Adelaide Brisbane Canberra

Melbourne Perth

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Australian String

Quartet National Season 2017

Migration

23 May – 5 June

No1

2427

-11

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

Elder Conservatorium of Music

Delivering over 130 years of music excellence

Welcome

Welcome to the ASQ’s 2017 National Season. It has been an exciting start to the year for us, with appearances at the Perth, Adelaide and St John’s festivals, performances with the Melbourne and Tasmanian symphony orchestras and a subsequent recording of Matthew Hindson’s Rave and the Nightingale with the TSO. We enjoyed inspiring collaborations with Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey and Australian pianist Caroline Almonte at our annual festivals in Margaret River, WA and Dunkeld, Vic, where we premiered a new cello quintet by Australian composer, Gordon Kerry. Most recently, we travelled to Venice to perform for the Australia Council for the Arts as part of its 2017 Venice Biennale events and London, where we gave concerts at King’s College London and Stoke Lodge, home of the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Back on home soil, we are thrilled to open our National Season with one of Australia’s most beloved classical guitarists, Slava Grigoryan. In two vastly different contemporary works, Slava will blend the sound of his masterful guitar playing with the rich sonority of our Guadagnini instruments. In Migration, American-born guitarist and composer, Ralph Towner, has drawn from his roots in the US Pacific Northwest and a lifetime of experience in the jazz world to create a fluid and rhythmically intricate journey that explores the expressive and virtuosic capabilities of the guitar and string quartet. Australian composer, Iain Grandage, uses the same instrumental combination to create a darker, more contemplative world in Black Dogs, a rumination on the nature of the human mind and its fragility. We conclude our program with the epic, final string quartet of Franz Schubert. It is a towering achievement in quartet writing – on one hand, utterly symphonic in scope – on the other, a vivid glimpse into the tortured soul of a young man who was soon to depart this world at the tender age of 31.

To mark the launch of our National Season, we are thrilled to announce the release of a new recording with ABC Classics, Migration, featuring Slava Grigoryan in the Towner and Grandage quintets on tonight’s program, in addition to a work by Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel. Lastly, we’d like to thank you for joining us this evening and invite you to keep track of our movements across Australia and beyond through our website, asq.com.au and on our Facebook page. As always, we are eternally grateful for your support of the ASQ and your belief in the power of music to enhance our world.

Dale, Francesca, Stephen & Sharon

proud sponsors of the australian string quartet

voyagerestate.com.au

Program

DatesRalph Towner Migration*

Iain Grandage Black Dogs*

*With guest artist Slava Grigoryan, guitar

INTERVAL

Schubert String Quartet in G major D887

Don’t miss our next National Season tourHomeward 2–15 Aug 2017

Perth Tuesday 23 May 7pm Government House Ballroom

Canberra Sunday 28 May 2pm Gandel Hall National Gallery of Australia

Brisbane Monday 29 May 7pm Conservatorium Theatre

Adelaide Tuesday 30 May 7pm Adelaide Town Hall

Sydney Wednesday 31 May 7pm City Recital Hall

Melbourne Monday 5 June 7pm Melbourne Recital Centre

Regional NSW Performance

Orange Friday 25 May 6pm Orange Regional Conservatorium

AustralianString Quartet

For over 30 years, the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) has created unforgettable string quartet performances for national and international audiences. Dedicated to musical excellence with a distinctly Australian character, our purpose is to create chemistry and amplify intimacy through experiences that connect people with string quartet music.

From our home base at the University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, we reach out across Australia and the world to engage people with an outstanding program of performances, workshops, commissions and education projects. Our distinct sound is enhanced by a matched set of 18th century Guadagnini instruments, handcrafted by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini between c.1743 and 1784 in Turin and Piacenza, Italy. These precious instruments are on loan for our exclusive use through the generosity of Ulrike Klein and UKARIA.

Our 2017 program is rich with new endeavours, including: our 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 our ASQ digital platform; and recording collaborations with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra through ABC Classics and a release with Slava Grigoryan.

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; North American performances with the University of Maryland and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; a tour to 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’.L–R: Dale Barltrop, Stephen King, Sharon Grigoryan, Francesca Hiew

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 contactAlison BeareChief Executive Officer, UKARIAP (08) 8227 1277E Alison@ukaria.com

Guadagnini Quartet Project

Slava Grigoryan

Regarded as a ‘wizard’ of the guitar with a talent for bewitching his audiences, Slava Grigoryan has forged a global reputation as a classical guitar virtuoso.

Grigoryan was born in Kazakhstan and immigrated with his family to Australia in 1981. At seventeen, he was signed to the Sony Classical label and his first tour – at just eighteen – was with guitar legends Paco Peña and Leo Kottke. Since then he has travelled the world as a soloist and with orchestras in Australia, Europe, Asia and North America, and performed at dozens of national and international arts, music and guitar festivals.

Creative collaborations have included his famed guitar duo with brother Leonard Grigoryan, as well as with string quartets, chamber ensembles, composers, Saffire – The Australian Guitar Quartet, guitar trio MGT with Wolfgang Muthspiel (Austria) and Ralph Towner (USA), Australian baritone José Carbó and the Tawadros Brothers. Slava has won ARIA awards for Best Classical Album and released over 20 solo and collaborative albums.

Guest Artist

(born 1940)

Migration (2003)

Ralph TownerComposer, guitarist and keyboard-

player Ralph Towner was born in the US state of Washington in 1940 and studied at the University of Oregon. He met bassist Glen Moore who would become a lifelong musical partner in Oregon, the band with which he is most famously associated. At about this time Towner discovered the early LPs of Bill Evans and also studied classical guitar in Vienna with Karl Scheit. The guitar, especially the 12–string, has been a crucially important element in Towner’s jazz, and in recent years he has played in a trio colloquially known as ‘MGT’ with Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel and Slava Grigoryan.

Migration for guitar and string quartet was composed in 2003 for a proposed CD of Towner’s works that was never produced. Some years later Towner mentioned the piece to Slava Grigoryan, who expressed interest in recording it.

Towner says:

“My intention for Migration had been to compose a strictly written piece in one long movement, with no improvisation and a use of simultaneous major and minor tonalities. Harmony has always been a fascination for me, and the virtuosic capabilities of a string quartet was always tempting to write for… Slava took the entire project to the highest level of performance, and I am extremely grateful to him and the Australian String Quartet.

The 16-minute piece is a single span that retains aspects of the multi-movement classical chamber work. It begins with a motto theme from the guitar, answered by the strings, that immediately sets up ambiguity between rhythmic groups of three and two. This metrical scheme dominates, often in repeated ostinatos, as longer and more ornate melodies are introduced by the quartet. This develops into a complex polyphonic texture, which is succeeded by repeated motifs in the low strings that accompany idiomatic gestures from the guitar. This dissolves into a long-held string chord and a ruminative cadenza from the guitar that begins a slow ‘movement’ dominated by gentle modal dissonance in the quartet and persistent throbbing rhythms passed from guitar to cello. This, in turn, gives way to a kind of minuet – a section in predominantly triple metre that moves imperceptibly from dance metre into sophisticated polyphony and back. The final section again plays with the latent energy of ostinato patterns that range between different metrical groups, and increasingly emphatic harmony. This vibrant section ends, nevertheless, in a rippling and contemplative gesture that fades quietly away. “

© Gordon Kerry 2017

Black Dog (noun): melancholy or depression

The unknown, unknowable workings of the mind are a source of much interest and many questions to me. Where does our sense of self reside? How do we know who we are? When two dear friends recently went through periods of mental fragility, their experiences dominated my own mind, and manifested themselves in this work.

The guitar is the principal voice for the majority of Black Dogs. It is the mind, introducing material that is then amplified, modified and refracted through kaleidoscopic glasses by the four string players. The work follows a traditional three movement concerto structure, albeit played continuously and bookended by a prologue and an epilogue.

The harmonic material for the work has at its heart the all-interval tetrachord D-Eb-F-A. This manifests itself in different ways in each of the three movements – as part of an octatonic scale in the first, as part of a dodecaphonic tone row in the second, and as the harmonic delineator of the form in the rondo-like third movement.

Iain Grandage The work opens with a Prologue

dominated by guitar arpeggio figures, between which small presciences of material from the later movements appear. The first movement is dominated by swirling arpeggiated figurations in the violins that delineate a world within which the guitar and lower strings converse. After a period of intense homophony, the uneasy stillness of the second movement emerges. It is centred around a long, languid melody which is constantly kept on its toes by a rocking minor third motif and overlaid with bubbling twelve–tone phrases. The third movement is a moto perpetuo of ever–increasing aggression and anxiety which concludes with an epilogue that echoes the opening of the work.

Black Dogs was commissioned by and written for the marvellous guitarist Craig Ogden and the Brodsky Quartet – all impassioned supporters of new music whose technical virtuosity, intuitive musicality and personal generosity are a joy to be around.

Iain Grandage 2008

(born 1970)

Black Dogs (2008)

PreludeI Piu mossoII AdagioIII Subito allegroPostlude

OUT NOW

Migration

Slava Grigoryan and the

Australian String Quartet

Ralph Towner, MigrationWolfgang Muthspiel, Flexible Sky

Iain Grandage, Black Dogs

CD $25

Available for purchase and signing in the foyer tonight,

or through ABC Classics

abcclassics.com

String Quartet in G major D887

Allegro molto moderato Andante un poco moto Scherzo: Allegro vivace - allegrettoAllegro assai

Franz Schubert

Despite his tragically early death, Schubert had nearly two decades’ experience composing for string quartet. Schubert’s teenage years saw, among many other things, the composition of some eleven string quartets (and possibly more, as there is reason to suppose that a number of scores were not preserved for posterity). Franz’s first instrument was the violin, but like many composers he liked to experience chamber music from within by playing viola. During school holidays in the Schubert home, his brothers Ignaz and Ferdinand joined him, playing first and second violin while their father played cello. As a teenage student of Antonio Salieri, Schubert was suspicious of what he called the ‘eccentricities’ of Beethoven’s later style, so his teenage quartets are ‘classical’ in form and dimension. But by the time of his last three (and a half) quartets, Schubert had assimilated a number of aspects of Beethoven’s craft, most notably the ability to create large-scale spans of music out of apparently little material. Scholar Carl Dahlhaus famously found in the G major Quartet’s first movement, a ‘timelessness, in which a musical moment stretches into the immeasurable’.

The G major work – ‘officially’ Schubert’s fifteenth quartet, and his last – was composed in ten days in the winter of 1826. The speed of composition is even more extraordinary when we consider that, unlike its two predecessors (the Rosamunde and Death and the Maiden quartets), this work makes no use of previously existing thematic material. But it does exploit a number of the expressive devices which make Schubert’s songs so emotionally and dramatically powerful, and uses them for purely abstract effect. Most notable are the frequent, unpredictable alternations of major and minor harmony as heard in the opening bars: as Charles Rosen notes, these are ‘purely expressive’ in the songs, but in the quartet’s first movement become ‘the principal structural element’.

The first movement is notable for its melodic generosity, and for striking uses of instrumental colour such as the shimmering tremolos which appear from time to time. The slow movement, where the tragic melodic weight is at first carried by the cello, makes minor harmony much more explicit. A kind of ambiguity returns in the scherzo where more shimmering, airy lightness contrasts with an earthy dance in an almost Shakespearean way. The finale takes up the triple metre energy of the scherzo in a tarantella rhythm which Schubert uses, as elsewhere, to create wild abandon.

© Gordon Kerry 2009

(1797-1828)

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N U R T U R I N G T O M O R R O W, T O D AY.

For information on how to support the Australian String Quartet through a tax deductible gift, visit asq.com.au/support or phone 1800 040 444

As Australia’s string quartet, the ASQ proudly and continuously strives to cultivate a rich and inclusive musical culture.

As we embark on our 32nd year, we enthusiastically look to the future and are setting our sights high. We are aspiring to captivate new audiences, broaden our channels of connection, deepen our commitment to regional audiences and deliver more programs that inspire the next generation of audiences and musicians alike.

As Australia’s national string quartet, we are also passionately committed to celebrating and promoting our country’s very own music makers and creating opportunities for international cultural exchange.

It has been your support that has led the ASQ to where it is today. And it is only through your support that we can achieve our vision for tomorrow. Your donation, large or small, will ensure we can continue to thrive; it will enable us to remain a meaningful and relevant contributor to the arts, to Australia’s unique culture and to our everyday lives.

Your support will help to nurture a musical legacy.

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 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

Principals ($50,001+)Mr Philip BaconWright Burt FoundationNicholas B Callinan AO & Libby CallinanClitheroe FoundationRichard Harvey AM & the late Tess HarveyLyndsey & Peter HawkinsKlein Family FoundationNorma LeslieMichael LishmanMacquarie Group FoundationAllan Myers AC & Maria Myers ACThe Ian Potter FoundationThyne Reid FoundationAnonymous (1)

Champions ($25,001 - $50,000)John & Libby ClaytonJanet & Michael HayesHunt Family FoundationAndrew JohnstonLang FoundationJoan LyonsDavid & Pam McKeeMrs Diana McLaurinBrenda Shanahan Charitable FoundationAnonymous (1)

Guardians ($10,001 - $25,000)Don & Veronica AldridgeJohn & Mary BarlowRobert Salzer FoundationGlenda & Greg LewinPeter & Pamela McKeePM MenzMG Prichard & BE PanizzaLady Potter ACIan Wallace & Kay FreedmanAnonymous (2)

Classic Partners ($5,001 - $10,000)Brand Family FoundationByrne FamilyPerri Cutten & Jo DaniellMarshall-Hall TrustMr Hartley HigginsNeil & June JensMr Robert KenrickRod & Elizabeth KingSonia LaidlawSkye McGregorMrs Frances MorrellSusan M RenoufNigel Steele ScottAndrew SissonGary & Janet TilsleyLyn Williams AMAnonymous

Friends ($1,001 - $5,000)David & Liz AdamsPeter AllanMichael & Susan ArmitageCharles & Catherine BagotBernard & Jackie BarnwellPhilip BarronDianne Barron-DavisDavid & Caroline BartoloAlison BeareBerg Family FoundationBernard & Sharon BoothThomas BreenTim & Lyndie CarracherJohn & Christine ChamberlainRic Chaney & Chris HairJohn & Libby ClappPeter Clemenger AO & Joan ClemengerCaroline & Robert ClementeDr Peter CliftonIan & Rosana CochraneColin & Robyn CowanMaurice & Tess Crotti

Marie DalzielMr James Darling AM & Ms Lesley ForwoodGeoff & Anne DayRoss & Sue DillonMichael J DrewJosephine DundonBarry Jones & Rachel FaggetterPamela Fiala in memory of JiriMargaret FlatmanJohn Funder & Val DiamondJohn & Carole GraceGreat Southern Grammar SchoolMrs Helen GreensladeJean HadgesSusan & Daniel HainsNonie HallProfessor Keith HancockDr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan HerbertHilmer Family FoundationDr EH & Mrs A HirschAnita Poddar & Peter HoffmannJanet Holmes à Court ACKeith Holt & Anne FullerJim & Freda IrenicBarbara JarryLynette & Gregory JaunayMr S JohnsBrian L Jones OAMKevin & Barbara KaneAndy & Jim KatsarosM & F Katz Family FoundationStephen & Kylie KingDr David Leece PSM RFD EDThe Hon Christopher Legoe QC & Jenny LegoeKevin LongMegan LoweAnnette MaluishDr Robert MarinThe late Simon Mark-IsaacsDiane McCuskerElisabeth McDonaldHE & RJ McGlashan

Janet McLachlanHelen & Phil MeddingsMrs Inese MedianikHugo & Brooke MichellSusan & Frank MorganDavid & Kerrell MorrisJo & Jock MuirVictor & Barbara MulderThe late Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBEJon Nicholson & Jennifer StaffordTerry & Pauline O’BrienPaul O’DonnellJohn O’HalloranTony & Margaret PagoneRosalind-Ruth M PhelpsJohn PhillipsPatricia H ReidM ResekChris & Fran RobertsBronwyn Ross-Jones & Bruce CooperJill RussellTrish & Richard Ryan AOJeanette Sandford-Morgan OAMVahe SarmazianDrs Paul Schneider & Margarita SilvaChris & the late Michael ScobieDavid ScownSimply for Strings – BrisbaneAntony & Mary Lou SimpsonDick and Caroline SimpsonPamela & Tony SlaterKeith & Dianne SmithSegue Financial ServicesElizabeth SymeMr Eng Seng TohJenny & Mark TummelNicholas WardenTed & Robyn WatersJanet WorthAnnie & Philip YoungPamela YuleFay ZaikosAnonymous (17)

Australian String Quartet Richard Divall Australian Music FundBernard & Jackie BarnwellBrand Family FoundationByrne FamilyNicholas B Callinan AO & Libby CallinanJohn & Christine ChamberlainJohn & Libby ClaytonCaroline & Robert ClementePerri Cutten & Jo DaniellTim & Irena HarringtonKeith Holt & Anne FullerGlenda & Greg LewinMarshall–Hall TrustPM MenzJo & Jock MuirAllan Myers AC & Maria Myers ACTony & Margaret PagoneLady Potter ACMG Prichard & BE PanizzaRob & Jane SoutheyGary & Janet TilsleyAnonymous (1)

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

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MRS JOAN LYONS &MRS DIDY McLAURIN

PETER & LYNDSEY HAWKINS

CLITHEROE FOUNDATION

THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

PHILIPBACON

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ASQ Board

Alexandra Burt Nicholas B Callinan AO (Chair)

Bruce Cooper Janet Hayes

Marisa Mandile Paul Murnane

Maria Myers AC Susan Renouf

Jeanette Sandford-Morgan OAM Ian Wallace

Angelina Zucco – Chief Executive

Australian String Quartet