Dene Maxwell Olding (born 11 October 1956) is an Australian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. He has had a distinguished career as a soloist in Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, performing over forty concertos in recent years, including many world premieres. He is the Concertmaster Emeritus of the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and fir ...

, first violinist in the

Goldner String Quartet The Goldner String Quartet is an Australian string quartet formed in 1995 in honour of Richard Goldner, the founder of Musica Viva Australia. The Quartet consists of Dene Olding and Dimity Hall (violins), Irina Morozova (viola; an ex-pupil of Go ...

, and a member of the

Australia Ensemble Australia Ensemble UNSW is an Australian chamber group active since 1980. The group was founded in 1980 as the University of New South Wales Ensemble after a proposal put to the University of New South Wales by musicologist Roger Covell and cl ...

Biography

Dene Olding is the son of the husband and wife piano duo

Max Olding and Pamela Page Max Olding AM (4 July 1929 – 17 November 2021) and Pamela Page (born 4 April 1934) were a distinguished Australian husband and wife team of duo-pianists. They performed separately in recitals and as concerto soloists, chamber music performers a ...

. He was initially educated at the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in East ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, but left at age 15—two years before he was due to graduate—to attend the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

as a scholarship student of

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman. Biography Galamian w ...

and Margaret Pardee. He graduated from Juilliard in 1978. He attended master classes with

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist. Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and ...

and had further lessons with

Herman Krebbers Herman Krebbers (18 June 1923 – Tilburg 2 May 2018) was a Dutch violinist. Born in Hengelo, Overijssel, Krebbers studied in Amsterdam with Oskar Back. He gave his first concert at age 10. In 1943, Krebbers debuted with the Concertgebouw ...

and

György Pauk György Pauk (born 26 October 1936) is a Hungarian violinist, chamber musician and music pedagogue. Biography Pauk was born in Budapest, (Hungary), and entered the Franz Liszt Academy of Music at age nine. He began his studies as Imre Waldbauer' ...

. He joined the Australia Ensemble in 1982, and was also at that time leader of the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently ap ...

. In 1985, he was awarded a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, ...

to further his musical studies. During that year, he won a Bronze medal at the

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is n ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. He was concertmaster of the

from 1987 to 1994, and again from 2002 to 2016. On his retirement he was appointed Concertmaster Emeritus of the orchestra. He is also a frequent guest concertmaster of the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

. Dene Olding is regularly heard as soloist with all the major Australian orchestras and has worked with conductors such as

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the ...

Stanisław Skrowaczewski Stanislaw Pawel Stefan Jan Sebastian Skrowaczewski (; October 3, 1923 – February 21, 2017) was a Polish-American classical conductor and composer. Biography Skrowaczewski was born in Lwów, Second Polish Republic (now Lviv, Ukraine). His par ...

Stuart Challender Stuart David Challender (19 February 194713 December 1991) was an Australian conductor, known particularly for his work with The Australian Opera, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Early life Challender was born ...

, Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engl ...

Jorge Mester Jorge Mester (born April 10, 1935, Mexico City) is a Mexican conductor of Hungarian ancestry. He has served as the artistic director for the Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río, Veracruz, since it was founded in 2014. Biography He studied cond ...

Günther Herbig Günther Herbig (born 30 November 1931) is a German conductor. Born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, Herbig studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar in 1951 (then in East Germany) with Hermann Abendroth. He later was a student o ...

Werner Andreas Albert Werner Andreas Albert (10 January 1935 – 10 November 2019) was a German-born Australian conductor. Personal life Albert was born in Weinheim. He began his studies in musicology and history, and later studied conducting with Herbert von Karaj ...

and

David Porcelijn David Porcelijn (born 7 January 1947 in Achtkarspelen) is a Dutch composer and conductor. David Porcelijn studied flute, composition and conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in The Hague. He also studied the baroque flute, specialising ...

. He gave the Australian premieres of

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyma ...

's ''Chain 2'' with the composer conducting, and the violin concertos by

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernism (music), modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism a ...

and

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

. In addition, he has performed world premieres of violin concertos by

Ross Edwards Ross Edwards (born 1 December 1942) is a former Australian cricketer. Edwards played in 20 Test matches for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals including the 1975 Cricket ...

(''Maninyas'', a work dedicated to Dene Olding) and , and the Double Concerto for violin and viola by Richard Mills, written for himself and his wife,

Irina Morozova Irina (Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene (goddess), Eirene (Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, pers ...

. He has made many recordings, including one of sonatas by

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, with his father Max Olding. His recording of Ross Edwards' ''Maninyas'' won the 1994

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

for Best Classical Recording, and the Cannes award. He made the first CD recording of concertos by Frank Martin,

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

. He has recorded the violin concerti of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the '' ...

with the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

under Werner Andreas Albert. He was the Artistic Advisor and Chair of the Jury of the 2018 ABC Young Performers Award, held at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

with the

. He plays a Joseph Guarnerius violin made in 1720. In the Edwards, Martin, Milhaud and Barber recordings, he used the A. E. Smith violin he inherited from a previous Sydney Symphony concertmaster,

Ernest Llewellyn Ernest Victor Llewellyn CBE (21 June 191512 July 1982) was an Australian violinist, concertmaster, violist, conductor and musical administrator. He was the founding director of the Canberra School of Music and is commemorated by Llewellyn Hall, t ...

. He has conducted the Sydney Symphony and

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall. The APO is the accompanying ensemble for performances by NZ Opera and the Royal New Zeal ...

Personal life

Olding is married to

, a

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

with the

and the Australia Ensemble. Together they have a son, Nicolai. Olding is a practitioner of

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in a ...

.Feature- Goldner String Quartet

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="2" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

, ''Ross Edwards Orchestral Works'' (with

) , rowspan="2" ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

, , rowspan="2" , ARIA Award previous winners. , - , ''Violin Concertos'' (with

Hiroyuki Iwaki (6 September 193213 June 2006) was a Japanese conductor and percussionist. Biography Iwaki was born in Tokyo in 1932. Shortly after he entered an elementary school, he moved to Kyoto due to his father's transferral. He came to play the xylopho ...

) , , -

References

Sources

Australia Ensemble

Sydney Symphony concertmasters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olding, Dene ARIA Award winners Australian classical violinists Male classical violinists Living people 1956 births Concertmasters People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School Members of the Order of Australia 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians