European Masterpieces Feature In The Australian String Quartet’s Boundless Tour

The Australian String Quartet will perform European masterpieces in Sydney in August as part of its largest tour for 2014.

Quartet members violinists Kristian Winther and Ioana Tache, violist Stephen King and cellist Sharon Draper will perform a programme featuring three masterpieces from the string quartet repertoire by Haydn, Beethoven and Bartók performed on the quartet’s rare and exquisite set of Guadagnini instruments. Ahead of the concert is a pre-concert talk at 6.10pm.

Haydn’s String Quartet in G Major op 77 no 1 is the grand, crowning achievement of a life inventing, exploring and perfecting the genre. Regarded as the Father of the String Quartet’, Haydn wrote the work towards the end of his career and it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of string quartet writing.

Written 10 years later around 1810, Beethoven’s String Quartet op 95 ‘Serioso’ is among the composer’s shortest works for string quartet and is highly regarded for its intensity and tight compositional structure. 

The Boundless concert program concludes with The String Quartet No 5 by the master of 20th Century string quartets – Béla Bartók. This piece is among Bartók’s most virtuosic works for the genre and has been hailed as one of the ultimate challenges for string quartets since its first performance in 1935.

Describing the programme, ASQ violist Stephen King said the repertoire was “a well‐balanced offering, covering classical, romantic and 20th Century pieces. The program celebrates the work of arguably some of the greatest European masters of string quartet writing and we are looking forward to performing these works across Australia”.

The quartet will also present the Margaret River Weekend of Music from October 3‐5. 

The Australian String Quartet  is the Quartet‐in‐Residence at the University of Adelaide.  Established in 1985 it has had a major impact on the musical life of Australia. 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. The instruments are on loan to the Australian String Quartet for their exclusive use through the generosity of Ulrike Klein, Maria Myers and a group of donors who have supported Ngeringa Arts to acquire the viola.

Tickets: $75. Concessions available. Additional fees may apply.

Click here to book or call The City Recital Hall on (02) 8256 2222 or visit the Box Office at 2 Angel Place, Sydney