20 April, 7:30pm – Professor Max Cooke Close Up Ticket

Professor Max Cooke is an icon of the Australian piano world.
Recognised as a leading educator, lecturer, adjudicator, author and pianist, Professor Max’s breadth and experience in the piano world is unmatched.

Professor Max Cooke has lead a fascinating life, from his upbringing firstly in Australia, then in Europe and especially Germany, leading to his teaching and concert work around the world.

Locally, Professor Cooke has held positions including; President of the Victorian Music Teachers Association, National President of the Australian Society for Music Education, and Chairman of the Commission on the Education of the Professional Musician within the International Society for Music Education (ISME). He is a Professor at Melbourne University Conservatorium, where he was Dean of the Faculty of Music, and he was a Professor also at Monash University.  He taught for some time at the Victorian College of the Arts.

He has produced a great number of CD recordings and publications on music and piano teaching, most notably his books titled Tone, Touch and Technique.

In the field of performance, Max Cooke has played many times as soloist with orchestras, giving over sixty concerto presentations, and he has been regularly involved with chamber music and accompanying, playing both piano and harpsichord.  He was very proud to perform the Concert No 2 in Bflat by Brahms with Sir Bernard Heinze conducting, and he performed the Concerto No 3 by Rachmaninof under John Bishop, who later moved to Adelaide.

In 1988 Max Cooke was invited to become a Fellow of the Australian College of Education. In the Queen’s birthday honours lists of 1998, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to music and to education, particularly to piano pedagogy and the training of students. In 2001, Max Cooke received the ‘Bundesverdienstkreuz’ from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Johannes Rau. This makes him an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic.

This intimate evening offers a rare opportunity to hear Professor Max talk about his history and musical life, as well as play some of his most loved piano works.