Internationally celebrated pianist, and winner of the Best Classical Artist at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards, Jian Liu has created a programme that surveys the different ways composers of New Zealand and Chinese heritage paint their worlds in sound.

The journey begins with landscapes featuring Douglas Lilburn’s From the Port Hills and Huang Hu Wei’s evocative Pictures from Bashu, while Tan Dun’s Eight Memories in Watercolour and Salina Fisher’s Three Short Pieces capture nature’s fleeting beauty in shimmering sound.

Gareth Farr’s Love Songs and Zhang Zhao’s Three Songs from the Mountains of Southern Yunnan give voice to love and longing.

The second half turns to childhood and memory. Gillian Whitehead’s Lullaby for Matthew and He Luting’s Lullaby offer tender moments of repose, while Anthony Ritchie’s Caroline Bay Suite and Ding Shande’s Children’s Suite dance with the laughter of children at play before Sonatinas by David Farquhar and Wang Lisan bring the programme to a spirited close, brimming with energy and joy.

Programme: 90 minutes with 20 minute interval