Stephanie McCallum (born 3 March 1956) 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, ...
. She has recorded works of
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
,
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
,
Charles-Valentin Alkan,
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
,
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
,
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
,
Albéric Magnard,
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
Born in Montb ...
, and
Iannis Xenakis among others.
Life
McCallum was born in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
in 1956. She studied with
Alexander Sverjensky and
Gordon Watson at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...
. After further study with
Ronald Smith in the UK, she gave her debut concert at
Wigmore Hall in 1982.
Returning to Australia in 1985, she became a founding member of contemporary ensembles austraLYSIS (with
Roger Dean) and the
Sydney Alpha Ensemble. She has performed as soloist with most of the major Australian symphony orchestras and in ensembles such as the
Australian Chamber Orchestra,
ELISION Ensemble and the
Australia Ensemble. In a 1985 Wigmore Hall recital, she gave what is believed to be the first complete public performance of Alkan's ''
Trois grandes études'', Op. 76 (for the left hand, for the right hand, and for both).
In 2000, she gave the world premiere of
Elena Kats-Chernin's first piano concerto ''Displaced Dances'' (which was written for her) with the
Queensland Symphony Orchestra and has subsequently performed this work with the
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 ...
and
Sydney Symphony orchestras. As well as performing and recording, she continues teaching at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as associate professor in piano.
Repertoire and recordings
McCallum has released 18 solo CDs, and her recordings of the music of Liszt and her CDs of French piano music have recently been re-released as boxed sets. Her recording of all of Beethoven's
bagatelles for piano contains the published sets of Bagatelles, Opp.
33,
119 and
126, Bagatelle No. 25,
WoO 59 ("
Für Elise"), and also the first recording of what is believed to be the last piano piece that Beethoven wrote, never before published or even catalogued (the piece was edited by Stephanie's husband, the musicologist Peter McCallum). She has specialized in virtuosic nineteenth-century music, particularly of Alkan and of contemporary solo and ensemble music. She made the first recording of Alkan's ''Studies in all the Major Keys'', Op. 35, and subsequently recorded Alkan's ''Studies in all the Minor Keys'', Op. 39, being the first pianist to record both sets. In 2013, during the centenary of Alkan's birth, she released recordings of all five Books of Alkan's ''Chants'', along with other previously unrecorded music by this composer. Her performances of Xenakis's ''Herma'', and
Brian Ferneyhough
Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...
's ''Lemma Icon Epigram'' have received critical acclaim. She has released CDs of the music of Liszt, Weber, Alkan, Schumann, Magnard,
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
Born in Montb ...
, Xenakis and of contemporary Australian composers. In addition to Alkan and Boulez, she has recorded much other music by French composers: Satie, Magnard,
Vincent d'Indy,
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
and
Guy Ropartz
Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (; 15 June 1864 – 22 November 1955) was a French composer and conductor. His compositions included five symphonies, three violin sonatas, cello sonatas, six string quartets, a piano trio and string trio (both in A min ...
. McCallum records on a number of period pianos by
Anton Walter and
Sébastien Érard.
Her solo CDs include:
* ''
Alkan, Concerto for Solo Piano (from Op. 39), 'Chants', Op. 70''
irst recording(1990)
* ''Alkan, Twelve Studies in the Major Keys, Op. 35'',
Tall Poppies (1994)
* ''Notations'', Tall Poppies (1994)
* ''Alkan &
Magnard'', Tall Poppies (1996)
* ''Illegal Harmonies: The Twentieth Century Piano'',
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 ...
(1997)
* ''
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
: The Complete Piano Sonatas and Other Works'',
CDsABC Classics (1998)
* ''Perfume: The Exquisite Piano Music of France'', ABC Classics (2001) – Australia No. 25;
* ''The Liszt Album'', ABC Classics (2003) (including the
B minor Sonata)
* ''
Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...
: From the '
Years of Pilgrimage'', ABC Classics (2003)
* ''Alkan: Douze Études dans les tons mineurs''
welve Studies in the Minor Keys Op. 39 (including
Symphonie,
Concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
and Overture for solo piano, and
Le festin d'Ésope),
CDsABC Classics (2006)
* ''
Gymnopédies: The Exquisite Piano Music of
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
'', ABC Classics (2007)
* ''
Für Elise. Bagatelles for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven'', ABC Classics (2008)
* ''
Scenes from Childhood. Piano music of Robert Schumann'', ABC Classics (2010)
* ''Alkan, Complete 'Recueils de Chants' Volume One'',
Toccata Classics (2013)
* ''Alkan, Complete 'Recueils de Chants' Volume Two'', including Deux nocturnes, Op. 57; Deux petites pièces, Op. 60: Ma chère liberté, Ma chère servitude; Désir; Fantaisie; Chapeau bas!; Seconda fantasticheria, Toccata Classics (2013)
* ''
Guy Ropartz
Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (; 15 June 1864 – 22 November 1955) was a French composer and conductor. His compositions included five symphonies, three violin sonatas, cello sonatas, six string quartets, a piano trio and string trio (both in A min ...
: Piano Music'', Toccata Classics (2016)
* ''Le Prophète: Music for Four Hands'', with
Erin Helyard, TRPTK (2017)
* ''
Alexandre Boëly
Alexandre Pierre-François Boëly (19 April 1785 – 27 December 1858) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and violist.
Career
Born in Versailles into a family of musicians, Boëly received his first music lessons from his father, Jean-Fr ...
: Piano Music, Volume One'', Toccata Classics (2018)
* ''
Roy Agnew: Piano Music'',
Toccata Classics (2019)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards
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 ...
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.
!
, -
,
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, ''Perfume''
,
Best Classical Album
,
,
[ARIA Award previous winners. ]
, -
References
External links
*
*
"Stephanie McCallum"(2004),
ELISION Ensemble
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCallum, Stephanie
Australian classical pianists
Australian women classical pianists
Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni
Academic staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
1956 births
Living people
21st-century Australian classical pianists
Australian music educators
Australian women music educators
21st-century Australian women pianists