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
Hailed as a "born communicator" (The Australian), Alex Raineri lives on Jagera and Turrbul land in Meanjin (Brisbane, Queensland). He is active throughout Australia and Internationally as a piano recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, harpsichordist, composer, writer, producer, and educator.
Alex is an artist ambassador for Kawai Australia and is the Artistic Director of Brisbane Music Festival and live-music venue FourthWall Arts. International tours include America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Asia, and New Zealand. Within Australia, Alex has been a featured artist at many major festivals, series, and venues.
A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Alex has commissioned over 80 works and has given over 140 World Premieres and over 170 Australian Premieres to date. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the Queensland, Tasmanian, Darwin, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Camerata, Orchestra Victoria, Ensemble Q, and others. Radio broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Radio NZ, California Capital Public Radio, Chicago’s WFMT, ABC Classic FM, and all of the Australian MBS Networks.
Collaborations with notable Australian and International artists include Andreas Ottensamer, Twoset Violin, eighth blackbird, ELISION, Asko|Schönberg, Lior, Sara Macliver, Mirusia, Natalie Clein, Natsuko Yoshimoto, Greta Bradman, Karin Schaupp, Lorina Gore, Amy Lehpamer, Claire Edwardes, Li Wei Qin, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Warwick Fyfe, Jack Liebeck, Kathryn Stott, Slava Grigoryan, Brett Dean, William Barton, Sophie Rowell, Jane Sheldon, Lisa Moore, Ensemble Offspring, Orava Quartet, and many others.
Major awards include winning the Australian National Piano Award, ANAM Concerto Competition, and Kerikeri International Piano Competition (New Zealand). Alex was a recipient of the Queensland Luminary Award (2021) in the APRA/AMCOS Art Music Awards and also received a Kranichsteiner Musikpries (2014) at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music (Germany). In 2023 he was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship.
About Nickson Room Concert Series
The University of Queensland School of Music is proud to present our Nickson Room Concert Series for 2026. In reflecting the School's role in the broader South-East Queensland community, we have designed a diverse and exciting program. With established international and national artists performing, as well as our own emerging student artists, this year is set to be a vibrant, creative, and energetic time at the UQ School of Music. We look forward to connecting with you.
