Out West Piano Fest 2025
Out West Piano Fest comes alive in Bathurst
Out West Piano Fest is an enchanting cultural weekend with five exciting concerts of piano music, paired with sumptuous food and wine, surrounded by an inspiring art collection in the stunning grounds of Blackdown Farm, former home of celebrated Australian artist Tim Storrier, in picturesque Bathurst, regional New South Wales.
Curated by Executive Director Mark Coughlan, this three-day symphony of the senses features beautiful music, gastronomy and nature, with performances on two grand pianos by celebrated International and Australian pianists and our special guest soprano from Opera Australia and guest violinist from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
The weekend experience is inspired by place, culinary delights, visual art and a shared passion for music. Celebrate the best of the Central West over carefully curated luncheons and an exquisite dinner feast, set amidst the Olive Groves and Rose Gardens within Blackdown Farm’s scenic grounds.
Tickets and Packages
Packages include:
- Five concerts
- Two morning teas
- Two lunches with matched wines
- One dinner under the stars with matched wines
- Souvenir program
Seats will be unreserved within each section.
| Festival Packages (Five concerts, two morning teas, two lunches with matched wines, one dinner under the stars with matched wines, and a souvenir program). |
Price |
| Premium package with Food & Wine, closest seats to the front and best viewing | $865.00 |
| General Reserve package with Food & Wine | $795.00 |
| Premium Day passes available for Saturday 25th October and Sunday 26th October | $295.00 |
| Premium Single tickets available for all concerts | $85.00 |
| General Single tickets available for all concerts | $70.00 |
Buy Tickets here
Festival Program
- A Night at the Opera
- Songs and Dances
- An Afternoon in Vienna
- From Russia with Love
- Celebration
Five unique concerts bring together four brilliant pianists — Jeonghwan Kim, Wynona Wang, Reuben Tsang, and Mark Coughlan — in a program that journeys from the elegance of Mozart and Rossini to the fire of Liszt and Ravel, the romance of Strauss and Schubert, and the passion of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Each concert has its own theme, ranging from operatic drama and Viennese charm to Russian intensity and glittering celebrations, ensuring audiences experience the full spectrum of piano artistry — from solo masterpieces to exhilarating ensemble works.
Adding extra sparkle across the series are two acclaimed guest artists: soprano Rachelle Durkin and violinist Harry Bennetts, who join the pianists in select performances to bring voice and string lyricism into the mix. Their appearances weave seamlessly into the program, offering moments of heightened beauty and contrast. With such artistry, variety, and depth, this festival promises to be an unforgettable celebration of music.
Friday 8pm Concert 1 - A Night at the Opera
Be swept into the drama and glamour of the operatic stage, from Mozart’s sparkling wit and Rossini’s irresistible charm to Liszt’s breathtaking virtuosity. Revel in Grainger’s playful reimagining of Gershwin, be moved by the soaring lyricism of Richard Strauss, and dazzled by Anderson’s fiery Carmen Fantasy. With Weber’s thrilling Der Freischütz overture to round out the program, it promises an evening of passion, brilliance, and theatrical flair — a true celebration of opera with the piano.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Franz Liszt: Reminiscences of Bellini’s Norma
Gioachino Rossini: Una voce poco fa from The Barber of Seville
Percy Grainger: Fantasy on Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess
Richard Strauss: Morgen!
Greg Anderson: Carmen Fantasy
Carl Maria von Weber: Overture to Der Freischutz
Saturday 11am Concert 2 - Songs and Dances
You will be taken on a journey through rhythm, melody, and movement in this program of ‘Songs and Dances’. Chopin’s Mazurkas draw you into the soulful spirit of Polish folk dance, before Franck’s passionate violin sonata sweeps you up in waves of lyrical intensity. Grainger’s witty ‘In Dahomey’ adds a playful spark, while the songs of Barber and Quilter offer moments of tenderness and reflection. Debussy’s ‘Suite Bergamasque’ surrounds you with impressionistic beauty, and Weber’s ‘Invitation to the Dance’ brings the performance to a joyful and elegant close, leaving you immersed in the sheer delight of music in motion.
Frédéric Chopin: Mazurkas Op 59
César Franck: Sonata for violin and piano
Percy Grainger: In Dahomey
Samuel Barber and Roger Quilter: Selection of songs
Claude Debussy: Suite Bergamasque
Carl Maria von Weber: Invitation to the Dance
Saturday 3pm Concert 3 - An Afternoon in Vienna
You will be transported to the heart of Vienna, where elegance, romance, and exuberance fill the air. Johann Strauss’s ‘Voices of Spring’ sets the tone with sparkling charm, while Schubert’s songs and fantasies reveal both intimate beauty and dramatic power. Kreisler’s delightful Viennese dances invite you into a world of grace and nostalgia, before Johann Strauss returns with two effervescent polkas that will leave you smiling. This program surrounds you with the warmth, wit, and vitality that made Vienna the musical capital of the world.
Johann Strauss II: Voices of Spring
Schubert/Liszt: Faith in Spring
Franz Schubert: The Wanderer Fantasy
Fritz Kreisler: Three Viennese Dances
Franz Schubert: Fantasy in F minor
Johann Strauss II: Two Polkas
Sunday 11am Concert 4 - From Russia with Love
You will be immersed in the passion and intensity of Russian music, from the sweeping lyricism of Rachmaninov’s Preludes and soulful songs to the fiery brilliance of his piano sonata no.1. Scriabin’s Sonata No. 5 brings a surge of mystical energy, while Rachmaninov’s beloved ‘Vocalise’ offers pure, wordless beauty. The concert culminates in Tchaikovsky’s rousing ‘Marche Slave’, in a brilliant arrangement for all four pianists at two pianos. This program invites you to experience the deep emotional spirit of Russian music — at once tender, dramatic, and electrifying.
Sergei Rachmaninov: Selection of Preludes Op 32
Alexander Scriabin: Sonata No 5
Sergei Rachmaninov: A selection of songs
Sergei Rachmaninov: Sonata No 1
Sergei Rachmaninov: Vocalise
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave
Sunday 3pm Concert 5 - Celebration
You will be swept up in a joyful finale that truly lives up to its name — ‘Celebration’. Schubert’s songs, transformed by Liszt, open with lyrical warmth, before Beethoven’s radiant ‘Spring Sonata’ fills the air with freshness and vitality. Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de la Nuit’ dazzles with its shimmering colours and technical brilliance, while Bishop’s ‘Lo, here the gentle lark’ sparkles with charm. From Irving Berlin’s playful ‘I Love a Piano’ to Strauss’s glorious ‘Blue Danube’, this final concert sends you out uplifted and exhilarated, a fitting conclusion to a festival brimming with artistry and delight.
Schubert/Liszt: A selection of songs
Ludwig van Beethoven: Spring Sonata
Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Henry Bishop: Lo, here the gentle lark
Irving Berlin: I Love a Piano
Johann Strauss II: The Beautiful Blue Danube
Music Curation
Executive Director Mark Coughlan has thoughtfully curated this program and will also be joining the stage as a performer throughout the weekend.
Festival Artists
This year’s festival brings together four outstanding pianists performing on two grand pianos, offering a rich blend of solo repertoire alongside dazzling works for four, six, and even eight hands. Adding further depth and variety, two exceptional guest artists from beyond the piano will join the series, bringing new colours and dimensions to the weekend’s music-making.
Pianists
Jeonghwan Kim, Wynona Wang, Reuben Tsang — all participants and prize winners of the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition, who will be joined by Mark Coughlan – performing everything from intimate solo works to thrilling pieces for four, six, and eight hands. Their combined talent promises an unforgettable experience, showcasing some of the brightest young pianists on the international stage.
Guest Musicians
For the first time, the festival is thrilled to feature instruments beyond the piano, welcoming soprano Rachelle Durkin and violinist Harry Bennetts as special guest artists. Rachelle will be appearing directly from her performances in Puccini’s La Boheme for Australian Opera and Harry is well known to Sydney audiences as Associate Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Their presence brings new colours and textures to the program, enriching select performances with the expressive power of voice and violin. This exciting addition promises fresh musical contrasts and unforgettable collaborative moments.
About Blackdown Farm
Blackdown Farm is home to the Out West Piano Fest and is regarded as one of NSW’s most significant properties and one of the finest examples of Australian Heritage Architecture. The homestead is surrounded by 17 acres of beautifully maintained gardens and fields.
It dates back to April 1822 when Thomas Hawkins, a naval officer and pioneer settler, was appointed the commissarial storekeeper at Bathurst, travelling from Sydney to Bathurst selecting a 2000-acre land parcel which he called Blackdown. Accompanied by his wife, seven children and nine convicts, the original homestead was built by Hawkins in 1823-1824 and it remains part of the main homestead residence today. Additional outbuildings were constructed over time, including a mill, stables, coach house and servants’ quarters.
In approximately 1836, Blackdown became the site of the first vineyard west of the Blue Mountains and around the same time, many of the trees were planted, including the entrance avenue of English elms and Atlantic cedars. Over the course of time, with different owners the gardens were expanded.
In 1989 the owners at the time undertook a major restoration of the homestead, returning Blackdown to its near original condition, and planned and laid out the extensive Georgian gardens. The most recent restoration of the property was in 2008 by renowned architects Clive Lucas Stapleton and Partners of Sydney when it was owned by Australian artist Tim Storrier. The cavernous artist studio will be the sole venue for all concerts in the Out West Piano Fest.
One of the most beautiful features of Blackdown is the extensive gardens within 17 hectares of planted and maintained parkland. The Out Fest Piano Fest will stage a long table lunch under the crab-apple tree walkway linking the homestead to the in-ground pool and clay tennis court. The organic vegetable garden is filled with raspberries, strawberries, artichokes, asparagus and rhubarb and adjoined by a fruit orchard with a mix of seasonal fruit, including apricots, nectarines, quince and feijoa. The olive grove of almost 650 mature olive trees will provide another outdoor stage for the Out Fest Piano Fest.
Parking
Parking is FREE at Blackdown Farm but you must register your vehicle.
We will email ticket holders closer to the event with information on how to secure you car park.
To book an accessible car park, you will need to display an Australian government issued accessible parking permit. If you have mobility concerns but do not have an Australian government issued accessible parking permit, please contact Executive Producer [email protected] we will see what we can do to help.
Travel and Accommodation
Accommodation Options
The beautiful Central Tablelands district has countless accommodation options to suit every preference and price bracket. You can check out the Bathurst Tourism Centre’s accommodation guide here as a starting point.
Local Tourism
The Bathurst Tourism Centre has also partnered with Out West Piano Fest to ensure that all guests have a wonderful visit to the region. If you are coming a few days earlier, or staying a few days after the festival the Bathurst Tourism Centre is your first stop. Check their comprehensive guides to what’s happening and things to do here.
Sponsors and Partners
Piano Partner
Catering
Margot Burke Catering
Event Styling
