Siyu Sun Piano Recital

Programme:
Liszt- Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este
Schumann- Kreisleriana
Schumann- Myrthen, Op.25 - 1. Widmung (Arr. Clara Schumann)

Immerse in an afternoon of stormy, passionate, and mysterious Romantic piano music. From the heavenly cascading waters of Liszt’s ‘Les jeux d’eau de la Villa d’Este, the famous Renaissance gardens of the Villa d’Este, enter into the extraordinary world of Schumann’s Kreisleriana, where animals speak, and music is magic. Each movement of Kreisleriana reflects the interchanging biography of the moody and hypochondriac musician Kreisler, which is constantly disrupted by the continuation of a separate tale of his cat, Murr. Murr describes a claw-like tale of his own, his friendship with the deceitful poodle Ponto, his first romance with the wily cat Muzius, and his marriage to the seductive Kitty. Clara Schumann’s transcription of Robert Schumann’s popular love song, ‘Widmung’, concludes the concert.

Siyu Sun began piano studies at the age of four and is currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Professors Ronan O'Hora and Carole Presland. She previously completed a Master of Music in New Zealand under the tutelage of Associate Professor Rae de Lisle.

Siyu has appeared as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Wellington Chamber Orchestra. She made her debut in The Royal Albert Hall in 2019 performing Gershwin’s Three Preludes for Piano and Saxophone. She was awarded first prize in the National Concerto 50th Anniversary Competition performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the NZSO, second prize in the 2019 Wallace National Piano Competition and fourth prize in the 2017 Lev Vlassenko International Piano Competition in Brisbane, winning the Chuang Foundation Award for Best New Zealand Pianist and the Graeme Russell Virtuoso Prize.

Also a passionate piano teacher and collaborative accompanist, Siyu’s piano quartet was a finalist in the Pettmann/Royal Over-Seas League Chamber Music Scholarship.