Arrive in Sydney on suggested Qantas flights. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including pre-tour accommodation and a private transfer from the airport.

Meet tour leader Phillip Sametz and fellow travellers at a Sydney CBD hotel (venue to be confirmed) at 9:30am. Depart Sydney to Bathurst with a stop en route for lunch in the Blue Mountains.

This evening, enjoy an exclusive panel discussion between the artists and Phillip followed by dinner at the hotel.

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Begin the morning with a pre-performance talk by Phillip. Then, transfer to Bathurst to visit the stunning Abercrombie House, considered a heritage treasure of the region. The historic mansion is a Victorian-Tudor-style house of the 1870s with an impressive façade and extensive grounds.

After lunch, transfer to Blackdown Farm, the venue of the festival, and once home to the Australian artist Tim Storrier and a fine example of Australian heritage architecture. Attend the opening concert of the Out West Piano Fest entitled Welcome Dance, centred in dance form and structure that inspired many great piano works.

PROGRAM
Chopin – from Mazurkas Op.56 (No.2 in B Major and No.3 in C Major)
Chopin – Waltz in A-flat Major Op.42
Chopin – Polonaise in F-sharp Minor Op.44
Chopin – Ballade No.4 Op.52
Ravel – La Valse
Debussy – Petite Suite
Fauré – Masques et Bergamasques Op.112
Saint Saëns/Liszt – Danse macabre

After the concert, return to the hotel and enjoy some time at leisure.

This evening, enjoy an Italian-themed dinner served al fresco in the olive grove at Blackdown Farm, followed by a concert entitled Notte Italiana, with celebrated transcriptions from Italian operas and symphonic works by composers including Rossini, Respighi, Scarlatti and Bach.

PROGRAM
Rossini – Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Overture)
Scarlatti – Sonata in E Major K.162
Scarlatti – Sonata in G Minor K.450
Respighi – Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies No.1
Bach – Concerto in D minor BWV 974 for oboe
Malipiero – La Mascherata delle Principesse Prigionière
Ponchielli – Danza delle Ore ‘’La Gioconda’’

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After breakfast, join Phillip for a pre-performance talk, followed by a morning concert entitled Reflective Moments, dedicated to music inspired from sacred themes.

PROGRAM
Bach – Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd Cantata, BWV 208
Messiaen – Visions de l’Amen No.1 Amen de la Création
Chopin – Polonaise-Fantaisie Op.61
Vine – Five Bagatelles No.5 Threnody
Liszt – Consolations S.172 No.3
Scriabin – Piano Sonata No.5 Op.53
Bach – Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben BWV 147
Bach – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring Cantata, BWV 147
Edwards – Tyalgum Mantras

After the concert, enjoy a long table lunch under the canopy of the farm’s magnificent crab-apple tree walk before attending an afternoon concert entitled Dazzling Perfection, featuring piano concertos of the Romantic period.

PROGRAM
Chopin – Piano Concerto No.2 Op.21
Liszt – Piano Concerto No.1 S.124
Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Haydn Op.56b

This evening, delight in a cocktail reception in the rose garden before tonight’s performance entitled Debussy in Nature, an elegant musical offering that takes inspiration from Debussy and his connection with, and adulation of nature.

PROGRAM
Debussy –
Préludes Book 1, No.5 Les collines d’Anacapri
Préludes Book 1, No.7 Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest
Préludes Book 1, No.9 La sérénade interrompue
Préludes Book 1, No.10 La Cathédrale engloutie
Préludes Book 1, No.12 Minstrels
Préludes Book 2, No.7 La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
Préludes Book 1, No.2 Voiles
Préludes Book 1, No.3 Le vent dans les plaines
Préludes Book 1, No.6 Des pas sur la neige
Préludes Book 2, No.2 Feuilles mortes
Préludes Book 2, No.8 Ondine
Préludes Book 2, No.4 Les Fées sont d’exquises danseuses

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Check out of the hotel and transfer to Blackdown Farm for the festival’s finale, entitled Auf Wiedersehen. Delight in a performance where the festival artists join with multiple hands to create a rousing end to an enjoyable couple of days of exceptional music-making.

PROGRAM
Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro (Ouverture)
Gershwin/Grainger – ‘’Porgy and Bess’’ Fantasy
Poulenc – Sonata for Four Hands
Milhaud – Scaramouche Suite for Two Pianos
Smetana – Sonata for Two Pianos JB1:47
Rachmaninoff – Two Pieces for Six Hands
Saint Saëns/Liszt – Danse macabre for Eight Hands

After a farewell lunch, return to Sydney where tour arrangements conclude upon arrival in the CBD (venue to be confirmed) around 7:00pm.

Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including airport transfers, travel insurance (strongly recommended) and additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour.

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