French Romantic Cello and Piano at Montsalvat

Montsalvat is proud to welcome highly acclaimed musicians David Berlin and Benjamin Martin to the Barn Gallery for French Romantic Cello & Piano.

Berlin and Martin have been at the forefront of music performance across Australia for some time and bring their repertoire for cello and piano including sonatas by Saint-Saens and Chopin to Montsalvat.

Barn Gallery, Sunday December 1st, 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Cash bar will be open 45 minutes pre & post concert. Cash and EFT facilities are available.

Tickets:
$35 Adult
*$25 Concession
*Concession rates apply to those with a valid health care, seniors health care, pension card or student card.
Online ticket sales only through Trybooking here

Performers:

David Berlin

Principal Cello, position supported by MS Newman Family

David Berlin studied the cello with Lois Simpson at the Sydney Conservatorium and with Channing Robbins at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

For over 25 years David has been at the forefront of music performance in Australia, as Principal Cello of both the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (1985-1988) and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (since 1989)

David has made numerous appearances as soloist with these and other Australian orchestras and has been invited to play guest Principal Cello with the Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony orchestras, Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra.

In London in 1992, David gave the world premiere performance of the complete works for cello and piano by Franz Liszt, with Leslie Howard.

David has performed chamber music with violinists Kolja Blacher, James Ehnes, Nigel Kennedy, and Sarah Chang and pianists Garrick Ohlsson, Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman, as well as tenor Ian Bostridge.

He has appeared in numerous festivals, and in chamber music projects has toured to Japan, Taiwan and New Zealand.

Along with solo recordings for ABC radio he has appeared as soloist on the Tall Poppies, Chandos and Naxos labels. His recital disc Barber & Debussy with pianist Len Vorster on the Tall Poppies label was nominated by James McCarthy as one of the best classical CDs of 2011 in Limelight magazine.

David plays on a cello made by Ivan Zgradic in Sherman Oaks, California in 1982.

Benjamin Martin

Ever since the great American pianist John Browning said of him “Reminds me of the young Horowitz”, pianist-composer Benjamin Martin has become known as an artist of exceptional intensity and subtlety of expression.

He has been described as “the consummate artist” (The Age), and as a composer, “distinctive… arresting in style” (New York Times).

His formal musical training began at the Victorian College of the Arts where he studied with Alexander Semetsky and Stephen McIntyre. At The Juilliard he was a pupil of John Browning.

Benjamin has appeared regularly with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and performed with artists such as Joshua Bell, Alina Ibragimova, Pekka Kuusisto, Richard Tognetti, and Hartmut Lindemann. As a chamber musician Benjamin has recorded for Chandos, Tacet Records (Stuttgart), Melba Recordings, and BIS. In 2014, he released his debut solo album for Melba Recordings featuring 20th Century English music, which was described as “shattering…compelling” by Richard Adams, director of The Arnold Bax Society.

On the composing side, Benjamin’s career was launched when John Browning gave the World Premiere of his Three Portrait Etudes in 1993 at The Alice Tully Hall, NY. Martin’s Triple-Concerto Trinitas was highly praised by Murray Perahia, who attended the premiere given by the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) at the MRC in 2013. The MCO also premiered Benjamin’s Passepied in April 2018.

Benjamin is Jury Chairman for The Melbourne International Youth Competition since 2015, held annually at the BMW Edge, is currently pianist for Firebird Trio, and has been on the piano teaching staff at The University of Melbourne since 1998.