''Piano Six'' :the new generation is a collective of six Canadian pianists.
Adopting the model of the original Piano Six founded by Janina Fialkowska and managed for ten years by Jane Colwell this new organization launched in 2018 includes pianists Marika Bournaki, David Jalbert, Angela Park,
Ian Parker,
Anastasia Rizikov and
Daniel Vnukowski.
Between the months of April and November each year, one pianist performs in a regional tour within a two-week time span. Each pianist's visit includes a recital and one or more outreach events. The outreach events can be in the form of a concert for schools, a public masterclass or a special workshop for music teachers.
History
Founding and early history
Piano Six was founded in 1994 by the Polish-Canadian pianist
Janina Fialkowska
Janina Fialkowska, (born May 7, 1951) is a Canadian classical pianist. A specialist of the Classic and Romantic repertoires, for more than thirty years she has appeared regularly with professional orchestras around the world, often performing the ...
. The other members of Piano Six were
Angela Cheng
Angela Cheng ( zh, 鄭美蓮;
born September 9, 1959) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian classical pianist. She has performed internationally as a recitalist and as a guest soloist with orchestras. Cheng is a professor of piano at the Oberlin Conservat ...
,
Marc-André Hamelin,
Angela Hewitt,
André Laplante
André Laplante, (born November 12, 1949) is a Canadian ( Québécois) pianist. He received a 2004 Juno Award for the 2003 recording ''Concertos: Music of Jacques Hétu''. He is considered to be a Franz Liszt specialist and is much associated wi ...
, and
Jon Kimura Parker.
Locations (1994-2004)
Since Piano Six's first season in 1994, the pianists have performed in such remote Canadian communities as
Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish (; Squamish language, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, ; 2016 census population 19,512) is a community and a district municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, located at th ...
,
Irma, Alberta,
Arctic Bay, Nunavut
Arctic Bay (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒃᐱᐊᕐᔪᒃ, ''Ikpiarjuk'' "the pocket") is an Inuit hamlet located in the northern part of the Borden Peninsula on Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Arctic Bay is located in t ...
,
North Bay, Ontario,
Dalhousie, New Brunswick and
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, reaching approximately 100,000 Canadians over its 10 year duration.
Subsequent developments
In 2004 the Piano Six association changed its name and operated as Encore Six, before renaming once again to Piano Plus in 2005. During those years, it included non-keyboard performers on its tours, such as singers.
In 2018, Daniel Vnukowski relaunched the original Piano Six project using a different set of pianists under the slogan "New Generation".
Ensemble
The pianists of Piano Six occasionally appear together as an ensemble in addition to their individual touring circuits. Past examples have included an appearance at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in 2000 and at the Festival international de Lanaudière in 1999.
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.pianosix.com
"Piano Six"article at ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''
article at ''Toronto Star''
Musical groups established in 2018
Canadian classical music groups
2018 establishments in Canada
Musical collectives