Matthew has begun work on a new work for piano virtuoso Michael Kieren Harvey. The work will be programmed into a series of solo piano concerts which will feature at the UTAS Conservatorium of Music; Michael will subsequently make a recording of the piece. This is a very exciting collaboration, not to be missed!
About Michael Kieren Harvey:
Described as ‘A master with fire in his belly’ (Roger Covell, Sydney Morning Herald August 1999), Michael Kieran Harvey has achieved significant international recognition for his commitment to the music of our times.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Michael Kieran Harvey studied piano with Alan Jenkins, Gordon Watson and Erzs≥bet Kozma before postgraduate study at the Franz Liszt Academy, Budapest, under the guidance of the Director, Professor Sˆndor Falvai. Michael Kieran Harvey was awarded the Debussy Medal in Paris in 1985 and was a grand finalist in the inaugural Liszt Competition in Holland in 1986, before going on to win the Grand Prix in the world’s richest piano competition, the 1993 inaugural Ivo Pogorelich International Solo Piano Competition in Pasadena.He is the first Australian to win a major international piano competition.
Michael Kieran Harvey’s eclectic and extensive repertoire encompasses traditional masterworks and contemporary classics as well as more experimental areas involving crossovers between musical genres and the interaction of acoustic instruments with technology. His compositions have been featured in several Australian and international festivals.
Michael Kieran Harvey regularly commissions new Australian works and collaborates with many of his country’s principal contemporary performance groups and major orchestras.
Michael Kieran Harvey maintains a busy international performing career. His performances in 1997, 1998 and 1999 respectively of Messiaen’s Vingts Regards , Bartok’s Third Piano Concerto (with Het Brabants Orchestra), and Bernstein’s ‘Age of Anxiety’ (with the Dutch National Philharmonic) at the Great Hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw were unanimously hailed by European critics.
In March 2000 as part of the Dutch Bach celebrations he performed J.S.Bach’s Well- Tempered Clavier as well as newly – commissioned works in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. He was guest soloist with the Melbourne Symphony on their 2000 tour of Germany under the baton of Markus Stenz.
Michael Kieran Harvey has recordings on the Deutsche Grammophon, ABC Classics, Tall Poppies, Move and ASTRA labels. His interpretation of Messiaen’s ‘Vingts Regards’ and the Carl Vine Piano Concerto have recently been released on ABC Classics, ‘Vingts Regards’ receiving an ARIA nomination this year.
A Fellow of the Faculty of Music, Melbourne University, Michael Kieran Harvey is also co-founder with Bernadette Harvey- Balkus of the group ‘Australian Virtuosi’.
His numerous awards include four consecutive ‘Mo’ awards (1997, 1998, 1999 (jointly with Bernadette Harvey-Balkus) & 2000) from the Australian Entertainment Industry for the category ‘Best Classical Performer’.
In September 1999 he received the Australian Music Centre award for Best Performance of an Australian Work (Westlake’s Piano Sonata). As part of the Australian Millenium celebrations, he performed live four new commissions simulcast worldwide on ABC TV and FM Radio.
