Anna Goldsworthy

Anna Goldsworthy
Anna Goldsworthy, Barr Smith Library, November 2023
Born
Adelaide
Education
Notable workPiano Lessons
Parent(s)Helen and Peter Goldsworthy
Websiteannagoldsworthy.com

Anna Louise Goldsworthy is an Australian classical pianist, writer, academic, playwright, and librettist, known for her 2009 memoir Piano Lessons. She has held several academic positions, and as of 2023 is director of the Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide. She is a founder member of the Seraphim Trio, which has toured Australia and the world since 1995.

She is the daughter of writer Peter Goldsworthy.

Early life and education

Anna Louise Goldsworthy[1] was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the eldest daughter of the writer Peter Goldsworthy and Helen Goldsworthy, who graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Adelaide.[2]

She began studying the piano at the age of six. At the age of eleven she was accepted into the Elder Conservatorium (part of Adelaide University), studying with the pedagogue Eleonora Sivan, to whom she attributes the fact that she is now a pianist. Goldsworthy completed her Bachelor of Music degree with honours at the Elder Conservatorium before acquiring a Master of Music degree at Texas Christian University, where she held the F. Howard and Mary D. Walsh Graduate Piano Scholarship and studied with Tamás Ungár.[3]

She joined the Advanced Performance Program at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM)[3] in Melbourne in 1999. Here she was mentored by Stephen McIntyre (an association which led to her later assuming the role of artistic director at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival).[4]

In 2004, Goldsworthy graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the supervision of Ronald Farren-Price. Her thesis topic was "Fanny Hensel and Virtuosity".[1]

Goldsworthy has studied in Moscow with Lev Naumov with the support of an Arts SA Emerging Artist Award.[3]

Music

Goldsworthy has stated that the highlights of her career have included solo piano appearances at the Teatro Colón in the Buenos Aires; for the Orchestra of Colours in Athens, Greece; at the Melbourne International Arts Festival; and in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's Masters Series.[5]

In 2009 Goldsworthy was a juror for Chamber Music Australia's Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition.[6]

Her debut solo CD, Come With Us, was released by ABC Classics in January 2008.[7] It comprises performances by Goldsworthy from a 2004 world tour.[8]

In July 2010 she recorded for ABC Classics the music that features in her book Piano Lessons.[8]

Seraphim Trio

Goldsworthy is a founding member of the musical trio Seraphim Trio,[9] established in 1995.[10] Since 1998 and as of September 2022, the trio consists of Helen Ayres on violin, Timothy Nankervis on cello, and Goldsworthy on piano.[10][11] Seraphim Trio has performed throughout Asia and Europe, and appears regularly in Australia for Musica Viva. They play regularly at Elder Hall in Adelaide, Epsom House near Hobart in Tasmania, and the Melbourne Recital Centre.[10]

The trio studied chamber music with Hatto Beyerle[10] at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.

In 2001, the trio won the trio and audience choice prizes in the Australian National Chamber Music Competition (forerunner to the Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition).[6]

In 2007, they launched a national concert series. In March 2010 Seraphim Trio recorded Schubert's Trout Quintet for ABC Classics.[citation needed]

In 2019, Seraphim Trio released the CD Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds, with Paul Kelly, James Ledger, and Alice Keath, which won an ARIA Award. In the same year, the trio released a multi-CD set Trio Through Time, which followed the history of the piano trio from Mozart and Haydn until the present day.[9]

Writing

Goldsworthy has published numerous essays on music and cultural issues, including many articles for The Monthly.[12]

Her memoir Piano Lessons was released by Black Inc in Australia in September 2009,[13][14] and internationally by Macmillan in 2010.[15]

It was shortlisted in the 2010 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for Best Non-Fiction and in the 2010 Australian Book Industry Awards in the categories of Best Non-Fiction[16][17] and the Newcomer of the Year, winning the latter.[18][2][19] The book was sold to St. Martin's Press in the U.S.,[20] and the film rights to the book were sold to director Ana Kokkinos in 2010.[21]

Goldsworthy is credited alongside her father, Peter Goldsworthy, as writing the stage adaptation of Maestro[9][6] which the State Theatre Company of South Australia performed in 2009.[22]

Piano Lessons was adapted by Goldsworthy, commissioned by the Queensland Music Festival[9] (with Deborah Conway at the helm) in August 2011. Goldsworthy played herself in the production, which was staged at the Cremorne Theatre at QPAC before touring the state.[23]

Welcome to Your New Life, also a memoir, was released by Black Inc in March 2013.[24] Goldsworthy adapted it for the stage for the State Theatre Company South Australia's closing play for the 2023 season, an idea raised by artistic director Mitchell Butel.[25]

Goldsworthy wrote a cabaret show, Cole, performed by Michael Griffiths at the Festival Theatre, Adelaide in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June 2015,[26] for which he won a Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer in 2016.[9] The show, which showcased the music of Cole Porter and Peter Allen, was again performed in 2020 at the Regal Theatre, Adelaide.[27]

She published her third book, Melting Moments, her first work of fiction,[28] on 3 March 2020.[29] It is a domestic book set in South Australia beginning in 1941, with the main character, Ruby, who travels to Adelaide.[30] It was officially released at the 2020 Adelaide Writers' Week, with an interview of Goldsworthy and Black Inc. author Anna Krien, who discussed how it felt going from "fact to fiction".[31]

Goldsworthy wrote the libretto for Victorian Opera's award-winning production of The Magic Pudding, staged in October 2013.[32] She wrote the libretto for their December 2022 production of A Christmas Carol.[33]

Academic positions

From at least 2009[6] and until 2011 or later[2] Goldsworthy was teaching piano at the University of Melbourne.[9] She returned to Adelaide in 2013, and took up a post at the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide[34] As of August 2021, Goldworthy was director of the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice.[35]

Since 18 July 2022[36] and as of 2023 she is director of the Elder Conservatorium.[37][25]

Festival directorships

Goldsworthy was appointed artistic director of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival in May 2009, succeeding her ANAM mentor Stephen McIntyre from 2010.[36][4]

From 2019 she was artistic director of the Coriole Music Festival in McLaren Vale, until she was appointed director of the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide in July 2022.[36][38]

In 2022, she was director of the Hayllar Music and Mountains Festival in Queenstown, New Zealand,[36] and co-curator of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's "She Speaks" festival with Anne Cawrse,[39] a classical music festival with a focus on music written by female composers.[40] She also co-curated the PianoLab festival with Anne Wiberg in 2022.[39]

She has said of these directorships that she finds fulfilment in the caretaker or pastoral care role, of both people and music: "[giving] them opportunities to be themselves and to flourish, make contact with an audience – I really love doing that".[4]

Recognition and awards

Piano

Writing

Music-writing relationship

In an interview with Adelaide paper CityMag, Goldsworthy expressed some of her beliefs about the arts and her feelings about her work:[34]

One of the beautiful things about music is it's fundamentally non-materialist. You create something that vanishes into the air and it's about the moment, its about the connection, it's about sitting in that Hall [Elder Hall], for instance, and collectively inhabiting the space.

I think I used to really cut myself up thinking I have to choose between music and writing, mostly because of time... I used to think I had to choose but as time goes on, the more I think I can't. They do speak to each other and I love them both and I love projects in which I can bring the two of them together.

What I find so restorative about the classical music tradition is I think there's an idealism and even a sincerity and earnestness at its hub and I think those things have become a bit of a casualty of modern life. It's very easy, and I’ve found it very easy in my own writing, to be paralysed by irony and trying to be too clever by half and in some ways music has taught me how to reveal more of myself in my writing and be more comfortable with being more naked in my writing.

Personal life

Goldsworthy has two siblings,[2] and two children.[25]

Selected works

Goldsworthy is the author of numerous published articles, essays, and books.[45]

Books

  • Goldsworthy, Anna (2011). Piano Lessons. Collingwood, Victoria: Black Inc. ISBN 9781863955355.
  • — (2014). Welcome to Your New Life. Collingwood, Victoria: Black Inc. ISBN 9781863956451.
  • —, ed. (2017). The Best Australian Essays 2017. Black Inc. ISBN 9781863959605.
  • — (2020). Melting Moments. Collingwood, Victoria: Black Inc. ISBN 9781743820858.

Essays and reporting

References

  1. ^ a b Goldsworthy, Anna Louise (2002). Fanny Hensel and virtuosity (PhD). University of Melbourne.
  2. ^ a b c d Mills, Robyn. "Goldsworthy graduates leave their mark". Lumen (Winter 2011). University of Adelaide. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Anna Goldsworthy as Elder Conservatorium leader in Adelaide from 2022 after a symphony of music achievements". Adelaide AZ. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Davies, Bridget (18 November 2022). "In the Director's Chair". ANAM. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Anna Goldsworthy". Booked Out Speakers Agency. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Goldsworthy, Anna (15 June 2009). "Creating our own star chamber". The Age (Interview). Interviewed by Usher, Robin. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Anna Goldsworthy". The Wheeler Centre. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Music". Anna Goldsworthy. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "Leadership". Janet Clarke Hall. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d "About Seraphim Trio". Tempo Rubato. September 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  11. ^ "FREE FRIDAY: Seraphim Trio". Tempo Rubato. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Anna Goldsworthy". The Monthly. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  13. ^ Hyles, Claudia (November 2009). "Mestra". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Piano Lessons (2009), by Anna Goldsworthy". ANZ LitLovers LitBlog. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Macmillan: Piano Lessons: A Memoir Anna Goldsworthy: Books". us.macmillan.com. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  16. ^ "BREAKING NEWS: 2010 NSW Premier's Literary Awards Shortlists". Booktopia. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  17. ^ "2010 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards" (PDF). NSW Government. 7 April 2010.
  18. ^ a b c d "Piano Lessons by Anna Goldsworthy". Black Inc. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  19. ^ Middlemiss, Perry (20 July 2010). "2010 Australian Book Industry Award Winners". Perry Middlemiss's Home Page. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Macmillan: Piano Lessons: A Memoir Anna Goldsworthy: Books". us.macmillan.com. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010.
  21. ^ "Development approvals". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Anna Goldsworthy". Speaking Out. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Piano Lessons" (video + text). Matrix Theatre. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Review Welcome to Your New Life" by Daniel Herborn, The Age, 18 May 2013
  25. ^ a b c Meegan, Genevieve (3 November 2023). "Motherhood has never felt less lonely for Anna Goldsworthy". InReview. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  26. ^ Orchard, Benjamin. "Michael Griffiths". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  27. ^ Stefanoff, Ben (8 October 2020). "Interview: Michael Griffiths – Being Regal In Adelaide With Cole Porter And Peter Allen". Glam Adelaide. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Melting Moments by Anna Goldsworthy". www.readings.com.au. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  29. ^ Melting Moments by Anna Goldsworthy. 2 September 2019.
  30. ^ Goldsworthy, Anna (2020). Melting Moments. Adelaide: Black Inc. ISBN 9781863959988.
  31. ^ "From Fact to Fiction". Adelaide Festival. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  32. ^ "The Magic Pudding". Victorian Opera. 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  33. ^ "A Christmas Carol" (PDF). Victorian Opera.
  34. ^ a b Goldsworthy, Anna (20 June 2016). "My Adelaide with Anna Goldsworthy". CityMag (Interview). Interviewed by Bezzina, Lauren. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  35. ^ a b "Congratulations to Anna Goldsworthy". J. M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  36. ^ a b c d Savage, Crispin (14 July 2022). "Pianist Anna Goldsworthy appointed director of the Elder Conservatorium of Music". University of Adelaide. Newsroom. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  37. ^ "Professor Anna Goldsworthy". University of Adelaide. Researcher Profiles. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  38. ^ "Simon Cobcroft appointed Artistic Director of Coriole Music Festival" by Lily Bryant, Limelight, 11 August 2022
  39. ^ a b "About". Anna Goldsworthy. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  40. ^ "A classical music festival celebrating music not composed by 'dead white men'". CityMag. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  41. ^ "David Paul Landa Memorial Scholarship for Pianists". State of the Arts. 24 August 2004. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011.
  42. ^ Musica Viva (2010). "Annual Report 2010" (PDF).
  43. ^ "The Colin Roderick Award shortlist". Text Publishing. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  44. ^ "Woman and fiction dominate the 2021 Colin Roderick Literary Award Shortlist". James Cook University. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  45. ^ "Professor Anna Goldsworthy: Publications". University of Adelaide. Researcher Profiles. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

Further reading