Anna Louise Goldsworthy is an Australian

classical pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, academic, playwright, and librettist, known for her 2009 memoir '' Piano Lessons''. She has held several academic positions, and is director of the

Elder Conservatorium The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883 ...

at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. She is a founder member of the Seraphim Trio, which has toured Australia and the world since 1995. She is the daughter of writer

Peter Goldsworthy Peter David Goldsworthy (born 1951) is an Australian writer and medical practitioner. He has won major awards for his short stories, poetry, novels, and opera Libretto, libretti. He is known for his novels ''Honk If You Are Jesus'', and ''Thr ...

Early life and education

Anna Louise Goldsworthy was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, the eldest daughter of the writer

and Helen Goldsworthy, who graduated with a degree in medicine from the

. She began studying the piano at the age of six. At the age of eleven she was accepted into the

(part of Adelaide University), studying with the pedagogue Eleonora Sivan, to whom she attributes the fact that she is now a pianist. Goldsworthy completed her Bachelor of Music degree with honours at the Elder Conservatorium before acquiring a Master of Music degree at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

, where she held the F. Howard and Mary D. Walsh Graduate Piano Scholarship and studied with Tamás Ungár. She joined the Advanced Performance Program at the

Australian National Academy of Music The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a classical music performance training facility situated in Melbourne. History ANAM was established in 1994, as part of prime minister Paul Keating's "Creative Nation" initiative. On 23 Octo ...

(ANAM) in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1999. Here she was mentored by Stephen McIntyre (an association which led to her later assuming the role of artistic director at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival). In 2004, Goldsworthy graduated from the

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

with a

Doctor of Musical Arts The doctor of musical arts (DMA) is a doctorate, doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually Performance, music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-le ...

degree under the supervision of Ronald Farren-Price. Her thesis topic was " Fanny Hensel and Virtuosity". Goldsworthy has studied in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with Lev Naumov with the support of an

Arts SA Arts South Australia (previously Arts SA) was responsible for managing the South Australian Government's funding for the arts and cultural heritage from about 1996 until late 2018, when it was progressively dismantled, a process complete by early ...

Emerging Artist Award.

Music

Goldsworthy has stated that the highlights of her career have included solo piano appearances at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

in the Buenos Aires; for the Orchestra of Colours in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece; at the

Melbourne International Arts Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

; and in the

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian orchestra based in Adelaide, established in 1936. The orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Hall, but the ASO also performs in other venues. It provides the orchest ...

's Masters Series. In 2009 Goldsworthy was a juror for Chamber Music Australia's Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition. Her debut solo CD, ''Come With Us'', was released by

ABC Classics ABC Music is Australia's largest independent record label. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It covers a wide range of music genres, including classical, children’s and adult conte ...

in January 2008. It comprises performances by Goldsworthy from a 2004 world tour. In July 2010 she recorded for ABC Classics the music that features in her book '' Piano Lessons''.

Seraphim Trio

Goldsworthy is a founding member of the musical trio Seraphim Trio, established in 1995. Since 1998 and , the trio consists of Helen Ayres on violin, Timothy Nankervis on

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, and Goldsworthy on piano. Seraphim Trio has performed throughout Asia and Europe, and appears regularly in Australia for Musica Viva. They play regularly at

Elder Hall :''This is a list of residential buildings at Northwestern University; for a list of other buildings see'' List of Northwestern University buildings This list of Northwestern University residences catalogues the on-campus housing options for th ...

in Adelaide, Epsom House near

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in Tasmania, and the Melbourne Recital Centre. The trio studied chamber music with Hatto Beyerle at the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating to , it has reorganised and changed names as it developed over the years, ...

. In 2001, the trio won the trio and audience choice prizes in the Australian National Chamber Music Competition (forerunner to the Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition). In 2007, they launched a national concert series. In March 2010 Seraphim Trio recorded Schubert's

Trout Quintet The ''Trout Quintet'' (''Forellenquintett'') is the popular name for the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, by Franz Schubert. The piano quintet was composed in 1819, when he was 22 years old; it was not published, however, until 1829, a year af ...

for ABC Classics. In 2019, Seraphim Trio released the CD ''Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds'', with Paul Kelly,

James Ledger James Ledger (born 1966) is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music, and senior lecturer in composition at the UWA Conservatorium of Music, Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, where he is chair of orche ...

, and Alice Keath, which won an

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 Austra ...

. In the same year, the trio released a multi-CD set ''Trio Through Time'', which followed the history of the

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

from

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

until the present day.

Writing

Goldsworthy has published numerous essays on music and cultural issues, including many articles for ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

''. Her memoir '' Piano Lessons'' was released by

Black Inc Schwartz Publishing is an Australian publishing house, digital media, and news media organisation based in Melbourne, established by Australian property developer Morry Schwartz in the 1980s. Since the late 1990s many of its publications have a ...

in Australia in September 2009, and internationally by Macmillan in 2010. It was shortlisted in the 2010

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

for Best Non-Fiction and in the 2010

Australian Book Industry Awards The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) annually in Australia since 2001. The awards celebrate "the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Au ...

in the categories of Best Non-Fiction and the Newcomer of the Year, winning the latter. The book was sold to

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

in the U.S., and the film rights to the book were sold to director

Ana Kokkinos Ana Kokkinos is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter of Greek descent. She is known for her breakthrough feature film ''Head On (1998 film), Head On'' (1998), and has directed television shows such as ''The Secret Life o ...

in 2010. Goldsworthy is credited alongside her father,

, as writing the stage adaptation of ''

Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian '' maestro'' , meaning " master" or "teacher," plural: maestros or maestri) is an honorific title of respect, sometimes abbreviated Mo. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and oper ...

'' which the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

performed in 2009. ''Piano Lessons'' was adapted by Goldsworthy, commissioned by the

Queensland Music Festival The Queensland Music Festival (QMF) is a series of musical events staged in a number of locations in Queensland, Australia, usually around late July, every second year. It is financially supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queens ...

(with

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top-5 hit "Man Overboard". Conway pe ...

at the helm) in August 2011. Goldsworthy played herself in the production, which was staged at the

Cremorne Theatre The Cremorne Theatre was a theatre in South Brisbane, Queensland, South Brisbane (now part of South Bank, Queensland, South Bank), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia that operated, with interruptions, from 1911 to 1954. Although nothing remains of ...

at QPAC before touring the state. ''Welcome to Your New Life'', also a memoir, was released by Black Inc in March 2013. Goldsworthy adapted it for the stage for the State Theatre Company South Australia's closing play for the 2023 season, an idea raised by artistic director

Mitchell Butel Mitchell Patrick Butel (born 10 February 1970) is an Australian actor, singer, director and writer. He is best known for his work in theatre, including musical and opera productions. He was the artistic director of the State Theatre Company of ...

. Goldsworthy wrote a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

show, ''Cole'', performed by Michael Griffiths at the Festival Theatre, Adelaide in the

Adelaide Cabaret Festival The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia ...

in June 2015, for which he won a Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer in 2016. The show, which showcased the music of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

and Peter Allen, was again performed in 2020 at the Regal Theatre, Adelaide. She published her third book, ''Melting Moments'', her first work of fiction, on 3 March 2020. It is a domestic book set in

beginning in 1941, with the main character, Ruby, who travels to Adelaide. It was officially released at the 2020 Adelaide Writers' Week, with an interview of Goldsworthy and Black Inc. author Anna Krien, who discussed how it felt going from "fact to fiction". Goldsworthy wrote the libretto for

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill a ...

's award-winning production of ''

The Magic Pudding ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', staged in October 2013. She wrote the libretto for their December 2022 production of ''A Christmas Carol''.

Academic positions

From at least 2009 and until 2011 or later Goldsworthy was teaching piano at the

. She returned to Adelaide in 2013, and took up a post at the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide , Goldworthy was director of the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice. Since 18 July 2022 and she is director of the Elder Conservatorium.

Festival directorships

Goldsworthy was appointed

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival in May 2009, succeeding her ANAM mentor Stephen McIntyre from 2010. From 2019 she was artistic director of the Coriole Music Festival in McLaren Vale, until she was appointed director of the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883 ...

at the

in July 2022. In 2022, she was director of the Hayllar Music and Mountains Festival in

Queenstown, New Zealand Queenstown () is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is the seat and largest town in the Queenstown-Lakes District. The town located on the northwestern edge of Lake Wakatipu, a long, thin, Z-shaped lake ...

, and co-curator of the

's "She Speaks" festival with Anne Cawrse, a classical music festival with a focus on music written by female composers. She also co-curated the PianoLab festival with Anne Wiberg in 2022. She has said of these directorships that she finds fulfilment in the caretaker or

pastoral care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

role, of both people and music: "

iving Iving may refer to: *Intravenous therapy Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonl ...

them opportunities to be themselves and to flourish, make contact with an audience – I really love doing that".

Recognition and awards

Piano

* ?:

Emerging Artist Award * Sometime before 2004: David Paul Landa Memorial Scholarship for Pianists * 2009:

Artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

Janet Clarke Hall Janet Clarke Hall (JCH) is a residential college of the University of Melbourne in Australia. The college is associated with the Anglican Province of Victoria. Founded in 1886 JCH was the first university college in Australia to admit women ...

* 2018?: Inaugural Kenneth Moore Memorial Music Scholar at

Writing

*2010: Winner, Newcomer of the Year at the

(ABIA Awards), for ''Piano Lessons'' *2010: Shortlisted, Best Writing Award (in the Melbourne Prize for Literature awards), for ''Piano Lessons'' *2010: Shortlisted, ABIA Awards for Best Non-Fiction, for ''Piano Lessons'' *2010: Shortlisted,

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, for ''Piano Lessons'' *2011: Shortlisted, National Biography Award, for ''Piano Lessons'' *201?: Nominated, Matilda Award, for stage adaption of ''Piano Lessons'' *2020: Shortlisted,

Colin Roderick Award The Colin Roderick Award is presented annually by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at Queensland's James Cook University for "the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life". It was first presente ...

*2021: Shortlisted,Colin Roderick Award *2021: Awarded a linkage grant by the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

"to undertake research to find new ways of tackling the challenges facing the Australian performing arts sector in the wake of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and climate change emergency"

Music-writing relationship

In an interview with Adelaide paper ''

CityMag Solstice Media is an Australian publisher based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 2004, it was known for publishing the weekly tabloid newspaper ''The Independent Weekly''. Solstice publishes ''InDaily'', which was initially the onli ...

'', Goldsworthy expressed some of her beliefs about the arts and her feelings about her work:

Personal life

Goldsworthy has two siblings, and two children.

Selected works

Goldsworthy is the author of numerous published articles, essays, and books.

Books

* * * *

Essays and reporting

*Numerous articles in ''The Monthly'' *"Unfinished Business: Sex, Freedom and Misogyny" in ''

Quarterly Essay ''Quarterly Essay'', founded in 2001, is an Australian periodical published by Black Inc., concentrating primarily on Australian politics in a broad sense. Printed in a book-like page size and using a single-column format, each issue features a ...

'', no. 50, June 2013

References

External links

* *
Anna Goldsworthy
on

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature) is a national bio-bibliographical database of Australian literature. It is an internet-based, ...

Anna Goldsworthy
on

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Mau Power, Torres Strait Islands' first rapper, and the history of the piano trio courtesy of Seraphim Trio
(podcast) '' The Music Show'', 8 December 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsworthy, Anna Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women novelists Australian women classical pianists People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni Academic staff of the University of Adelaide University of Melbourne alumni Musicians from Adelaide Writers from Adelaide 21st-century Australian classical pianists 21st-century Australian women pianists

Early life and education

Music

Seraphim Trio

Writing

Academic positions

Festival directorships

Recognition and awards

Piano

Writing

Music-writing relationship

Personal life

Selected works

Books

Essays and reporting

References

Further reading

External links