Geoffrey Douglas Madge (born 3 October 1941) is an Australian classical pianist and composer.

Biography

Madge was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and took his first piano lessons at the age of eight. He later won the 1963 ABC Concerto and Vocal Competition. After winning this competition he left for Europe in 1963 and settled in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was appointed professor of piano at the

Royal Conservatory in The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...

. Madge is known for performing long and arduous works. He was the first to record

Leopold Godowsky Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concernin ...

's '' Studies on Chopin's Études'', once described as "the most impossibly difficult things ever written for the piano". He has given six complete performances of Sorabji's ''

Opus clavicembalisticum ''Opus clavicembalisticum'' is a work for solo piano composed by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, completed on 25 June 1930. It is notable for its length and difficulty: at the time of its completion it was the longest piano piece in existence. It ...

'', one of the longest and most difficult works ever written for the piano. In 1982, 52 years after Sorabji premiered the work, Madge gave the work its second public performance. Two of Madge's performances of the work have been released commercially. In 1979, he gave the first complete performance of

Nikos Skalkottas Nikos Skalkottas ( el, Νίκος Σκαλκώτας; 21 March 1904 – 19 September 1949) was a Greek composer of 20th-century classical music. A member of the Second Viennese School, he drew his influences from both the classical repert ...

's ''32 Piano Pieces''.

References

External links

Geoffrey Madge biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madge, Geoffrey Douglas Australian classical pianists Male classical pianists Australian composers 1941 births Living people Australian expatriates in the Netherlands Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian musicians Male composers 21st-century composers 20th-century composers