Famous Australian Pianists

Phillip Wilcher is a pianist and composer. He is credited with co-founding the popular children's music group, The Wiggles. Wilcher achieved popularity early in his life as he released his first classical composition at the age of 14, becoming one of the youngest Australian classical composers. Over the course of his career, Wilcher has released more than 100 piano-related works.

Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins is known for her chartbusting singles such as Scar and Where I Stood. She has also performed at international events such as TEDx. Her hit album The Sound of White made it to the top 5 of the End of Decade Top 100 Albums Chart in 2010.

Peter Allen was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, and entertainer. Best remembered for his flamboyant stage persona, Allen also enjoyed a concert and cabaret career. His life and career inspired a jukebox musical titled, The Boy from Oz ,which ran on Broadway. In 1993, Peter Allen was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

David Helfgott is an Australian concert pianist whose performance of Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 earned him the Dannreuther Prize at the Royal College of Music. He was honored with the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2021. Helfgott's life and career inspired the 1996 biographical drama film Shine which was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

The cofounder of the Australia’s iconic rock band, INXS, Andrew Farriss also serves as its main songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and backing vocalist. Opening his first band, Doctor Dolphin, while in high school, he later joined The Farriss Brothers before cofounding The Vegetables, which later became INXS. Winner of many awards, he released his debut album at the age of 62.

Richard Bonynge is an Australian pianist and conductor best known for conducting almost all of his wife Dame Joan Sutherland's operatic performances from 1962 to 1990. For his services to music, Richard Bonynge was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in 1977. In 2009, Richard Bonynge was honored with the prestigious Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award.

Graeme Bell was an Australian classical jazz pianist, band leader, and composer. Bell is credited with popularizing jazz in Australia by bringing many American performers like Rex Stewart to Australia. In 1997, Graeme Bell was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at the 11th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards.

Joel Adams is an Australian singer-songwriter and producer. He is best known for his debut single, Please Don't Go, which peaked at number six on Sverigetopplistan, a Swedish national record chart. In October 2016, he was featured on Spotify's 25 Under 25 list, where he was ranked the world's 16th most influential artist.