Kristian Winther & Brieley Cutting

Kristian Winther and Brieley Cutting look forward to sharing their violin and piano recital of French and German classics. Performing together since their formative years at the Australian National Academy of Music, Brieley and Kristian together curated this program from the idea of offering music of a sunny nature and inherent beauty.

Debussy’s shimmering Violin and Piano Sonata is matched with Lili Boulanger’s delicately heart-warming Two Pieces, Messiaen’s Theme and Variations and A Child’s Dream by composer and violin virtuoso Ysaÿe.

Brahms’ Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78 for Violin and Piano is a romantic masterpiece of exquisite beauty and lyricism. Clara Schumann wrote to Brahms saying, “…I wish that the last movement could accompany me in my journey from here to the next world.”

Kristian Winther is widely recognised as a virtuosic violin soloist and as an energetic and brilliant chamber musician, seeking musical challenges performing classic, contemporary and rare works. As soloist, Kristian has appeared with the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Christchurch and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Auckland Philharmonic, Gruppo Montebello and Orchestra Romantique.  In the role of  leader/director he has performed as Guest Concertmaster of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Melbourne and Western Australian Symphony Orchestras, and as leader/director of ACO Collective. A devoted chamber musician, Kristian was formerly violinist in the TinAlley String Quartet, winning first prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, which was followed by tours of the USA, Canada and Europe. As an original musician of the Play On series since 2016, Kristian has performed music from the 16th to the 21st centuries at diverse venues including an underground car park in Collingwood and a nightclub in Berlin. Other recent solo/chamber music highlights include performing all of JS Bach’s unaccompanied sonatas and partitas at the Canberra Festival in a single day, the complete Schumann String Quartets in one concert on raw gut strings, and Reger’s monumental violin concerto at the Orlando Festival in the Netherlands. Kristian performs on a violin crafted by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, 1859, on generous loan from UKARIA Cultural Centre.

Brieley Cutting grew up on a farm in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Her career highlights include National Keyboard Winner of the Symphony Australia ABC Young Performers Awards, fellowship of the Winston Churchill Trust, a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Griffith University and a Creative Sparks Award for her innovative concert series DeClassified Music. Brieley has performed throughout Australia with ABC Classic FM, 4MBS and Musica Viva Australia, and appeared at many festivals. As a concerto soloist, Brieley has performed with orchestras including the Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Melbourne Youth, and the Nizchny-Novgorod Philharmonic. Brieley is Lecturer in Classical Piano at the Australian Institute of Music.

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