There is no better way to enjoy classical music than over dinner and wine in the company of friends.  Take a weekend break to the Southern Highlands and join us at Bendooley Estate, Berrima, for a classic 2-course dinner and the music of Schubert and Strauss. Our young artists for the night are the highly acclaimed pianist Calvin Abdiel and violinist Cedar Newman.

Schubert’s Grand Duo and the Strauss Violin Sonata are rich with beautiful melodies and high drama—perfect for a winter’s night. A Haydn solo sonata for piano shares a musical language with Schubert, while a Ysaÿe solo sonata for violin moves the music into the twentieth century with echoes of Bach and the Baroque.

Franz Liszt considered Schubert ‘ … the most poetic musician that ever lived.’

The Strauss sonata is ‘…a riot of musical colour and strongly reminiscent of a dramatic opera’ according to Australian violinist Anne Harvey-Nagl, Concertmaster of the Vienna Volksoper Orchestra.

These works are brought to life by Indonesian/Australian pianist Calvin Abdiel, who is establishing a reputation as one of the finest young international musicians. Piers Lane praised his ‘amazing musical brain and musicianship’ and ‘remarkable keyboard skills.’ when, at 20, he was awarded 3rd in the Sydney International Piano Competition.  He is joined by violinist Cedar Newman, 20, a President’s Scholarship student at the Manhattan School of Music New York. Her playing has been described as ‘breathtakingly virtuosic’ (H.Muse City News) with a ‘capacity for humility and generosity’ ( F.Gould Illawarra Mercury).

$120 per person includes a two course dinner and concert