ASQ Transcend Program

AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET

NATIONAL SEASON 2 015

TRANSCEND TOU R TH R E E 29 OCTOB E R - 7 NOVE M B E R, 2015

P R E S E N T E D BY

Supporting the community for more than 30 years Since our inception in 1985, the Macquarie Group Foundation and Macquarie staff have contributed more than $250 million to community organisations around the world, with hundreds of Macquarie staff also donating thousands of hours each year via volunteering, pro bono support or the management of non-profit boards.

As one of Australia’s foremost corporate benefactors, our pioneering approach to philanthropy has funded a range of novel approaches to community issues, including cutting-edge research into chronic health problems, establishing awards and fellowships to encourage innovative thinking, seed funding organisations with new ideas as well as collaborations between non-profits with shared objectives.

Proudly supporting the Australian String Quartet. macquarie.com/foundation

WELCOME

In our final tour for the 2015 National Season, Transcend, we delve into the worlds of Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, Australian composer Brett Dean, and Franz Schubert with the generous support of our Lead Tour Partner, the Macquarie Group. Our program opens with the third string quartet by Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga. Regarded as the ‘Spanish Mozart’, Arriaga’s quartet is full of elegance and warmth.

We are excited to perform the Australian premiere of Brett Dean’s And once I played Ophelia, written for soprano and string quartet. Co-commissioned by the Australian String Quartet, the Britten Sinfonia and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival the work received its World Premiere in Norwich, UK, in May 2014. We extend our thanks and appreciation to our commissioning partners, whose generous support has brought this work to life.

We welcome guest soprano Allison Bell to perform Brett’s piece with us. Bell, whose technical prowess and vocal agility perfectly suits the work, was involved in the premiere performances of the work with the Britten Sinfonia in Norwich and at London’s Wigmore Hall. This work is a suite of five short movements performed straight through, and is based on the Shakespearean character Ophelia, from Hamlet. It is an incredibly evocative work that keeps the listener on tenterhooks.

Schubert’s Death and the Maiden is one of the giants of the string quartet repertoire.

The composer wrote this piece in 1824 after going through serious illness and it is an epic journey, from the first fateful notes of the opening right through to the last movement.

It’s gripping from beginning to end!

We are so happy to welcome guest first violinist Sophie Rowell – a well-known ASQ friend – to perform with us for our final 30th Anniversary National Season tour in 2015. And of course, we welcome Francesca Hiew, our new second violinist! We are so thrilled that Francesca is able to join us ahead of our National Season 2016 and we cannot wait to continue our journey together as we debut our new line-up with first violinist Dale Barltrop in February 2016.

A heartfelt thank you to all of our audience members, who have shown incredible support and trust in us this year. It has been fun and rewarding to work with so many great musicians in 2015 and we hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as we have. We’d love to hear from you and encourage you to share your thoughts with us via our survey or on facebook/twitter.

We look forward to seeing you next year, and here’s to a very happy National Season 2016!

Australian String Quartet

Elder Conservatorium of Music

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Delivering over 130 years of music excellence The Elder Conservatorium of Music is Australia’s oldest and most distinguished tertiary music school. For more than a century, staff at the Conservatorium have educated and inspired generations of performers, composers, teachers and leaders in the arts.

Home to the Australian String Quartet - our quartet in residence, the Conservatorium hosts a vibrant community of talented musicians and provides a supportive environment that encourages creativity, independence and excellence in music.

Staff and students of the Conservatorium are committed to the artistic, educational and community experience of music, and they share their passion and expression with the public through regular performances and concerts.

Visit our website to learn more about the program of events, and comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees available in a wide variety of specialisations.

music.adelaide.edu.au

PROGRAM

Juan Cris贸stomo de Arriaga, String Quartet no 3 in E flat major Brett Dean, And once I played Ophelia* (Australian premiere performances)

I N T E R VA L Schubert, String Quartet no 14 in D minor D810, Death and the Maiden With guest artists Allison Bell, soprano and violinists Sophie Rowell and Francesca Hiew *Co-commissioned by the Australian String Quartet, Britten Sinfonia and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

DATES

Sydney, Thu 29 October, 7pm City Recital Hall Canberra, Sun 1 November, 2pm Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia Adelaide, Mon 2 November, 7pm Adelaide Town Hall Perth, Tue 3 November, 7pm Government House Ballroom Melbourne, Fri 6 November, 7pm Melbourne Recital Centre Brisbane, Sat 7 November, 7pm Conservatorium Theatre, South Bank

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AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET

With a rich history spanning over 30 years, the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) has a strong national profile as an Australian chamber music group of excellence, performing at the highest international level. From its home base at the University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, the ASQ delivers a vibrant annual artistic program encompassing performances, workshops, commissions and education projects across Australia and abroad.

One of Australia’s finest music exports, the ASQ has appeared at international music festivals and toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand and Asia in recent years.

The Quartet frequently performs with leading guest artists and in recent years has appeared with internationally acclaimed artists including pianists Angela Hewitt and Piers Lane, mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, clarinettist Michael Collins, violist Brett Dean and cellist Pieter Wispelwey.

The Quartet’s yearly performance calendar comprises its National Season featuring three unique concert programs presented in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Canberra; its own flagship festivals in the Southern Grampians and Margaret River; and regional and international touring.

The members of the ASQ are privileged to perform on a matched set of Guadagnini instruments. Hand crafted by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini between c.1743-1784 in Turin and Piacenza, Italy, these exquisite Italian instruments were brought together through the vision of Ulrike Klein.

The instruments are on loan to the Australian String Quartet for their exclusive use through the generosity of Ulrike Klein and Ngeringa Arts.

The ASQ has recently appointed Dale Barltrop as first violin and Francesca Hiew as second violin. The new quartet will make their full debut in February 2016 in their first national concert season. In 2015, violist Stephen King and cellist Sharon Draper have been joined by invited guest violinists to present the Quartet’s continuing busy season of performances.

STEPHEN KING VIOLA

SHARON DRAPER CELLO

Stephen King plays the viola because he loves its role in the string quartet. It is both the agitator and the peacemaker, the consonance and the dissonance, the harmonic pulse and always the meat in the sandwich.

Born in Melbourne, Sharon studied at Melbourne University and ANAM under David Berlin, Philip Green, and Howard Penny. During her university studies she played regularly with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), Australia Pro Arte (now Melbourne Chamber Orchestra), Academy of Melbourne Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. She has toured extensively with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and in 2008 Sharon was appointed a position with the MSO which she held until 2012. She was a regular participant in the MSO’s Chamber Players series and in 2009 she formed the Hopkins String Quartet. Whilst living in Berlin in 2012 Sharon performed with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Spira Mirabilis Chamber Orchestra.

Stephen played violin while growing up in Canberra and turned to the deep side after all but completing an architecture degree in Brisbane. Following the inspiring teaching there of Elizabeth Morgan, he completed his studies in the United States with James Dunham (Cleveland Quartet), Kathy Murdock (Mendelssohn Quartet) and Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet). Stephen holds a Doctorate in Chamber Music from the University of Maryland.

From 1997 Stephen was violist of the Coolidge String Quartet based in Washington DC and later Associate Principal Viola of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and part of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Stephen returned to Australia in 2003 to join the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and in 2012 he became the violist of the Australian String Quartet.

Sharon also has a passion for teaching, and has tutored ensembles such as the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp orchestras, and has been a guest chamber music tutor at ANAM. In 2015 Sharon performed as a guest with the Australia Ensemble and the Australian World Orchestra, as well as forming a duo with guitarist Slava Grigoryan.

Guadagnini Quartet Project The members of the Australian String Quartet are privileged to have access to a matched set of Guadagnini instruments. Hand crafted by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini between c.1743-1784 in Turin and Piacenza, Italy, these exquisite instruments were brought together through the vision of Ulrike Klein, founder of Ngeringa Arts. For this tour, the viola and cello are on loan to the Australian String Quartet from Ulrike Klein and Ngeringa Arts.

In order to secure the instruments for future generations, Ngeringa Arts has launched the Guadagnini Quartet Project. Its aim is to acquire all four instruments for future generations of Australian musicians and music lovers. Once complete it will be the only matched set of Guadagnini instruments in the world and Ngeringa Arts will hold it in perpetuity.

Already through the generosity of the Klein Family and other donors, Ngeringa Arts has acquired the viola and earlier this year Ngeringa Arts acquired the violin crafted in Turin, 1784, through the generosity of Allan J Myers AO, Maria J Myers AO and the Klein Family. Its next priority is the cello. Crafted in 1743 it is one of his finest and was featured in an international exhibition

in Parma, Italy to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Guadagnini’s birth.

Through the generosity of the Klein Family Foundation, the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation and a group of committed donors we aim to raise the purchase price of $1.83M by 30 June next year. History-making endeavors like this are born from passion. To succeed, Ngeringa Arts needs the involvement of visionaries who understand the significant cultural value in a collection of this calibre.

The Board of Ngeringa Arts recognizes and thanks the following patrons who have each made a significant contribution to this project.

Klein Family Foundation Allan J Myers AO Maria J Myers AO James and Diana Ramsay Foundation Diana McLaurin Joan Lyons Mrs F.T. MacLachlan OAM Mr H.G. MacLachlan

Hartley Higgins David and Pam McKee Ian and Pamela Wall Janet and Michael Hayes Richard Harvey Jill Russell Lyndsey and Peter Hawkins Jari and Bobbie Hryckow Janet and Gary Tilsley Mary Lou Simpson Anonymous (1) Please join Ngeringa Arts in building this extraordinary musical legacy. To donate go to www.ngeringaarts.com For more information contact Alison Beare General Manager, Ngeringa Arts P (08) 8227 1277 E Alison@ngeringaarts.com

GUEST ARTIST SOPHIE ROWELL VIOLIN I Adelaide-born violinist Sophie Rowell has had solo engagements with all the major Australian symphony orchestras and has been Guest Concertmaster with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and with the Adelaide, Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.

Among other awards Sophie won the Young Performer of the Year in 2000 and second prize in the 1999 International Mozart Competition in Salzburg.

In 2000 Sophie founded the Tankstream Quartet which, in 2006, became the Australian String Quartet. As first violinist until 2011 with this renowned group she has performed throughout Australia, Europe, North America, Japan, China and New Zealand. The Quartet were the winners of the 2005 Cremona and the 2002 Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions.

She has held teaching positions at the Australian Institute of Music and the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide.

Studying in Sydney with Alice Waten she then undertook further studies in Europe with the Alban Berg Quartet.

FRANCESCA HIEW VIOLIN II

Francesca Hiew’s passion for chamber music began at an early age as a student of Emin Tagiev and Mark Lakirovich at the Stoliarsky School of Music in Brisbane. Having completed a Bachelor of Music with Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium, Francesca continued her studies with William Hennessy at ANAM where she completed a Fellowship focusing on chamber music for mixed string ensembles. In 2012 Francesca co-founded the Auric Quartet, selected as a finalist for the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition and the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition.

The quartet performed in the Melbourne and Perth International Arts Festivals, Dunkeld Festival of Music and was Quartet-inResidence at the Four Winds Festival.

Francesca became a permanent member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2014 and is a core member of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO). She has performed with the Sydney, Tasmanian and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria, Victorian Opera, MCO’s Australian Octet and has also appeared as soloist with the MCO and Orchestra Victoria.

Sophie Rowell and Francesca Hiew appear courtesy of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

FELIPE PAGANI

ALLISON BELL SOPRANO

Award winning young soprano Allison Bell is fast gaining a reputation as one of the leading and most exciting performers of 20th and 21st century music. Born in Tasmania,she studied Music and History at the University of Sydney.

With the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladmir Jurowski she has performed the role of Sierva Maria in the world premiere of Peter Eotvos’ opera Love and Other Demons at Glyndebourne, the UK premieres of Schnittke’s Three Scenes, Three Madrigals, and Der Gelbe Klang, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at the Wigmore Hall, Grisey’s Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil and Polly Peachum in Die Dreigroschenoper in Paris and London. With the LPO under Michal Dworzynski she performed Gorecki’s Third Symphony. Recent performances include Le

Feu, La Princesse and Le Rossignol in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at the Bolshoi, with Ilan Volkov Zorn’s La Machine de l’Être/ BBCSSO, Messiaen’s Poèmes pour Mi/ CBSO and Ravel’s Shéhérazade/Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, her Concertgebouw debut featuring Schoenberg and Dean, Pierrot Lunaire at Moscow’s Mossovet Theatre and MONA’s Synaesthesia Festival and Berg’s Lulu Suite, Fauré’s Prométhée and SaintSaëns Les noces de Prométhée with the Russian State Academic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow. Also Grisey’s Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil in Berlin with Jurowski and the world premiere of John Tavener’s Flood of Beauty at the Barbican, London.

Allison acknowledges the generous support of The Richard Carne Trust and Lansons Communications.

PHOTO BY PICCOLI

BRETT DEAN COMPOSER, VIOLA, CONDUCTOR

Artist in Association, BBC Symphony Orchestra Artist in Residence, Swedish Chamber Orchestra “A voice of fertile imagination, originality and expressive subtlety.” Chicago Tribune Brett Dean studied in Brisbane before moving to Germany in 1984 where he was a permanent member of the Berliner Philharmoniker for fourteen years. He began composing in 1988, initially concentrating on experimental film and radio projects and as an improvising performer. Dean’s reputation as a composer continued to develop, and it was through works such as his clarinet concerto Ariel´s Music (1995), which won an award from the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, and Carlo (1997) for strings, sampler and tape, inspired by the music of Carlo Gesualdo, that he gained international recognition.

Now one of the most internationally performed composers of his generation, much of Dean’s work draws from literary, political, environmental or visual stimuli, including a number of compositions inspired by paintings by his wife Heather Betts. His

music is championed by many of the leading conductors and orchestras worldwide, including Sir Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, Marin Alsop, David Robertson and Simone Young.

Dean enjoys a busy performing career as violist and conductor, and since 2005 has been performing his own Viola Concerto with many of the world’s leading orchestras. standard repertoire. Dean’s career as conductor is also blossoming alongside his work as composer and performer, his imaginative programmes usually centred around his own works combined with other composers’.

His music is performed by many leading orchestras, with highlights including performances of Dramatis Personae by Håkan Hardenberger with Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Australian premiere by the Australian String Quartet of String Quartet No.2 “And once I played Ophelia”.

Brett Dean is represented by Intermusica. The works of Brett Dean are published by Boosey & Hawkes.

JUAN CRISÓSTOMO DE ARRIAGA (1806-1826)

String Quartet no 3 in E flat major Allegro Pastorale – Andantino Menuetto - Allegro - Trio plus lent Presto agitato Arriaga and Mozart share a birthday, though the Basque composer was born 50 years later, and is thus a contemporary of Mendelssohn, Chopin and Schumann. Unlike them, however, Arriaga died, of a pulmonary infection, days before his twentieth birthday. Born into a mercantile but musical family, Arriaga began composing at the age of 11 with Nada y mucho for three violins, to which he later added a vocal line and bass part. In 1821 he travelled to Paris where, having impressed the composer Luigi Cherubini (whom Beethoven revered as the second greatest composer), Arriaga was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire. Over the next two years he won prizes for counterpoint and fugue, and in 1824 was given a teaching position at the Conservatoire while still producing a prodigious number of new works.

Unfortunately, many of his twenty or so compositions have been lost, or survive in only fragmentary form, but we know he composed chamber and orchestral music, sacred and secular vocal works, and one ‘opera semiseria’, Los esclavos felices (The Happy Slaves). It is not surprising, given that he was outlived by Beethoven and Schubert, that Arriaga’s music is very much in the classical, rather than emerging Romantic, tradition.

That being said, the Third Quartet is a work of heightened expressiveness, which opens with the sort of gesture figure that one might find in work from CPE Bach to Beethoven (both, in some senses, proto-Romantics in their different ways). A tightly wound unison figure is stated emphatically and is answered by quieter fully-harmonised motifs. The development of the material, in an urgent rapid triple metre is full of the kinds of emotive contrasts of texture, volume and rhythm that also characterises much of Haydn’s music.

The second movement is a descriptive Pastorale, its lilting Italianate melody suggesting the sounds of a shepherd’s pipe (compare the Pastoral Symphony in Messiah) with bird-like flourishes. The Pastorale also refers to a genre in which separated lovers yearn for one another, which might explain the stormy passion of the central section, which, once spent, returns briefly to the opening material.

The minor-key Menuetto has some of the same dramatic contrasts of loud unison and soft harmony as the first movement, while the central trio section is rather more equable. The final Presto agitato is a tour-de-force of driving energy, intricate texture and thematic invention.

Arriaga’s three quartets were published in Paris two years before his death. © Gordon Kerry 2015

COMMISSIONING PA R T N E R S

The Australian String Quartet is committed to the development of new Australian works and strongly supports Australian composers and the showcasing of their work both nationally and internationally. We are extremely proud to be presenting the Australian premiere of And once I played Ophelia by Brett Dean within the Transcend national tour. Co-commissioned by the Australian String Quartet, Britten Sinfonia and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, this work was made possible by the generosity of a group of patrons and the ASQ would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank them.

Nicholas and Libby Callinan John and Christine Chamberlain Margaret Flatman John Funder Hartley Higgins Peter Jopling Michael and Lu Linton Victor and Barbara Mulder Allan Myers AO and Maria Myers AO Terry and Pauline O’Brien Susan Rennie Susan Renouf Paul and Margarita Schneider Rosita Trinca Lyn Williams

BRETT DEAN (BORN 1961)

String Quartet No. 2, (“And once I played Ophelia”) for string quartet and soprano Brett Dean’s music is championed by conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, David Robertson and Simone Young. In 2009, he won the Grawwemeyer Award for his violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing and in 2011 received the Elise L Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York. Forthcoming commissions include a Trumpet Concerto for Håkan Hardenberger commissioned by Grafenegg Festival and the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Danish National Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras.

Dean is busy as a violist with projects with the Doric Quartet, Britten Sinfonia and the Orion Quartet. His blossoming conducting career has led to engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and Northern Sinfonia.

The composer writes: Matthew Jocelyn’s text uses not only Ophelia’s own words from Shakespeare’s Hamlet but also words directed towards, or said about her, from the confronting invective of Hamlet’s ‘Get thee to a nunnery’ or his exalted love poem, ‘Doubt thou the stars are fire’ through to the condescending life directives handed out by her brother Laertes (‘Best safety lies in fear’) and father, Polonius (‘Do not believe his vows’), and Gertrude’s lyrical description of her suicide. (‘There is a willow…’)

Through a suite of five short movements performed without a break, a concise portrait of Shakespeare’s troubled and elusive young character emerges. As we discussed the shape of the work, Matthew and I saw it increasingly as an examination of what remains in our memory and understanding of this secondary, yet utterly pivotal role ‘after all the Ophelias have played Ophelia.’

Though traditionally portrayed as a meek, even weak character, often dressed in flowing white robes and unable to defend herself before the pressures of Elsinore cause her to snap, I’ve often felt that much of what she says betrays a feistier personality than the one we often are presented. (‘And I that sucked from his musicked vows…’)

And perhaps, just perhaps, Ophelia drowns not from a romantically-fed whim or madness, but simply because of the pure weight of the words others say about her caught irrevocably in her pockets.

Hence I sensed the drama of a string quartet complemented by a high soprano voice, at times in combat with the forces around her, at times lulled, accompanied, even defeated by them, formed a suitable musical metaphor for this ‘ministering angel’ and the strange, beguiling spell she casts over us. © Brett Dean 2014

BRETT DEAN

String Quartet No. 2, (“And once I played Ophelia”) for string quartet and soprano Text by Matthew Jocelyn (after Shakespeare’s Hamlet) In memory of Kate Buchdahl (1964-1992) I. Fast, breathless II. Hushed, distant III. Fast, agitated IV. Extremely still V. Slow, austere Co-commissioned by the Australian String Quartet, Britten Sinfonia and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

I. Fast, breathless

II. Hushed, distant

Get thee to a nunnery, a nunnery.

Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?

Very proud, revengeful, ambitious.

Wise men know well enough What monsters you make of them.*

Doubt thou the stars are fire Doubt that the sun doth move Doubt truth to be a liar But never doubt I love.

Get thee to a nunnery, a nunnery.

Thou shalt not escape.

I did love you once.

Ay, truly, I did love you once.

I loved you not.

You jig and amble and you lisp; your wantonness.*

O woe, t’have seen what I have seen.

O, Rose of May.

Get thee to a nunnery, to a nunnery go.

Go thy ways to a nunnery.

To the celestial, and my soul’s idol Doubt thou the stars are fire Doubt that the sun doth move Doubt truth to be a liar But never doubt I love.

My most dear lady, thine evermore, O most best believe it - I love.

Get thee to a nunnery, Get thee to a – And I, that sucked the honey of his musicked vows, Now see what noble reason, like sweet bells, Jangled out of time and harsh, Blasted with ecstacy.

Never doubt I love.

I love thee best, believe it.

My lord, I have remembrances of yours, That I have longed long to redeliver.

I pray you now receive them.

III. Fast, agitated

V. Slow, austere

This is the very ecstasy of love, Whose violent property fordoes itself And leads the will to desperate undertakings As oft as any passion under heaven.

This is the very ecstasy of love.

Good night ladies, Good night.

Sweet ladies, good night, Come, come my coach, Good night.

Fear it, fear it, Best safety lies in fear.

Hold it a fashion, this trifling of his favour, Forward, not permanent, Sweet, not lasting,

*Texts in italics only to be performed in a whispered, barely audible manner. © Matthew Jocelyn 2014

The perfume and suppliance of a minute, sno more.

Green girl, do not believe his vows.

These blazes give more light than heat and extinct in both.

Tender yourself more dearly – or you’ll tender me a fool Green girl, do not believe his vows.

I shall obey, my lord, I shall obey.

IV. Extremely still There is a willow…

Grows askant the brook…

His hoary leaves…

There with fantastic garlands…

There on pendant boughs…

A new recording of this work is available from CHANDOS Records Epitaphs / Eclipse / String Quartet No.2 (“And once I played Ophelia”) Allison Bell (soprano) / Brett Dean (viola) / Doric String Quartet www.chandos.net

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FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

String Quartet no 14 in D minor, Death and the Maiden, D810 Allegro Andante con moto Scherzo: Allegro molto – trio Presto Ignaz Schuppanzigh and his quartet were busy with challenging new works in the mid-1820s: Beethoven had produced his five ‘late quartets’. Then there was Schubert, who produced three great quartets in the period 1824-26. The D minor Death and the Maiden was performed at a private concert early in 1826. At the rehearsal, according to one story, Schuppanzigh told Schubert that it was ‘no good. Go back to your songs’!

Of course, he had ‘gone back to his songs’ in this quartet and the Trout Quintet. Schubert’s returning to his Death and the Maiden of 1817 at this point in his life is particularly poignant.

In early 1823 he developed symptoms of syphilis, then a terminal disease; his health would deteriorate over the next years.

In Matthias Claudius’s poem, a young woman pleads with Death: Pass by, oh, pass by me!

Pass by, you cruel skeleton!

I am still young – go, please, dear man!

And leave me untouched.

Death replies: Give me your hand, you pretty, sweet creature, I am your friend; I have not come to punish you.

Be of good courage! For I am not cruel; Gently, in my arms, you shall sleep.

In the song, the maiden’s music is agitated and unstable, while Death has a serene, hymnal voice. Significantly, it is only Death’s music that Schubert borrows for the set of five variations and a coda in the slow movement of his D minor quartet.

Some commentators have suggested that the first movement, with its passionate unison gesture at the start and the ebb and flow of emotional tension that ensues, ‘represents’ the maiden’s terror in this quartet. Be that as it may, the movement’s dramatic surges and enigmatic ending make for a perfect contrast with the chorale-like chords and simple rhythm of the ‘Death’ music that follows.

The second movement explores a number of emotional implications of the theme, but closes as it began, in resigned serenity. The pithy Scherzo has a deliberately strenuous manner, contrasting with long-breathed lyricism in the central, major-key Trio. Much more dance-like is the finale, the first theme’s insistent triplets recalling the tarantella. The second theme of this sonata-design movement – passed from instrument to instrument amid a scampering of triplets – recalls in contour, rhythm and phrasing another early song of Schubert which deals with the ambiguities of fear and seduction as another young person is taken before his time: Erlkönig. © Gordon Kerry 2002

DONORS

The Australian String Quartet would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the following donors for their ongoing support along with those donors whose very important contribution remains anonymous. The following donations reflect cumulative donations made from 2008 onwards.

The ASQ is registered as a tax deductible recipient.

Donations can be made by phoning the ASQ on 1800 040 444.

$350,000+ Allan Myers AO & Maria Myers AO $250,000+ Klein Family Foundation $50,000+ Nicholas & Elizabeth Callinan Clitheroe Foundation Thyne Reid Foundation Richard Harvey & the late Tess Harvey Lyndsey & Peter Hawkins Hunt Family Norma Leslie Michael Lishman Macquarie Group Foundation Wright Burt Foundation The Ian Potter Foundation $30,000+ Mr Philip Bacon Wright Burt Foundation Janet & Michael Hayes David & Pam McKee Peter & Pamela McKee Mrs Diana McLaurin $20,000+ Joan Lyons $15,000+ Brenda Shanahan Charitable Fund Josephine Dundon Angela Flannery Lang Foundation Skye McGregor P.M. Menz Robert Salzer Foundation $5000+ Don & Veronica Aldridge Bernard & Jackie Barnwell Berg Family

John Clayton Hilmer Family Foundation Dr E.H & Mrs A. Hirsch Keith Holt & Anne Fuller Andrew & Fiona Johnston M & F Katz Family Foundation Mr Robert Kenrick The Hon Christopher Legoe QC & Jenny Legoe Kevin Long The Late Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE John O’Halloran Mrs Jane Porter Susan M Renouf Tony & Joan Seymour Andrew Sisson Peter & Melissa Slattery Nigel Steele Scott Gary & Janet Tilsley Ian Wallace & Kay Freedman Lyn Williams $2,000+ Peter Allan John & Mary Barlow Philip Barron Dianne Barron-Davis Graham & Charlene Bradley Hillier Carter Properties Ric Chaney & Chris Hair John & Libby Clapp Geoff Clark Caroline & Robert Clemente Dr Peter Clifton David Constable AM Colin & Robyn Cowan Maurice & Tess Crotti Dr Neo Douvartzidis Michael J Drew

Jiri & Pamela Fiala Margaret Flatman John Funder & Val Diamond Anita Poddar & Peter Hoffmann Janet Holmes à Court AC Jim & Freda Irenic Lynette & Gregory Jaunay Neil & June Jens Mr S Johns Renata & Andrew Kaldor Kevin & Barbara Kane Michael & Susan Kiernan Rod & Elizabeth King Stephen & Kylie King Dr Robert Marin Simon Marks-Isaacs HE & RJ McGlashan Helen & Phil Meddings Mrs Inese Medianik Susan & Frank Morgan Mrs Frances Morrell Jon Nicholson & Jennifer Stafford Mrs Jenny Perry (in memory of John) Patricia H Reid Jill Russell Trish & Richard Ryan AO Jeanette SandfordMorgan OAM Paul & Margarita Schneider Vivienne Sharpe Keith & Dianne Smith Elizabeth Syme Mr Eng Seng Toh Marjorie White Janet Worth Annie & Philip Young Pamela Yule Fay Zaikos $1,000+ David & Liz Adams

Michael & Susan Armitage John & Angela Arthur David & Caroline Bartolo Simon Bathgate Jean & Geoff Baulch Alison Beare Candy Bennett Ms Baiba Berzins BHP Billiton’s Matched Giving Program Heather Bonnin OAM Bernard & Sharon Booth Stephen & Caroline Brain Thomas Breen David & Kate Bullen Pam Caldwell Captain & Mrs D P Clarke Peter Clemenger AO & Joan Clemenger David Cooke Ian & Rosana Cochrane Robin Crawford & Judy Joye Marie Dalziel Mr James Darling AM & Ms Lesley Forwood Philip Griffiths Architects Professor Keith Hancock Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert Higgins Coatings Pty Ltd Barbara Jarry Brian L Jones OAM Andy & Jim Katsaros Hon Diana Laidlaw AM Sue Langley & the late Keith Langley Dr David Leece PSM RFD ED David & Anne Marshall Janet McLachlan

Hugo & Brooke Michell DG & KC Morris Victor & Barbara Mulder Donald Munro AM & Jacquelyn Munro Ken Nielsen Terry & Pauline O’Brien Paul O’Donnell John Phillips Lady Potter AC M Resek John & Etelka Richards Chris & Fran Roberts Michael & Chris Scobie Antony & Mary Lou Simpson Dick & Caroline Simpson Pamela & Tony Slater Segue Financial Services Jenny & Mark Tummel Carl Vine Nicholas Warden Ted & Robyn Waters Jenny Wily & Adrian Hawkes $500+ Julie Almond David & Elaine Annear Terrey & Anne Arcus Prof. Margaret Arstall John & Jane Ayers Mrs J Beare GC Bishop & CM Morony BE Architecture Stephen Block Jahn Buhrman Mrs Ann Caston John & Christine Chamberlain Mary Rose & Tim Cooney Alan Fraser Cooper Rae De Teliga

Ron Dyer Martin Dykstra Mrs Helen Greenslade Mr Robin Greenslade Julian & Stephanie Grose Angela Grutzner Jean Hadges Dr & Mrs G C Hall Gerard & Gabby Hardisty Tim & Irena Harrington Graeme Harvey Mary Haydock Mr Hartley Higgins Dr Anthony & Emily Horton Prof Alan T James BO Jones Peter Jopling Rose Kemp Edwina Lehmann SJ & EK Lipman Megan Lowe Grant Luxton Ms Rose McAleer Alison McIntyre John McKay & Claire Brittain James McLeod Ian & Margaret Meakin Dr Michaela Mee Dr Colin E Moore David & Kerrell Morris Jo & Jock Muir Jenny Nicol Leon & Moira Pericles Basil Phillips Phil Plummer Anita Poddar & Peter Hoffmann Graham & Robyn Reaney Ellen & Marietta Resek Peter Rush Leon & Adrian Saturno Drs Paul Schneider & Margarita Silva Deborah Schultz David Scown Sandra Stuart James Syme Mrs A.N.Robinson & Dr M.G.Tingay Jonathan & Jude Tolley Simon & Rosita Trinca Dr Nancy Underhill Peter Wilkinson Pat & Rosslyn Zito

$100+ Marion R Allen Bill Anderson Dr Reiko Atsumi Sylvia Bache Merrawyn Bagshaw John Baldock Patricia Barker Joy Barrett-Lennard Sandra Beanham Mrs Jillian Beare Mr & Mrs Peter & Alison Beer Wendy Birman Michael Bland Geoffrey & Carol Bolton Professor John Bradley David Bright Max & Elizabeth Bull Pip Burnett Chris & Margaret Burrell Alastair & Sue Campbell Tim & Lyndie Carracher Don Carroll Richard & Lina Cavill Stephanie & the late Max Charlesworth Pauline Cleary Greg Coulter & Carolyn Polson Mrs Margaret Daniel OAM Susan Davidson Mrs Daphne Davies Charles Deak Bruce Debelle Mary Draper Graham Dudley Dr H Eastwell Mrs Alexandra Elliott Lynette Ellis Mrs Charlotte England Susan Fallaw Philip & Barbara Fargher Mrs Judy Flower Mr John Forsyth Pamela Foulkes Bill & Penny Fowler Richard Frolich Christopher Fyfe Jen Gallery Kelly Gellatly Frances Gerard Prof. Robert Gilbert

Angela Glover Dr Joan Godfrey OBE Cameron Goodair Jan Grant Dieter Grant-Frost H.P. Greenberg Roz Greenwood & Marg Phillips Margaret Gregory Gavan Griffith Des Gurry Barb Hammon Alison Harcourt Geoff Hashimoto Ann Hawker Amanda Hayes & Chris Harford Mrs Helen Healy Laurie & Philippa Hegvold Mr Dennis Henschke Dudley & Julie Hill David Hilyard Emily Hunt Anthony Ingersent Vernon Ireland Robin Isaacs Mr Richard Jackson Virginia Jay Ms Nola Jennings Colin & Susan Johnston Mr Martin Keith Angus & Gloria Kennedy Dr George Koulouris Prof Marcia Langton Wayne & Victoria Laubscher Anne Levy Susan Litchfield Peter Lovell Margaret & Cameron MacKenzie Greg Mackie OAM Jean Matthews Helen McBryde John & Jill McEwin Duncan McKay Mrs Janice E Menz Richard & Frances Michell Mr & Mrs I Mill Ms Elizabeth Morris Florence Morrow Robert & Heather Motteram Chris Muir Hughbert Murphy John & Gay Naffine

Mr Colin Neave Derrick Nicholas Linda Notley Mrs Mary O’Hara John Overton Lee Palmer Josie Penna Karin Penttila Sabine Pfuhl Colin A Physick Mr William Pick J & P Pincus Dr Roger Player Janice Pleydell J & M Poll Mr Franz Pribil Jen & Ian Ramsay The Rev’d Dr Philip Raymont Ian & Gabrielle Reece Dr James Robinson Ms Chloe Roe Mrs Clare Rogers Lesley Russell Mr & Mrs Vincent & Angela Rutherford Jenny Salmon Meredyth Sarah AM The Late Judith Schroder Adrienne Shaw Mrs Angela Skinner Judy Sloggett Mr Michael Steele Barbara Stodart David & Jo Tamblyn Robyn Tamke Jolanta Targownik JJ & AL Tate Hugh Taylor AC & Liz Taylor AM Ms Emma Susan Trengove Roger & Cherry Trengove Sue Tweddell J.P. Uhr Mr Ian Underwood Brian & Robyn Waghorn Professor Ray Wales Eric Wegman Jonathan Wells QC Ian & Hannah Wilkey Sue Woolley Mr David Young Sarah Yu Silvana Zerella

Music Library Fund Prof Richard Divall AO OBE John & Carole Grace Roz Greenwood & Marg Phillips Janet & Michael Hayes Mrs Dianna McLaurin Gary & Janet Tilsley International Touring Partners Lead Touring Partner – Klein Family Foundation Michel Angas Michael and Susan Armitage John and Jane Ayers Bernard and Sharon Booth Julian and Alexandra Burt Nicholas and Elizabeth Callinan Colin and Robyn Cowan James Darling and Lesley Forwood Patricia Davidson Richard and Jan Frolich Julian and Stephanie Grose John Hassett Peter and Lyndsey Hawkins Diana Laidlaw AM Rod and Elizabeth King SJ and EK Lipman Pauline Menz Hugo and Brooke Michell Allan Myers AO and Maria Myers AO John Phillips Susan Renouf Jill Russell Leon and Adrian Saturno Jonathan and Jude Tolley

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sedulcnI y ratnemilpmoc elbat samtsirhC htiw snoitaroced 2 courses & srewofl hserf & glass snoof b-nob

sparkling on arrival

$65

2 courses & glass of sparkling on arrival

$65

Includes sesruoc 2 complimentary fo table ssalg & Christmas decorations gnilwith kraps fresh flowers lavirr& a no bon-bons

& sesruoc 3 no3gcourses nilkraps&fo ssalg lavirra on glass of sparkling arrival

57$ $75

3 courses & glass of sparkling on arrival

book today Ph (03) 9611 4567 Minimum 10 people. No further discounts apply.

book today Ph (03) 9611 4567 Minimum 10 people. No further discounts apply.

$75

56$

Includes complimentary Christmas table decorations with fresh flowers & bon-bons

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A new era is on the horizon

Australian String Quartet

PHOTOGRAPHY—JACQUI WAY MAJOR SPONSOR

National Season 2016

ADELAIDE BRISBANE CANBERRA MELBOURNE PERTH SYDNEY

Introducing the new Australian String Quartet Dale Barltrop | Francesca Hiew | Stephen King | Sharon Draper JOIN US FOR OUR INAUGURAL SEASON IN GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS

2016 SUBSCRIBE TODAY

1800 040 444 | asq.com.au

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IMAGE COURTESY OF CURRANT SHED PHOTOGRAPHY—JACQUI WAY

ASQ F E S T I VA L S

The Australian String Quartet is delighted to present two exquisite regional festivals in 2016 including*: leading guest artists the Trüb-Brown Duo (Luxembourg) featuring cellist Niall Brown and pianist Isabelle Trüb; soprano Sara Macliver; and talented young Australian violist Katie Yap. Set in intimate surrounds, savour a regional escape and relish the musical highlights including: Mozart, String Quintet in G minor K516 Dvorˇák, Piano Quintet no 2 in A major op 81 Beethoven, String Quartet in E-flat major op 74, Harp Bartók, String Quartet no 3 Schubert, Sonata for cello and piano in A minor D821, Arpeggione Schoenberg, String Sextet op 4, Verklärtle Nacht (Transfigured Night) Tchaikovsky, String Sextet in D minor op 70, Souvenir de Florence *Isabelle Trüb appearing Dunkeld Festival of Music only and Sara Macliver appearing Margaret River Weekend of Music only.

Dunkeld Festival of Music Fri 1 – Sun 3 April 2016 Sun 3 – Tue 5 April 2016

Margaret River Weekend of Music Fri 8 – Sun 10 April 2016

Set in the magnificent surrounds of Dunkeld in Victoria’s Southern Grampians, enjoy wonderful hospitality provided by the iconic Royal Mail Hotel with intimate concerts presented in the Myers’ Gallery and the charming Mt Sturgeon Woolshed.

Savour the best of this spectacular Western Australian wine region with a musical adventure at Cape Lodge, Fraser Gallop Estate, Vasse Felix and Voyager Estate. With matched food and wine from four of the region’s finest wineries, this weekend of music is a feast for the senses.

For more information or to book, go to asq.com.au or call 1800 040 444

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  

O F F I C I A L PA R T N E R S Major Sponsor

Government Supporters

Major Patrons

Leader Sponsor

Violist Sponsors

Cellist Sponsors

THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

PHILIP BACON

CLITHEROE FOUNDATION

MRS JOAN LYONS & MRS DIDY McLAURIN

PETER & LYNDSEY HAWKINS

I N S T R U M E N T PA R T N E R S

L E A D T O U R PA R T N E R

N AT I O N A L S E A S O N PA R T N E R S National Wine Sponsor

Melbourne Accommodation Sponsor

Queensland Co-presenting Partner

Canberra Co-presenting Partner

Sydney Accommodation Sponsor

Luxury Menswear Partner

Adelaide Accommodation Sponsor

I N T E R N AT I O N A L T O U R I N G PA R T N E R S Lead Touring Partner

Australian Wine Sponsor

Accommodation Sponsor

P R O J E C T PA R T N E R

IAN POTTER FOUNDATION DESIGN & ART DIRECTION - CUL-DE-SAC / PHOTOGRAPHY - JACQUI WAY / PRINTED BY PRINT SOLUTIONS

ASQ BOARD Alexandra Burt Nicholas Callinan (Chair) Janet Hayes Paul Murnane Maria Myers AO Susan Renouf Jeanette Sandford-Morgan OAM Angelina Zucco – Chief Executive

Quartet-in-Residence The University of Adelaide SA 5005 Australia T 1800 040 444 (Freecall) F +61 8 8313 4389 E asq@asq.com.au asq.com.au Facebook.com/AustralianStringQuartet Twitter.com/ASQuartet Instagram/australianstringquartet