Silence - Before and After

The UQ School of Music proudly presents it's opening concert for 2026 with a performance of chamber music artistry by two of Australia’s most distinguished musicians: Paul Dean (clarinet/composer) and Alex Raineri (piano). This compelling program portrays lyricism, virtuosity, and contemporary reflection, bringing together works that explore the expressive breadth of the clarinet–piano partnership.

The concert opens with the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by Australian composer Margaret Sutherland, a pioneering voice in twentieth-century Australian music. Her sonata is refined and exploratory, weaving clarity of line with subtle harmonic colour in a work that speaks with both elegance and individuality.

From there, the program moves to the striking modernism of Jörg Widmann’s Five Pieces for Clarinet and Piano - a work of theatrical contrasts and extended techniques. Widmann, himself a virtuoso clarinettist, pushes the instrument to its expressive limits, creating miniature sound worlds that are by turns playful, volatile, and deeply introspective. In a moment of intimate reflection,

Paul Dean’s own Lockdown Miniatures No. 8 offers a contemporary Australian perspective of music born in isolation yet resonant with lyricism and immediacy. Personal and poignant, it provides a lyrical counterpoint within the concert’s broader narrative.

The program concludes with one of the great cornerstones of the repertoire: Johannes Brahms’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120. Written in the twilight of Brahms’ life, the sonata unfolds with warmth, nobility, and autumnal richness alongside its expansive melodies.

Together, these works illuminate the clarinet’s extraordinary capacity for colour, intimacy, and drama, brought vividly to life by two artists of exceptional musical insight.

Program

Sonata for clarinet and piano by Margaret Sutherland

Five pieces for clarinet and piano Jörg Widmann

Lockdown Miniatures, No. 8 by Paul Dean

Sonata for clarinet and piano, No. 1 in F minor by Johannes Brahms

Paul Dean

Brisbane born and bred clarinetist Paul Dean is widely regarded as one of Australia's foremost musicians in his multiple capacities as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, composer and Artistic Director. He is currently the Kinnane Professor of Music at the University of Queensland. He is co-Artistic Director of Ensemble Q with the cellist, Trish Dean.

Paul was the Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) from 2010 to 2015 and a Principal Clarinet with the Australian World Orchestra. Paul was the Artistic Director of the Four Winds Festival and the Tutti Beijing International Youth Music Festival and was also the founder and Artistic Director of the Southern Cross Soloists, the Endeavour Trio, the Bangalow Music Festival and the Sunwater and Stanwell Winter Music School. 

Between 1987 and 2000 he was Principal Clarinet with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra on over 40 occasions. He is a founding member of the Australian World Orchestra. Paul has performed as soloist with the Queensland, Melbourne, West Australian, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia and Southern Sinfonia in NZ, and the Trondheim Symfoniker (Norway).

As a chamber musician he has been guest artist with the Navarra Quartet, the Doric Quartet, the Heath Quartet, the Australian String Quartet, the Goldner String Quartet, the Grainger Quartet, the Flinders Quartet, and the Tin Alley Quartet. He has performed at many major venues and festivals throughout the world including the Oxford May Music Festival, the Huntington Music Festival, Alpine Classic Switzerland, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Trondheim Chamber Music Festival, and the Melbourne, Christchurch, Brisbane, Queensland, Perth, and Sydney Festivals. 

Paul’s recording of the Mozart and Brahms clarinet works for the Melba label, and the clarinet music of English composer Benjamin Frankel for German label CPO have won high praise from critics around the world.

Alex Raineri

Australian-Italian artist Alex Raineri is a piano player, harpsichordist, composer, improviser, curator, producer, writer, musical director and educator. 

Though trained classically, Alex is passionate about deconstructing genre barriers, nurturing how the tendrils of an old (classical) tradition can resonate vibrantly in today’s world. Alex’s creative ethos embodies a gentle shift towards a utopian future, leveraging storytelling through music as a powerful vehicle for manifesting social change. 

His collaborative and original work foregrounds diversity and innovation. As a commissioner, he has activated over 90 new works. Alex’s own compositional practice explores the intersection between old and new, weaving musical conventions in fresh ways. Beyond music, he has collaborated with dancers, actors, filmmakers, visual artists, and designers. 

Critical praise for his work has lauded him as “a musical chameleon … a visionary prophet of the keys” (Limelight), “fearless, playful, and technically formidable” (Stage Whispers), "a born communicator" (The Australian), and “a brilliant young musician" (Otago Times). 

As a performing artist, Alex’s extensive international touring includes shows throughout USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. With an expansive repertoire traversing Monteverdi to Xenakis, he is equally authoritative in interpreting the classical canon and premiering new work. 

As a recording artist, discography includes releases with Decca, Parma Records, ABC Classic, Kammerklang, MOVE Records and Soothe Sounds. He has made television appearances in Australia and Germany, and radio broadcasts on BBC, ABC, Radio NZ, Chicago’s WFMT and Florida’s WSMR. 

Alex is the artistic director and producer of Brisbane Music Festival and FourthWall Arts. He is an artist ambassador for Kawai Australia.