Andrea Lam is one of Australia’s most recognised concert pianists. The host and star of hit ABC TV series The Piano, Andrea is a passionate advocate for her instrument, introducing a new generation of Australians to its expressive power and possibility. In demand as concerto soloist with Australia’s major orchestras, and following a celebrated US career, Andrea returns for her first solo recital at UKARIA with a nuanced, wide-ranging program that showcases her interpretative sensitivity.

Schubert’s Sonata in A lies at this recital’s heart: moving and turbulent, the work was written in the last months of its young composer’s life, and represents a very particular challenge for a pianist’s artistry. Bach’s wistful Aria from the Goldberg Variations follows Schubert’s sonata as a simple, tender elegy.

Other notable highlights of Andrea’s recital include two pairings of composers who knew one another intimately. Clara Schumann’s heart-wrenching Romanze, written during a difficult period following her husband Robert’s hospitalisation, is offered bittersweet consolation by Robert Schumann’s passionate, jubilant Widmung, composed as a wedding present to his young wife. In a second pairing, brother and sister converse: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Songs Without Words were precursors to her brother’s famous contribution to the genre.