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SUNDAY 30 APRIL In association with the NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA CONCERT 5 STALIN'S PIANO BARBARA BLACKMAN'S FESTIVAL BLESSING Robert Davidson b. 1965 Stalin's Piano WP – a multimedia performance O n March 5 1953, Joseph Stalin died in his bed. Spinning on his record player was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, performed by his pianist of choice, the formidable Maria Yudina. An outspoken champion of new music and artistic freedom, Yudina was banned, suspended or exiled time after time. Yet, whilst so many of her fellow artists 'disappeared' or were purged by the KGB, Yudina outlasted Stalin and lived to tell her story. Robert Davidson's new work, conceived for the Ukranian-born and equally fearless Sonya Lifschitz, takes us into the heart of the ever-simmering conflict between state and individual, with contributions from people as diverse as Goebbels, Ai Wei Wei, Jackson Pollock, Whitlam and Yudina herself. Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia 2.00pm | c. 90 mins SONYA LIFSCHITZ piano This performance will be followed by a forum on the theme: "Art and Politics" Dr Deborah Hart Head of Australian Art, NGA Dr Robert Davidson composer Andrew Ford OAM composer/writer Dr Chen Yi 2017 CIMF Composer–in–residence moderated by Vincent Plush writer/composer Durations: 50' – c. 40' THIS CONCERT is supported by GAIL FORD WP – WORLD PREMIERE Barbara Blackman AO A uthor, music-lover, essayist, librettist, letter writer and patron of the arts, Barbara was born in Brisbane in 1928. Her father died when she was three years old, and mother and daughter lived together in a series of homes and boarding houses in Brisbane. At Brisbane State High School, Barbara was introduced to the music of Shostakovich by fellow students Donald Munro, Roger Covell and Charles Osborne, and began a love affair with contemporary music that continues today. In 1950 she was diagnosed with optic atrophy; her vision declined rapidly until she became completely blind. By 1952 Barbara was married to aspiring artist Charles Blackman, a marriage that produced three children and lasted nearly thirty years. The two lived a meagre but happy existence in Melbourne until 1960, when Charles was awarded the prestigious Helena Rubinstein Travelling Scholarship, and the family moved to London. In later life, Barbara married Frenchman Marcel Veldhoven. The pair spent twelve years together before Veldhoven travelled to India to live and study Tibetan Buddhism. Though Barbara was raised in the Christian tradition, she broke away from the Church in her early twenties and today follows the teachings of Sufism. In 2004, Barbara pledged $1 million to music in Australia, to Pro Musica and the ANU School of Music among other groups. Her generosity to Pro Musica enabled the Canberra International Music Festival to develop in directions that would not otherwise have been possible.