Michael Brimer (born 8 August 1933) is a pianist, organist, conductor, composer, musicologist, and academic. He was born in South Africa and studied with Eleanor Bonnar, a pupil of

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 ...

. Brimer's school days were spent at the prestigious St George's Grammar School in Cape Town. He continued studies at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

, the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

in London and at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He also studied in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where he now lives. He was music master at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

’s Church of England Grammar School in the late 1950s. During that time, he staged

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

’s ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', the first time an out-of-copyright G&S production had been staged in Queensland.Queensland Flute Guild
/ref> His academic career included appointments at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

and the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

as Foundation Professor of Music, the University of Cape Town as Dean of the Faculty of Music. and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

where he was for nine years the Ormond Professor of Music. He was appointed Professor Emeritus on leaving

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and subsequently has been based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

while performing and lecturing. His international solo-performing career also flourished and he has given concerts in many countries as recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. In 1962 he premiered

Malcolm Williamson Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, (21 November 19312 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death. Biography Williamson was born in Sydney in 1931; his father was an A ...

's Piano Concerto No. 2. He is a member of The Australian Trio, along with

Donald Hazelwood Donald Leslie Grant Hazelwood AO OBE (born 1 March 1930) is a celebrated Australian violinist and concert master. Career 1952-1998 Donald Hazelwood first played with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1952, as a second violinist under Eugene ...

(violin) and Georg Pedersen (cello).The Australian Trio
He has performed the complete series of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's 32 piano sonatas five times to great critical acclaim. In Australia, both the live broadcast and recorded series of the Beethoven and of the complete

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

piano works have been voted the most popular series on

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. ...

in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

’s annual listener survey. Brimer claims to be the first pianist to record the complete Beethoven sonatas in Australia. The series of live recitals broadcast in 1986 were intended for commercial release on cassette tape, but due to a technical issue not all the sonatas were released.

Gerard Willems Gerard Willems AM (born Gerardus Maria Willems; 19 August 1946) is a Dutch- Australian classical pianist and teacher. He was the first Australian pianist to record the complete series of 32 piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. He also ...

is the first pianist in Australia to record the 32 sonatas on CD. In January 2001, in a recital at the

City Recital Hall City Recital Hall in Sydney, Australia, is a purpose-built concert venue with the capacity for an audience of 1,238 people seated over three tiers of sloped seating. It is situated in the city centre in Angel Place, just off Martin Place. City ...

in Sydney, he played Beethoven's ''Hammerklavier'' Sonata. The reviewer for ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', Harriet Cunningham, said he had some memory lapses. To rebuff this, he asked Daniel Herscovitch, lecturer in music at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

, to review the tapes of the performance broadcast by

. Herscovitch found there were some finger slips, but no more than might be expected of pianists of international standing, and no memory lapses at all. The ''Herald'' published his findings in their apology to Brimer on 21 February.Matthew Westwood, "Facing the music", ''

ABC Radio 24 Hours ''Limelight'', formerly ''ABC Radio 24 Hours'', or simply ''24 Hours'', is an Australian digital and print magazine focusing on music, arts and culture. It is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Originally published by the Australian Broadcasting ...

'', May 2001, p.12 Michael Brimer’s many performances as organist have included those at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, Clare and King’s Colleges, Cambridge, and the Sydney and Melbourne Town Halls, as well as soloist with Australian orchestras. His conducting experience with orchestras in Australia and overseas has encompassed opera, choral and orchestral repertoire, from classical to contemporary works (including premiere performances). He and his wife Judith were among the co-founders of the Bermagui Four Winds Festival, at which some of his works have been played and he has appeared as a pianist. Michael Brimer has composed a number of works. Both his Piano Trios were premiered with the Australian Trio, and the first (2001) has recorded. In 1975, his book ''Utopia Unlimited'' was published in Cape Town. In 2005, Professor Brimer was appointed Music Pedagogy Adviser to the

Australian Music Examinations Board The Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) is a federated, privately funded corporation which provides a program of examinations for music, speech and drama in Australia. The organisation had its beginnings at the Universities of Melbourne ...

(NSW), and is a member of AMEB's Teaching Specialist Panel. He was a juror for the 2006 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, and the 2008

Sydney International Piano Competition The Sydney International Piano Competition is a music competition, presented in Sydney and broadcast live throughout Australia and internationally. It is held every four years, over a three-week period in July–August, and is internationally r ...

(SIPCA). He also assisted

Warren Thomson Warren Milton Thomson OAM (2 August 193519 February 2015) was an Australian pianist, piano competition juror, music editor, and music educator. He was best known in Australia as artistic director and chairman of the jury of the Sydney Internation ...

in the Sydney auditions for the 2008 SIPCA.SIPCA March 2008 Newsletter
/ref>

Notes

Sources

AMEB Newsletter November 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brimer, Michael 1933 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers South African classical musicians South African classical organists South African classical pianists South African composers South African male composers Australian classical organists Male classical organists Australian classical pianists Male classical pianists Australian music educators Piano pedagogues Academic staff of the University of Natal Australian male classical composers Australian classical composers 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century organists 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian musicians 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians