The Goldner String Quartet’s 20th Anniversary Tour

Commemorating its 20th anniversary this year, the Goldner String Quartet, under the auspices of Musica Viva begins a national tour which brings the ensemble to Sydney in early May.

This tour is a cause for celebration on many counts as Musica Viva itself celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and the ensemble is named after the founder of Musica Viva, Richard Goldner. 

Four friends, three pieces, two couples in life, one quartet: the Goldners have chosen works of great personal meaning for this tour.

Engaging with matters of life and death, Ligeti’s searing and revolutionary Quartet no 1 was considered too dangerous to premiere behind the Iron Curtain. This is paired with the unbearable beauty of Beethoven’s String Quartet Op 132, which was written as a ‘holy song of thanksgiving from a convalescent’ following the composer’s severe illness. Whether sharing in Ligeti’s darkness or being uplifted by Beethoven, this programme promises to move.

Looking to the future, Paul Stanhope’s third string quartet, commissioned for the Goldners by the audience of the Huntington Estate Music Festival, has its first hearing outside the Mudgee-based festival. 

Video designer Sean Bacon brings his imagination and creativity to work with the string quartet, enhancing this celebratory story of four remarkable musicians.

The programme: Ligeti – String Quartet no 1 Métamorphoses nocturnes/ Stanhope String Quartet no 3, commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Huntington Estate and friends/ Beethoven String Quartet no 15 in A Minor, op 132.

The Goldner String Quartet: Dene Olding, violin/ Dimity Hall, violin/ Irina Morozova, viola/Julian Smiles, ‘cello.