The most sublime thing about playing in a string quartet is the repertoire we get to rehearse, investigate and perform, and one of the natural side-effects of that is the camaraderie and togetherness we feel as we walk on stage. In 2023, we say a fond farewell to our beloved first violinist, Thibaud. It is a chance to reflect on everything each individual brings to FQ and Thibaud’s impact on the group will be felt for many years to come.

In our 2023 subscription concerts, we are playing with three outstanding individuals: Elizabeth Sellars, Natsuko Yoshimoto, and Cameron Hill. All long time friends of FQ and familiar to many of you, we know many musical adventures await.

We always challenge ourselves to strive for the highest artistic ideals and to be catalysts for others to do the same through our mentoring and composer programs. In our FQ23 season brochure, you will read about our many activities away from the concert stage, such as mentoring, composer development, recording and the numerous videos on FQ Digital Free, but for us, it all comes back to the sound of four string players on stage together experiencing and sharing the power of the greatest music ever written.

Wilma, Helen, Zoe, Thibaud, Liz, Natsuko & Cam

MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE • PRIMROSE POTTER SALON
Cnr Southbank Boulevard & Sturt Street, Southbank

Bookings: Melbourne Recital Centre (03) 9699 3333 melbournerecital.com.au

Three Concert Subscription Package: Standard $99 / Concession $78

FQ+ Subscription Package including three live concerts in the Primrose Potter Salon plus access to FQ Digital for 12 months: Standard $124 / Concession $103

Single Tickets: Standard $40 / Concession $30

MONDAY 29 MAY, 1PM

MONDAY 29 MAY, 6PM

TUESDAY 25 JULY, 1PM

TUESDAY 25 JULY, 6PM

MONDAY 30 OCTOBER, 1PM

MONDAY 30 OCTOBER, 6PM

(transaction & delivery fees may apply)

MONTSALVAT
7 Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham

Bookings: Melbourne Recital Centre (03) 9699 3333 melbournerecital.com.au

Three Concert Subscription Package: Standard $99 / Concession $78

FQ+ Subscription Package including three live concerts at Montsalvat plus access to FQ Digital for 12 months: Standard $124 / Concession $103

Single Tickets: Standard $40 / Concession $30

SUNDAY 28 MAY, 2.30PM

SUNDAY 23 JULY, 2.30PM

SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER, 2.30PM

(transaction & delivery fees may apply)

ST JOHN’S CHURCH
King St, Flinders (Morning Peninsula)

Bookings: flindersquartet.com/tickets or phone Wendy Avilov 0417 798 523 between the hours of 10am & 2pm, Monday to Friday

Two Concert Subscription Package: $52

FQ+ Subscription Package including two live concerts at St John’s Church plus access to FQ Digital for 12 months: $77

Single Tickets: $30

SATURDAY 27 MAY, 2.30PM

SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER, 2.30PM

(transaction & delivery fees may apply)

FQ DIGITAL
Online

Bookings: digital.flindersquartet.com

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Annual Subscription: $50

Single Digital Concert: $20 (available soon)

On-demand digital concerts, premiering:

WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE, 7.30PM AEST

WEDNESDAY 9 AUGUST, 7.30PM AEST

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM AEDT

And then available for on-demand viewing.

PROGRAM • 70 mins no interval

ANNE CAWRSE “in spaces between”
AMY BEACH String Quartet, Op. 89
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op.106

OPEN REHEARSAL • MONDAY 15 MAY, 11AM-4PM

STANLEY TOWN HALL • FRIDAY 19 MAY, 7.30PM

CHRIST CHURCH LONGFORD • SATURDAY 20 MAY, 3PM

SCOTTSDALE MECHANICS’ HALL • SUNDAY 21 MAY, 2PM

GEELONG CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY • FRIDAY 26 MAY, 7.30PM

ST JOHN’S CHURCH • SATURDAY 27 MAY, 2.30PM

MONTSALVAT UPPER GALLERY • SUNDAY 28 MAY, 2.30PM

PRIMROSE POTTER SALON • MONDAY 29 MAY, 1PM & 6PM

FQ DIGITAL • PREMIERING WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE, 7.30PM and then available for on-demand viewing
12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

“Even when music doesn’t have a specific narrative, it tells a story. I’ve never been to America, but somehow Dvořák’s music takes me there. Perhaps it’s the openness, sunniness and optimism of G major. Dvořák actively encouraged American composers to use Native American culture, which inspired Amy Beach to write her string quartet based on Inuit tunes; and we’ve followed the musical trail to Caroline Shaw, who inspired Anne Cawrse to write “in spaces between” - a story of finding the space just to create while life pulls in multiple directions.

The thing I love most about delving into a new piece of music is how much I learn about a composer just from how they construct and organise sound. In a way, I feel like I know Amy Beach and Antonín Dvořák from centuries past, just as well as I know Anne Cawrse who has been right there in the room with us as we rehearse. That’s the power of great music.”

ZOE KNIGHTON, CELLO

ELIZABETH SELLARS • Guest Violinist

Elizabeth Sellars has been acclaimed as “powerful ... dynamically exciting” (The Australian) and as “one of the few violinists ... who can handle works that move in new directions” (The Age).

A prize-winning graduate of the Guildhall School of Music in London, Elizabeth is a sought-after chamber musician and has appeared for Musica Viva and in festivals and on radio worldwide. Her performances have been published by Move, Naxos, ABC Classics, Toccata Classics and Tzadik. In collaboration with Kenji Fujimura her world premiere recording of the ‘The Messiaen Nexus’ received international acclaim, including winning the 2014 Limelight Chamber Music Recording of the Year. Future releases include Australian Horn Trios and premiere recordings by Arthur Benjamin. Elizabeth has toured with the Academy of St Martin-in-the- Fields and The Australian World Orchestra. She is a founding member of the Sutherland Piano Trio and Quercus and collaborates regularly with Ensemble Liaison.

PROGRAM • 60 mins no interval

ELIZABETH MACONCHY String Quartet No. 5
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1

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PRIMROSE POTTER SALON • TUESDAY 25 JULY, 1PM & 6PM

FQ DIGITAL • PREMIERING WEDNESDAY 9 AUGUST, 7.30PM and then available for on-demand viewing
12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION to view all of FQ’s 2023 digital concerts

MID-WINTER AT MONTSALVAT

PROGRAM • full length concert, with interval

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1
ELIZABETH MACONCHY String Quartet No. 5
FELIX MENDELSSOHN String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 with Strike a Chord FQ Mentorship Prize winners

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MONTSALVAT UPPER GALLERY • SUNDAY 23 JULY, 2.30PM SOLD OUT

“I was introduced to the music of Elizabeth Maconchy in 1985 while a member of the Lydian Quartet. That year, we competed in the Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition (now the Wigmore) and Maconchy’s 13th string quartet was the commissioned set work. It was challenging and rewarding. More recently, I listened to recordings of all of her earlier quartets and realised what a sophisticated and classy composer she was. She admired and studied the masters who had gone before and I’m sure she would be chuffed that a 21st century Australian quartet found her rigorous compositional style to be an excellent fit with that of the great master himself. The chance to play one of Beethoven’s incomparable Op. 59 “Razumovsky” quartets, named after their commissioner, Count Razumovsky, the Russian Ambassador in Vienna, is something akin to a religious experience for quartet players, such is the consummate artistry of Beethoven in his middle period. I’m excited to pair Maconchy’s Quartet No. 5 with Beethoven’s Opus 59. No. 1 and to see what the experience of each brings to the other.”

WILMA SMITH, VIOLIN

NATSUKO YOSHIMOTO • Guest Violinist

Born in Japan, Natsuko Yoshimoto began playing the violin at the age of three. She has studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Royal Northern College of Music in England and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She has won awards in international competitions including the Gold Medal in both the prestigious 1994 Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Competition and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa Award and the Iwaki Award for outstanding achievement as a Japanese artist.

Natsuko is currently co-Concertmaster of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and is also a member of highly acclaimed chamber group, Ensemble Q. She has been the leader of both the Australian String Quartet and the Grainger Quartet as well as the Concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Natsuko regularly appears in major chamber music festivals and is a teacher at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. She has given many world premieres of works by Australia’s most prominent composers and has recorded for Virgin Classics, ABC Classics, Melba Records and Tall Poppies. In her little spare time she loves to do pottery!

PROGRAM • 60 mins no interval

MARIA GRENFELL “Silhouettes”*
BEDŘICH SMETANA String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, “From My Life”
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110

* Commissioned by Flinders Quartet with support from FQ Syndicate #5

ST JOHN’S CHURCH • SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER, 2.30PM

MURRAY RIVER FINE MUSIC • SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER, 3PM

MONTSALVAT BARN GALLERY • SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER, 2.30PM SOLD OUT

PRIMROSE POTTER SALON • MONDAY 30 OCTOBER, 1PM & 6PM

FQ DIGITAL • PREMIERING WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM and then available for on-demand viewing
12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION to view all of FQ’s 2023 digital concerts

“I can still remember hearing Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 for the first time and being riveted from beginning to end. This incredibly powerful work was officially dedicated ‘to the memory of the victims of fascism and war’ but there is much to suggest that Shostakovich meant it as a musical self portrait.

Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life” is a different type of musical portrait, taking us on a vivid, programmatic journey through young love, and the devastation of tinnitus. I still get goosebumps in the opening viola theme every time I hear it or better still, play it. In discussing these works, we began to be curious about how a composer would capture the essence of Flinders Quartet and have commissioned Tasmanian composer Maria Grenfell to paint us in sound. It will be fascinating to create our very own musical portrait.”

HELEN IRELAND, VIOLA

CAMERON HILL • Guest Violinist

Cameron Hill is an Australian violinist who appears as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. He studied in Melbourne with Cathryn Bills, William Hennessy and Alice Waten, and in Vienna with Dora Schwarzberg and Boris Kuschnir. He has performed as a concerto soloist with many Australian orchestras, including the MSO, ASO, QSO, TSO, CSO and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. Cameron has also had success in major competitions, winning both the 2006 ABC Young Performer of the Year, and the 2005 Dorcas McClean National Violin Competition.

His love of chamber music has seen him perform various works with Pinchas Zukerman and Emmanuel Pahud. He was the founding leader of the Hamer Quartet, appeared as leader of the Flinders Quartet, and has toured Europe with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. During 2014, Cameron appeared as guest Concertmaster of the MSO for several months, and in 2015, toured and performed as guest leader of the Australian String Quartet. He is currently the Associate Concertmaster of the ASO.

NOVEMBER 2023 PROGRAM • 60 mins no interval

BRENDA GIFFORD “Dissipate”^
JULIAN YU J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations arranged for erhu and string quartet* (performed with Dong Ma, erhu)

^ Commissioned by Flinders Quartet with the support of FQ Syndicate #4
* Commissioned by Carrillo Gantner AC and Ziyin Gantner as part of The Myer Foundation’s Family Grant Program

MONASH DAVID LI SOUND GALLERY • Friday 10 November, 7:30PM BOOKINGS
ARTS CENTRE, WARBURTON • Saturday 11 November, 2PM BOOKINGS

AUGUST 2023 PROGRAM • full concert with interval

IMOGEN HOLST “Phantasy Quartet”
BRENDA GIFFORD “Dissipate”^
JULIAN YU J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations arranged for erhu and string quartet* (performed with Dong Ma, erhu)

^ Commissioned by Flinders Quartet with the support of FQ Syndicate #4
* Commissioned by Carrillo Gantner AC and Ziyin Gantner as part of The Myer Foundation’s Family Grant Program

SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM • Saturday 5 August, 5PM (for 5:30PM concert)
MACEDON MUSIC • Sunday 6 August, 2:30PM SOLD OUT

DONG MA is a Huqin performer. As an alumni of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Dong has previously assumed the position of associate concertmaster at the China National Traditional Orchestra and a member of Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Currently, Dong is the Head of the Australian Association of Chinese Traditional Music, teaching at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School and Chinese Music Ensemble classes at the University of Melbourne.

A marriage of musicians and culture matched with times past, present, and future to create a soundscape that is unexpectedly homogenous and extraordinarily beautiful. Dong Ma's virtuosity on the erhu is perfectly matched with Julian Yu's arrangement of Bach's Goldberg Variations, and together they create a mesmerizing performance that transcends time and cultural barriers. Yuin woman Brenda Gifford's heartfelt work "Dissipate" adds depth and meaning to the overall program, resulting in a strikingly successful musical fusion that will leave audiences in awe.

This very special concert program is the culmination of extensive creative development and represents a true collaboration between talented musicians from different cultural backgrounds. It is a remarkable celebration of diversity, creativity, and the unifying power of music.

BRENDA GIFFORD is a Yuin woman, originally from Wreck Bay on the South Coast of NSW. A contemporary classical composer and classically trained saxophonist and pianist, she has twenty years of extensive experience as a musician. A First Nations person, her culture is the basis of her arts practice.

Brenda has been commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, by Canberra International Music Festival and by Four Winds Festival. Mungala (Clouds) commissioned for American star flautist Claire Chase premiered at National Sawdust New York in 2019.

Brenda was Ensemble Offspring's First Nations Composer In Residence 2020 while undertaking a Master of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as part of the Composing Women program.

Her ARIA-nominated album Music for the Dreaming, a work tailored for children exploring Dreamtime stories, received multiple performances at the Sydney Opera House in 2019, co-presented by Ensemble Offspring, ABC KIDS Listen and ABC Classics. Her music is available on the ABC Classics label.

Brenda was a member of the Band Mixed Relations with Bart Willoughby from No Fixed Address. She has toured extensively around Australia and internationally to Native American communities and the Pacific Islands. She worked with Kev Carmody, on his album Eulogy (for a black person), playing saxophone on the track 'Blood Red Rose', album/CD/-Festival/D-30692. She wrote the album sleeve notes for the reissued The Loner album by Uncle Vic Simms. Brenda has also conducted over 100 interviews and oral histories with Indigenous musicians and has curated notes and blogs.