered with a directness that only heightened the tragedy that propels the central
Largo; the surrounding three movements danced with appropriate grace…”
In the second concert, Sarah Grunstein juxtaposes Debussy’s Impressionist Estampes,
Beethoven’s heroic Waldstein Sonata (Op. 53), and Chopin’s pianistic, nostalgic romanticism:
a selection of Chopin’s mazurkas and nocturnes, his Berceuse, and his passionate first
Ballade (Op. 23).

Click here to download the full media release

Bookings:

Thursday 3 October at 7.30pm
Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann’s Carnaval
Sunday 3 November at 5.00pm
Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin