Cycle of Giving

Piano Plus Australia Annual Giving Program


WHAT IS THE CYCLE OF GIVING? 

The Cycle of Giving is the annual giving program which supports Piano Plus and makes you its partner in its vision to celebrate and promote piano talent right across Australia. In recognition of the kind of patronage that supported Ludwig van Beethoven as he wrote a cycle of 32 piano sonatas and piano concertos, we have devised our own program for patronage called Cycle of Giving.

WHY DO WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT? 

Piano Plus is a not for profit organisation, born from the almost 50-year-old Sydney International Piano competition. It hails from a strong philanthropic tradition: a passionate group of music lovers who believed in the importance of recognising and nurturing talent and delighted in the power of beautiful music. We honour those incredible pioneers who have brought Piano Plus this far and we now look to this generation, to people like you, to carry the mantel forward. As a Cycle of Giving supporter you will play a pivotal role in helping Piano Plus continue elevating beautiful piano music, and celebrating excellence and great talent on an international stage right here in Australia.

THE HAMMERKLAVIER and THE EMPEROR

If you share our bold vision to nurture great piano talent and share wonderful piano music and experiences with audiences right across Australia, we’d love to invite you to join us as one of our premium donors. Your donation will be acknowledged along with our most generous Hammerklavier and Emperor donors and will place you at the centre of Piano Plus Australia’s most exciting projects.

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More information about the eight levels of the Cycle of Giving

The Pathétique – $100 Donation
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor Op.13

The Sonate Pathétique was written in 1798 when Beethoven was 27 years old and was published in 1799. Dedicated to his patron and friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, it has remained one of Beethoven’s most celebrated and beloved compositions.

The Moonlight – $250 Donation
Piano Sonata No.14 in C♯ minor Op.27 No.2 ‘Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia’

The Moonlight Sonata was completed in 1801 and dedicated the next year to Beethoven’s pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The piece is as enduringly popular now as it was in Beethoven’s own day.

The Tempest – $600 Donation
Piano Sonata No.17 in D minor Op.31 No.2

The Tempest, composed in 1802 was, like the Moonlight, not given this title by Beethoven, nor indeed referred to as such during his lifetime. The name comes from a claim by his colleague Anton Schindler that the sonata was inspired by Shakespeare’s play.

The Waldstein – $1,000 Donation
Piano Sonata No.21 in C Major Op.53

The Waldstein, composed in 1803, when Beethoven was 33 years old and already deaf, is one of the three most notable sonatas of Beethoven’s middle period. The sonata’s nickname derives from Beethoven’s dedication to his patron and close friend Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein of Vienna.

The Appassionata – $2,500 Donation
Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor Op.57

The so-called Appassionata is another of the three most famous sonatas of Beethoven’s middle period and was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The Sonata was not nicknamed during the composer’s lifetime, but by the publisher of a four-hand arrangement of the work in 1838. It was Beethoven’s own favourite and there is no doubt the nickname is apt.

Les Adieux/Das Lebewohl – $5,000 Donation
Piano Sonata No.26 in E♭ Major Op.81A

The French attack on Vienna, led by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1809, forced Beethoven’s patron, the Archduke Rudolph, to leave the city. Beethoven composed the sonata in 1810, dedicating it “on the departure of his Imperial Highness, for the Archduke Rudolph in admiration”.

The Hammerklavier – $10,000 Donation
Piano Sonata No.29 in B♭ Major Op.106

Again dedicated to his patron, the Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier is the mightiest of his sonatas and one of the most challenging in the entire piano literature.

The Emperor – $20,000  Donation
Piano Concerto No.5 in E♭ Major Op.73

One of the most popular concertos ever written, The Emperor has a noble and heroic character and is a stirring and powerful work with a sublimely beautiful slow movement.


To discuss further, please contact our Executive Director, Mark Coughlan by email.