Rachel Valler OAM (b. c1930 Sydney, Australia) is an Australian pianist. She was a member of the Hazelwood Trio.

Career

Rachel Valler's parents, Sonia and Joseph Vallerstein, arrived in Australia from Russia in 1927. Valler was their only daughter, born in Sydney. She studied piano from an early age, performed with the Zionist Youth League during her teens as a solo pianist, and was mentored by

Ignaz Friedman Ignaz Friedman (born Salomon Izaak Freudmann; ; ; February 13, 1882January 26, 1948) was a Polish pianist and composer. Critics (e.g. Harold Schonberg) and colleagues (e.g. Sergei Rachmaninoff) alike placed him among the supreme piano virtuosi ...

until his death in 1948. She also studied with

Alexander Hmelnitsky Alexander Hmelnitsky (16 April 1891 – 25 January 1965) was a Russian pianist and pedagogue. Life Born in 1891 in Kiev, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire) to a musician father, Hmelnitsky trained at the Moscow Conservatory and perfor ...

. As a soloist, she performed with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

and music clubs in 1951 aged 21. That same year she received her Bachelor of Arts at Sydney University, and went onto gain a Diploma of Education from

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

. She taught music and worked in the library at Ascham Girls School, and won the State final of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Concerto Competition In classical music, a concerto competition is a competition whereby contestants perform concertos or movements of concertos in a qualifying round, in order to be selected to play their concerto with an orchestra. Typically, the final round is a pu ...

in 1954. Although she did not win the Commonwealth finals, she was commended for her "thoughtful, searching, sensitive playing" of Chopin. She travelled to London in the early 1950s, and taught piano while studying with the Hungarian pianist

Ilona Kabos Ilona Kabos (7 December 189327 May 1973) was a Hungarian-British pianist and teacher. Biography Kabos was born Ilona Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Budapest in 1893 (some sources give her year of birth as 1894, 1898 or 1902). She studied at the ...

. While there, she was awarded the Commonwealth Medal in the Harriet Cohen International Competition for 1956. During the 1980s she was considered one of Australia's most distinguished classical musicians, alongside

Donald Hazelwood Donald Leslie Grant Hazelwood Officer of the Order of Australia, AO Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (1 March 1930 – 8 March 2025) was an Australian violinist and concertmaster. Background His first wife Anne Menzies was a clar ...

and Anne Menzies. Together they performed as the Hazelwood Trio. She was also head teacher of English and Humanities, at Randwick Technical College. In 1995 she was awarded an

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for service to music. She is married to Walter Travers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valler, Rachel Australian classical pianists Australian women classical pianists Date of birth missing (living people) University of Melbourne alumni University of Sydney alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia