ASQ Homeward

Homeward No 2

2 – 15 August

Australian String Quartet National Season 2017

Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney

Elder Conservatorium of Music

2427-11

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

Welcome The notion of ‘home’ holds deep meaning for us. Homecoming and going, travel, journey and immigration are words that give us a sense of belonging or alienation, hope or distress, curiosity or longing. In this program, we follow two composers’ works written at times of transition from their usual ‘home’ life, and a third composer’s imagined depiction of a very different type of homecoming.

Benjamin Britten had been living in North America for four years when he wrote his first String Quartet in D major. The composer had recently written of his homesickness for England despite his success abroad and this experimental work that followed is full of stark contrasts that conjure feelings of both longing and excitement.

Australian Paul Stanhope’s awardwinning String Quartet no 2 explores the plight of displaced Europeans as a result of World War II. He takes the listener on a powerful journey from one world to another.

Exuding excitement from its buzzing opening right through to its extrovert and sunny last movement, Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet in G major is a work brimming with the sounds of the composer’s native Bohemia following his return home from several years abroad.

We look forward to performing these wonderful works across Australia ahead of the exciting launch of our 2018 season.

Dale, Francesca, Stephen & Sharon

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Program Britten String Quartet no 1 in D major op 25

Paul Stanhope String Quartet no 2 INTERVAL

Dvořák String Quartet no 13 in G major op 106

Dates Perth Wednesday 2 August 7pm Government House Ballroom Canberra Sunday 6 August 2pm Gandel Hall National Gallery of Australia Ballarat Monday 7 August 7.30pm Art Gallery of Ballarat Melbourne Tuesday 8 August 7pm Melbourne Recital Centre Brisbane Saturday 12 August 7pm Conservatorium Theatre Sydney Monday 14 August 7pm City Recital Hall Adelaide Tuesday 15 August 7pm Adelaide Town Hall

Don’t miss our next National Season tour

Beginnings 14 – 27 Nov 2017

Australia String Qu

L–R: Dale Barltrop, Stephen King, Sharon Grigoryan, Francesca Hiew

an uartet

For over 30 years, the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) has created unforgettable chamber music experiences for national and international audiences. Dedicated to musical excellence with an Australian “accent”, the Quartet shares this excellence with audiences in intimate performances that create deep connections with its music.

From its home base at the University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, the ASQ reaches out across Australia and the world to engage people with an outstanding program of performances, workshops, commissions and education projects. In recent years the ASQ has appeared at international music festivals and toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand and Asia.

The Quartet members are Dale Barltrop (violin), Francesca Hiew (violin), Stephen King (viola) and Sharon Grigoryan (cello). The distinct sound of the Quartet is enhanced and unified by its matched set of 18th century Guadagnini instruments, handcrafted by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini between c.1743 and 1784 in Turin and Piacenza, Italy. They are on loan to the ASQ for their exclusive use through the generosity of Ulrike Klein and UKARIA.

The ASQ program for 2017 is one of the most exciting in its history, and includes: the inaugural morning series at UKARIA Cultural Centre; a year-long association with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; the world premiere of a new cello quintet by Australian composer, Gordon Kerry; the launch of an ASQ digital platform; and recording collaborations with Slava Grigoryan and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Among other highlights, 2017 welcomes performance collaborations with renowned Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey and Australian pianist Caroline Almonte for our flagship regional festivals in the Southern Grampians, Victoria and Western Australia’s Margaret River; international engagements in North America with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maryland; a tour of Italy and the United Kingdom; the continuation of our new Close Quarters series which will be delivered in tandem with our National Season and extensive regional touring programs.

Dale Barltrop plays a 1784 Guadagnini Violin, Turin.

Francesca Hiew plays a 1748–49 Guadagnini Violin, Piacenza.

Stephen King plays a 1783 Guadagnini Viola, Turin.

Sharon Grigoryan plays a c.1743 Guadagnini Violoncello, Piacenza, ‘Ngeringa’.

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 UKARIA, formerly known as Ngeringa Arts.

In order to secure the instruments for future generations, UKARIA 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 UKARIA will hold it in perpetuity.

Already through the generosity of the Klein Family and other donors, UKARIA has acquired the viola and in 2015 it acquired the violin crafted in 1784 through the generosity of Allan J Myers AC, Maria J Myers AC and the Klein Family. In June 2016, UKARIA acquired the cello which was made possible by the generosity of the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation, Ulrike Klein and a group of committed donors.

The Board of UKARIA recognizes and thanks the following patrons who have each made a significant contribution to this project Klein Family Foundation Allan J Myers AC Maria J Myers AC 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 Louise Simpson Lang Foundation Macquarie Foundation Anonymous (1)

The second violin crafted in 1748/49 is the last instrument UKARIA must acquire to complete the set.

History making endeavours like this are born from passion. To succeed, UKARIA needs the involvement of visionaries who understand the significant cultural value in a collection of this calibre. Please join UKARIA in building this extraordinary musical legacy. To donate go to www.ukaria.com For more information contact Alison Beare Chief Executive Officer, UKARIA P (08) 8227 1277 E Alison@ukaria.com

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

String Quartet no 1 in D major op 25 (1941) Andante sostenuto – allegro vivo Allegretto con slancio Andante calmo Molto vivace

In his teens and student years Britten had already composed six highly creditable works in the medium, but his ‘official’ first string quartet dates from 1941, when he was living in the United States. It was commissioned by philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (whom we also have to thank for major works by Stravinsky, Barber, Ravel and Bartók), who took Britten up as soon as he arrived in southern California. Having only three months before the scheduled premiere Britten described it as ‘short notice and a bit of a sweat, but I’ll do it as the cash will be useful’.

The piece was composed in the garden shed of a hospitable couple of expatriate British pianists (though things got tense when Ethel Bartlett fell in love with Britten, and her husband, Rae Robertson, offered her to him as a ‘gift’). It was performed in September of that year, and despite Britten’s offhand attitude, the haste of its composition and his itinerant lifestyle he produced a masterpiece.

The quartet is in D major, a key associated with happiness in Britten’s work, and begins with one of his most inspired gestures, a consonant ‘cluster’ chord of D-E-F sharp in the high register of the violins and viola.

This launches a slow introduction, but, as Beethoven does in works like the Sonate pathètique, Britten returns to this material as points of repose in the unfolding argument of the main allegro music that dominates the music; this alternation of andante and allegro material masks the movement’s traditional sonata design. The scherzo follows, marked Allegretto con slancio (‘rushing’), and has the something of the brittle irony of Shostakovich, whose music - notably the fateful Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk - Britten had admired since college days.

The Andante calmo, as is often remarked, prefigures the yearning, but calm seascape of the ‘Moonlight’ interlude from Peter Grimes (it was at this time that Britten happened upon an article about George Crabbe’s The Borough, which became the opera’s source).

The Molto vivace is a precocious composer’s take on the sonatarondo of Viennese classicism.

As composer David Matthews has put it, by 1941 Britten had ‘acquired a prodigious technique and was still young enough to want to show it off’; he was later presented with the Coolidge Medal, by Mrs Coolidge (‘the old girl’ as Britten rudely referred to her), at the Library of Congress for services to chamber music. © Gordon Kerry 2017

Paul Stanhope String Quartet no 2 (2009 – rev.2011) Prelude Flight Dirge (Variations) Scherzo

Paul Stanhope’s music is performed throughout the world. Recent pieces include Jandamarra: Sing for the Country, a piccolo concerto, and a cello concerto Dawn and Darkness.

Paul is Senior Lecturer in the Sydney Conservatorium and is the Artistic Chair of the Australia Ensemble.

Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Kim Williams for the Pavel Haas String Quartet, this work reflects on the fate of the Czech composer, murdered in the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz. It also contemplates those like scientist Sir Gustav Nossal, whose family fled Austria after the Nazi occupation, or Richard Goldner who established what has now become Musica Viva, who escaped persecution and tyranny in war-torn Europe, and made extraordinary contributions to their new country – Australia.

In the Prelude, a short Poco adagio introduces material (rising and falling tones separated by semitones) found throughout the work. We also hear a tremolo figure of a minor third and a sighing, descending glissando. These motifs refer to folk and traditional music from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The title of Flight refers to fleeing or escaping. Marked Allegro furioso, it is urgent and energetic. The opening figure is based on an inverted form of the motif heard in the first movement.

Its insistent, tightly-controlled motivic cells propel the movement headlong until it finally succumbs to a panicked morass of semitone clusters.

Dirge (Variations) marking the untimely passing of Pavel Haas and has slow, sombre material introduced by solo cello; then one by one the other instruments are added. A dirge is by definition funereal, but the movement continues with increasingly playful variations over a theme that seems not completely remembered – like a distant and faulty recollection. Each variation finishes higher than the previous one begins which has the effect of the music rising from the very low range of the viola and cello up to a point where all the material is played in the upper reaches of the instruments, using high harmonics. And, like a tightly wound mechanism, the music then unravels quickly in a downward spiralling progression. The material becomes more elastic and exuberant until the instruments, one by one, take their leave until only the cello remains.

The final Scherzo is (mostly) lighthearted. The first violin plays a veiled (and considerably adapted) traditional Hebrew melody, against nebulous shimmering from the other instruments. Pizzicato ostinatos in groups of seven against five then appear, and after folk-fiddle-like strains and a series of rhythmicallydriven episodes, the movement ends exuberantly, with the main thematic material stated in an ecstatic burst of bright string voicings that suggest unbridled optimism.

Abridged from a note © Paul Stanhope 2011

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) String Quartet no13 in G major op 106 (1895) Allegro moderato Adagio ma non troppo Molto vivace Finale: Andante sostenuto - allegro con fuoco Homesick for his native Bohemia, and annoyed at not receiving his agreed pay, Dvořák returned in 1895 to Europe from New York, where he had served as head of the National Conservatory of Music since 1892. The fruits of his American experience included the popular ‘New World’ Symphony, and the F major Quartet, op 96 (known by various – and variously politically incorrect –nicknames). Returning to his country house for the summer, Dvořák wrote to a friend ‘I am basking in God’s nature and I am contentedly idle, I am not doing anything, which will probably surprise you, but it’s true, it really is, I’m just lazing around and I haven’t touched my pen.’ He nevertheless completed his last two string quartets within a few short months of arriving home.

Dvořák had begun writing quartets with his self-confessedly Mendelssohnian op 2 in 1862, and followed that up with works that showed his interest in the music of Wagner and Liszt. Like Shakespeare and Haydn, Dvořák balanced increasing technical sophistication with increasing popularity as he matured, and believed that composers should

be alive to whatever music they heard around them. From 1870 his work is decidedly more ‘Czech’ in character, using elements rooted in folk song and dance, crossbred with the sophistication of the neoclassical manner of Brahms.

In op106 he begins with the kind of folky pentatonic themes that characterise the ‘American’ Quartet (op 96) whose short motifs keep the music at a high pitch of energy.

While the harmony is at first, deceptively simple, Dvořák creates a sophisticated texture through the overlaying of triplets and syncopated rhythmic motifs. Composer and musicologist Jan Smaczny calls the following E-flat major Adagio ‘one of Dvořák’s greatest slow movements in any genre’ with its beautiful themes and wrenching harmonic movement that plays extensively with ambiguity between major and minor modes. The Scherzo in B minor is a cantering, folk-inspired dance that has a quiet, peaceful Trio (in A flat) at its centre. The finale opens with an odd moment of brooding quiet that is swept away by the main Allegro con fuoco. Here, at first, the focus is largely on the deployment of short, energy-packed motifs, often repeated or treated in sequence, rather than being developed on the classical sense. Some material refers to that of the opening movement.

At the centre of the finale, too, is an introspective passage, allowing each of the instruments to speak. © Gordon Kerry 2017

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 contributions either remain anonymous or are less than $1000.

The following donations reflect cumulative donations made from 2012 onwards and the Australian String Quartet is extremely grateful for all the support received from its donors.

The ASQ is registered as a tax deductible recipient. Donations can be made by phoning the ASQ on 1800 040 444 or online at asq.com.au/support

Donors Principals ($50,001+)

Classic Partners ($5,001 - $10,000)

Mr Philip Bacon Wright Burt Foundation Nicholas Callinan AO & Libby Callinan Clitheroe Foundation Richard Harvey AM & the late Tess Harvey Lyndsey & Peter Hawkins Hunt Family Foundation Andrew Johnston Klein Family Foundation Norma Leslie Michael Lishman Macquarie Group Foundation David McKee AO & Pam McKee Allan Myers AC & Maria Myers AC The Ian Potter Foundation Thyne Reid Foundation Anonymous (1)

Bernard & Jackie Barnwell Berg Family Foundation Brand Family Foundation Byrne Family Perri Cutten & Jo Daniell Marshall-Hall Trust Josephine Dundon Margaret Flatman John Funder & Val Diamond Mr Hartley Higgins Kimberley & Angus Holden Keith Holt & Anne Fuller Neil & June Jens Mr Robert Kenrick Rod & Elizabeth King Sonia Laidlaw Mrs Frances Morrell Patricia H Reid Andrew Sisson Gary & Janet Tilsley Lyn Williams AM Anonymous (3)

Champions ($25,001 - $50,000) John & Libby Clayton Janet & Michael Hayes Lang Foundation Joan Lyons Peter & Pamela McKee Mrs Diana McLaurin PM Menz Brenda Shanahan Charitable Foundation Anonymous (1)

Guardians ($10,001 - $25,000) Don & Veronica Aldridge John & Mary Barlow Robert Salzer Foundation Glenda & Greg Lewin Skye McGregor MG Prichard & BE Panizza Lady Potter AC Susan M Renouf Nigel Steele Scott Ian Wallace & Kay Freedman Anonymous (4)

Friends ($1,001 - $5,000) David & Liz Adams Peter Allan Michael & Susan Armitage Prof Margaret Arstall John & Angela Arthur Charles & Catherine Bagot Philip Barron Dianne Barron-Davis David & Caroline Bartolo Alison Beare Ms Baiba Berzins Bernard & Sharon Booth Stephen & Caroline Brain Thomas Breen Tim & Lyndie Carracher John & Christine Chamberlain Ric Chaney & Chris Hair John & Libby Clapp Geoff Clark Peter Clemenger AO & Joan Clemenger Caroline & Robert Clemente Dr Peter Clifton Ian & Rosana Cochrane

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David Cooke Colin & Robyn Cowan Maurice & Tess Crotti Marie Dalziel Mr James Darling AM & Ms Lesley Forwood Geoff & Anne Day Ross & Sue Dillon Alan R Dodge AM Mr Peter Dorrian Michael J Drew Barry Jones & Rachel Faggetter Pamela Fiala in memory of Jiri Richard Frolich Ross & Jen Gallery H & M Gannon Fleur Gibbs John & Carole Grace Mrs Helen Greenslade Great Southern Grammar School Philip Griffiths Architects Jean Hadges Susan & Daniel Hains Nonie Hall Professor Keith Hancock Annette Harris Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert Hilmer Family Foundation Dr EH & Mrs A Hirsch Janet Holmes à Court AC Jim & Freda Irenic Barbara Jarry Lynette & Gregory Jaunay Mr S Johns Brian L Jones OAM Kevin & Barbara Kane Andy & Jim Katsaros M & F Katz Family Foundation Stephen & Kylie King Hon Diana Laidlaw AM Dr David Leece PSM RFD ED The Hon Christopher Legoe QC & Jenny Legoe Kevin Long Megan Lowe Grant Luxton Annette Maluish Dr Robert Marin The late Simon Marks-Isaacs

David & Anne Marshall Diane McCusker Elisabeth McDonald HE & RJ McGlashan Helen & Phil Meddings Mrs Inese Medianik Hugo & Brooke Michell Susan & Frank Morgan David & Kerrell Morris Jo & Jock Muir Victor & Barbara Mulder The late Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE Jon Nicholson & Jennifer Stafford Terry & Pauline O’Brien Paul O’Donnell John O’Halloran Tony & Margaret Pagone Rosalind-Ruth M Phelps John Phillips Adam & Michele Plumridge Anita Poddar & Peter Hoffmann Dr Rodney G Crewther M Resek Chris & Fran Roberts Bronwyn Ross-Jones & Bruce Cooper Jill Russell Trish & Richard Ryan AO Jeanette Sandford-Morgan OAM Vahe Sarmazian Drs Paul Schneider & Margarita Silva Chris and the late Michael Scobie David Scown Diana Sher OAM & Jeffrey Sher QC Simply for Strings - Brisbane Antony & Mary Louise Simpson Dick and Caroline Simpson Pamela & Tony Slater Keith & Dianne Smith Segue Financial Services Mary & Ian Steele Elizabeth Syme Hugh Taylor AC and Liz Taylor AM Mr Eng Seng Toh Jenny & Mark Tummel Sue Tweddell Nicholas Warden

Ted & Robyn Waters Janet Worth Annie & Philip Young Pamela Yule Fay Zaikos Anonymous (13)

Australian String Quartet Richard Divall Australian Music Fund Roslyn Allen Bernard & Jackie Barnwell Brand Family Foundation Nicholas Callinan AO & Libby Callinan John & Christine Chamberlain John & Libby Clayton Caroline & Robert Clemente Perri Cutten & Jo Daniell Fleur Gibbs Tim & Irena Harrington Keith Holt & Anne Fuller Rod & Elizabeth King Angus Leitch Glenda & Greg Lewin PM Menz Jo & Jock Muir Allan Myers AC & Maria Myers AC Tony & Margaret Pagone MG Prichard & BE Panizza Karin Penttila Lady Potter AC Susan M Renouf Drs Paul Schneider & Margarita Silva Diana Sher OAM & Jeffrey Sher QC Rob & Jane Southey Mary & Ian Steele Gary & Janet Tilsley Annie & Philip Young Anonymous (4)

OUT NOW

Migration

Slava Grigoryan and the Australian String Quartet

Ralph Towner, Migration Wolfgang Muthspiel, Flexible Sky Iain Grandage, Black Dogs

CD $25 16

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Australian String Quartet National Season 2017

Beginnings

14 – 27 November 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney

Scarlatti Sonata a Quattro no 4 in D minor BartĂłk String Quartet no 1 Beethoven String Quartet in F major op 59 no 1

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Official Partners Major Sponsor

Government Supporters

Major Patrons

Leader Sponsor

Violist Sponsors

THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

PHILIP BACON

Cellist Sponsors

MRS JOAN LYONS & MRS DIDY McLAURIN

CLITHEROE FOUNDATION

PETER & LYNDSEY HAWKINS

Instrument Partners

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National Season 2017 photography by Jacqui Way. Printed by Print Solutions SA.

We thank all of our supporters whose donation has helped to nurture a musical legacy.

As Australia’s string quartet, we proudly and continuously strive to cultivate a rich and inclusive musical culture in Australia.

Thank you for your support.

ASQ Board Alexandra Burt Nicholas Callinan AO (Chair) Bruce Cooper Janet Hayes Marisa Mandile Paul Murnane Maria Myers AC Susan Renouf Jeanette Sandford-Morgan OAM Suzanne Stark Ian Wallace Angelina Zucco – Chief Executive

Australian String Quartet

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 W asq.com.au AustralianStringQuartet @ASQuartet @australianstringquartet