Byron Music Society presents David Helfgott in Concert

David Helfgott is one of the most instantly recognisable classical music artists in the world today.

In a very special concert at The Byron Theatre, Helfgott will perform these works:

Chopin- Ballade No 4 in F Minor
Beethoven – Sonata No.23 “Appassionata”
Mendelssohn - Rondo Capriccioso
Liszt - Sonata in B Minor”

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More about David Helfgott

David Helfgott was born in Melbourne, spent much of his early life in Perth and showed extraordinary pianistic ability from an early age, winning the state finals of the ABC’s Instrumental & Vocal Competition six times.

At age 17, Helfgott began studying with Alice Carrard, a former student of Bartok and Istvan Thoman, himself a pupil of Liszt. Two years later, he left Perth for London to study at the Royal College of Music with Cyril Smith, who described him as his most brilliant student in 25 years of teaching and likened him to Horowitz, both technically and temperamentally.

He won many awards while in London, including the Dannreuther Prize for Best Concerto Performance for his performance of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, however, towards the end of his time there, he faced increased emotional instability and mental excitability and a period of frequent hospitalisation followed during the 1970s.

He returned to the concert stage in the 1980’s but the international release in 1996 of the Oscar Award winning feature film about his life, Shine, propelled him to a level of new international stardom his recording of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 becoming the top selling CD in Australia, the UK and the USA at the time.

In October 1996, he played an unprecedented four consecutive sold-out concerts at the Sydney Opera House and the following year embarked on world tour giving performances throughout the USA and Canada, including at the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall and the UK, concluding with his return to London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Helfgott has continued to tour internationally since, highlights including appearances at the Beijing Music Festival, at the Musikverein in Vienna, in Copenhagen’s Tivoli Concert Hall, London’s Barbican Centre, at the Erl Festival Hall in Austria and regular performances at the Sydney Opera House.

In 2021 he was a recipient of the Order Of Australia.

Event details:

2:00 pm - Venue doors and bar opens
2:40 pm - Theatre doors open
3:00 pm - Concert commences
4:30 pm - Concert concludes