Dennis Hennig (28 February 195117 January 1993) was an Australian pianist.

Biography

At an early stage of his career he was one of the

Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson's, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teache ...

's rehearsal class pianists, and later performed live music for ballet performances such as ''Signatures'', ''An Evening'', ''Seven Deadly Sins'' and ''Nearly Beloved''. He also taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Ross Edwards Ross Edwards (born 1 December 1942) is a former Australian cricketer. Edwards played in 20 Test matches for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals including the 1975 Crick ...

dedicated his Piano Concerto (1982) to Hennig, who was soloist at the premiere performance in 1983 with the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

under

Werner Andreas Albert Werner Andreas Albert (10 January 1935 – 10 November 2019) was a German-born Australian conductor. Personal life Albert was born in Weinheim. He began his studies in musicology and history, and later studied conducting with Herbert von Karaj ...

. He also recorded the work with the QSO under Myer Fredman. He made numerous other recordings, and at his death he was engaged on a project to record all of

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

's piano works, but he had completed only 2 CDs. He wrote on the music of

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

. He played the piano for the music for

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...

's first film ''Two Friends''. Dennis Hennig died of an

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-related condition in early 1993, aged 41. A medal in his memory is presented at the Sydney International Piano Competition.

Recordings

His recordings include: *

: Piano Concerto (

under Myer Fredman) - world premiere recording *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

arr.

Carl Tausig Karl Tausig (sometimes "Carl"; born Karol Tausig; 4 November 184117 July 1871) was a Polish virtuoso pianist, arranger and composer. He is generally regarded as Franz Liszt's most esteemed pupil, and one of the greatest pianists of all time. L ...

: symphonic poems '' Tasso'', ''Hamlet'', '' Les préludes'', ''

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

'' – world premiere recordings *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

: ''Sinfonietta giocosa'' for piano and orchestra ( Australian Chamber Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras) *

: Two Pieces, Op. 47; Lotus Land; Columbine; Two Pierrot Pieces, Op. 35; Pierrette; Poems; Trois Danses tristes, Op. 74; Over the Prairie (Two Impressions); Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 66 * Scott: ''In the Garden of Soul Sympathy'' *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

arr. Tausig: excerpts from '' Tristan und Isolde'' and '' Die Walküre''; ''Kaisermarsch'' *

Felix Werder Felix Werder AM (24 February 19223 May 2012) was a German-born Australian composer of classical and electronic music, and also a noted critic and educator. The son of a distinguished liturgical composer, he composed all his life. His published ...

: ''Banker'' * "Pianistic Peccadilloes: selected pieces from the repertoire of Miss

Arabella Goddard Arabella Goddard (12 January 18366 April 1922) was an English pianist. She was born and died in France. Her parents, Thomas Goddard, an heir to a Salisbury cutlery firm, and Arabella née Ingles, were part of an English community of expatriat ...

, Eileen Joyce, Percy Grainger, Teresa Carreño and others": ** Bach:

Toccata and Fugue in D minor The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music written, according to its oldest extant sources, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The piece opens with a toccata section, followed by a fugue that ends in a coda. Schol ...

Thalberg Thalberg or Talberg is a surname of German origin, which means "valley hill". It may refer to: *Irving Thalberg (1899–1936), American film producer * Irving Thalberg Jr. (1930–1988), American philosopher * Norma Thalberg (1902–1983), Canadian ...

: ''Air anglais varié'' ** Leschetizky: Andante finale from '' Lucia di Lammermoor'' ** Carreño: Little Waltz **

Moszkowski Moszkowski may refer to: * Alexander Moszkowski ( pl, Aleksander Moszkowski; 1851–1934), Jewish Polish-German writer and satirist * Moritz Moszkowski ( pl, Maurycy Moszkowski; 1854–1925), Romantic-era composer and Alexander's brother ** List of ...

: Concert Waltz in E **

Raff Raff is a surname of German, English or Old Norse origin. Notable people Notable people with this surname include: * Alexander Raff (1820–1914), Australian politician * Charles Raff (1878-1948), Australian footballer * Edson Raff (1907-2003), Am ...

: ''La fileuse'' ** Anton Rubinstein: ''Melody in F'', Op. 3, No. 1 ** Rubinstein: ''Trot de cavalerie'' **

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

: Serenade from ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' **

Grainger Grainger may refer to: Places *Grainger, Alberta, a locality in Canada *Grainger County, Tennessee, a county located in Tennessee, United States *Grainger Falls, a waterfall in Chalky Inland, Fiordland, New Zealand *Grainger Market, a covered mark ...

: ''Ramble on the Last love duet in

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

's opera '' The Rose Bearer'' '' ** Dett: ''In the bottoms'' ** Guion: ''Alley tunes'' ** Gershwin: ''Love walked in'' ** Gershwin: ''The man I love'' ** Grunfeld: ''Soirée de Vienne''.Australian Music Centre (AMC)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennig, Dennis 1951 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century classical pianists AIDS-related deaths in Australia Australian classical pianists Male classical pianists 20th-century Australian male musicians