Australia-based Russian pianist Konstantin Shamray studied in Moscow at the Gnessin Academy of Music. He performs extensively internationally with many of the world’s top conductors and orchestras including the Russian National Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Prague and Belgrade Orchestras and at top international piano festivals. Music lovers would remember Konstantin’s sensational First Prize-winning performance at the 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition.
 
This magnificent program begins with an all-Liszt first half with some of his greatest works. The ‘Dante’ Sonata based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy has been called a mighty symphonic poem taking the audience on a wild ride through the depths of Hell. It‘s followed by some of Rachmaninov’s greatest Preludes. The concert ends with Ravel’s fiendishly difficult Gaspard de la nuit, and again the audience is taken on a frightening journey in the final movement by a harrying goblin. ‘Scarbo’ is a unique masterpiece in the literature of piano virtuosity.