Our mission is to bring pianists together, to celebrate and explore the art of duo pianism - its repertoire, execution and energy - and to provide educational experiences for the next generation.

History

The Australian Piano Duo Festival (Inc.) [APDF] was inaugurated in 2012 and continued biennially with festivals in 2014, 2016, and 2018. The planned 2020 festival and its rescheduled 2021 edition could not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related government lockdowns and venue restrictions. Concert activities resumed with mini-festivals in 2022 and 2023. The festival was founded by Jenni Flemming whose passion for piano duo performance began many decades earlier with her piano duo partner, Israeli pianist Brachi Tilles, with whom she continues to perform.

Jenni recognised the depth of experience of many piano duo teams within the Brisbane community, beginning with her own teachers Max Olding and Pamela Page, the Patrons of the Festival, and from within the Queensland Conservatorium and University of QLD teaching faculties. A glance at the programs of the six Australian Piano Duo Festivals will attest to the abundance of duo teams of national significance that exist within Brisbane. In addition to Brisbane-based duos, the festival has welcomed musicians from throughout Australia as well as international guests, such as the Berlin-based Silver/Garburg Duo. Supported by the tireless work of the active members of the APDF Committee, including Angela Turner, Stephen Emmerson, Gwyn Roberts, Liam Viney and others, the establishment of the Festival was largely due to the generous financial support from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, who believed in the importance of this program and the benefits to its students. The music department at St Peters Lutheran College and their beautiful Performing Arts Center have graciously hosted three of the Festival's opening concerts. In recent years, the vital support of the University of Queensland's School of Music as Presenting Partner, has enabled the festival to continue and grow.

Repertoire presented at the festivals has spanned five centuries of composition, including jazz and improvisation, and has aimed to shine a spotlight upon Australian composition and new works (including a number of world and Australian premieres).

Since the beginning, the education program has been a central part of the Festival. Regular masterclasses for both pre-tertiary and tertiary pianists have taken place, as well as workshops for composers on how to write for the medium. Students have benefited from performances alongside professionals, and given an annual concert at Brisbane City Hall as part of the Council's Music at Midday Series to enthusiastic audiences of around 1000. In 2016, around 40 students went through the process of recording a full-length audio CD, as well gaining experiences in fundraising, photo shoots and interviews. In 2019, a series of around 30 videos were created for youtube, with students and teachers performing selections from the AMEB's Collaborative Piano Syllabus. A number of students who played in the earliest Festivals have since returned to the APDF stage as young professionals.

In late 2024, Jenni Flemming retired her leadership of the Festival, with Professor Liam Viney appointed to lead the organisation into the future, and expand the festival's national reach.

In 2025, the Australian Piano Duo Festival launches the Pamela Page and Max Olding Piano Duo Prize, to support and promote young Australian piano duos (ages 23 and under). This national prize aims to foster the art of duo pianism, providing opportunities for the development of young piano duos, and enriching the broader music community.