Sonya Helen Hanke (27 September 1933 – 4 September 1993) was an Australian pianist and educator. The daughter of Henry Aloysius Hanke, an Archibald- and

Sulman prize The Sir John Sulman Prize is one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, having been established in 1936. It is now held concurrently with the Archibald Prize, Australia's best-known art prize, and also with the Wynne Prize, at the Art Galler ...

-winning artist, and Emily Mortimer, she was born in

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

in Sydney. Hanke was educated at

North Sydney Girls High School , motto_translation = Towards Higher Things , established = , type = Government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school , gender = Girls , oversight = New South Wales Department of Education , principal = Megan Co ...

and the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, receiving diplomas in performance and teaching in 1951. In the following year, she won the open piano championship at the

Sydney Eisteddfod The Sydney Eisteddfod is an independent community based not-for-profit organisation limited by guarantee a registered charity in Sydney, Australia, and listed on the federal Register of Cultural Organisations eligible to receive tax-deductible do ...

and a Pedley, Woolley, McMenamin Trust scholarship. These funds enabled her to study at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 1953 to 1956; she received the

Hopkinson Gold Medal Hopkinson is a surname of English and Welsh origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Abdur Rahman Slade Hopkinson (born 1934), West Indian writer * Alfred Hopkinson (18511939), British politician * Alister Hopkinson (194199), New Zealan ...

for piano playing in her final year. She subsequently studied at the

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

with the help of a scholarship from the Italian government. Hanke also studied at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints pro ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. She performed in Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Britain, Israel and the United States. In 1959, she married Aldo Lucchetti, an agricultural scientist. The couple later separated. However, they spent the latter part of her life together. She returned to Australia in 1974 and joined the keyboard department at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in 1977, retiring in 1992. Her students included

Kathryn Selby Kathryn Shauna Selby Member of the Order of Australia, AM (born 1962) is an Australian Classical music, classical piano, pianist. She is often known as Kathy Selby. Biography She grew up in Sydney. She entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music ...

, David Howie, Lisa Moore, Corey McVicar and Michael Kieran Harvey. She was an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board. She was known for her performances of music by Franz Liszt and contemporary Italian composers. In 1980, she became founding president of the South Pacific Liszt Society. Hanke died in Sydney at the age of 59, of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanke, Sonya 1933 births 1993 deaths Australian women pianists Australian classical pianists Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Academic staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music 20th-century classical pianists Women music educators Piano pedagogues Women classical pianists 20th-century women pianists Accademia Musicale Chigiana alumni Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni