THE BIRD AND THE BUSH

MONTSALVAT BARN GALLERY • SUN 24 OCT, 2.30PM
BUY TICKETS
(approx 120 min performance, including interval)

ST JOHNS SOUTHGATE • TUE 26 OCT, 1PM
BUY TICKETS
(approx 60 min performance, plus post-concert Q&A)

PRIMROSE POTTER SALON • THU 28 OCT, 7PM
BUY TICKETS
(approx 120 min performance, including interval)

NARDI SIMPSON  New Work ^*

JOSEPH HAYDN  String Quartet in C major, Op.33 No.3 "The Bird" ^

MELODY EÖTVÖS  New Work **

JOHANNES BRAHMS  String Quartet No.2 in A minor, Op.51 No.2 ^

^ These works comprise the St Johns Southgate 60 min concert program

* World premiere, commissioned by Flinders Quartet as part of Listen to the Land

** World premiere, commissioned by Flinders Quartet with support from Fiona Phillips and The Ramsay Family, in memory of their mother Mrs Rosemary Hopkins (formerly Ramsay)

"A frequent topic in Quartet rehearsals is holidays and we all love to walk in beautiful landscapes that inspire and renew! As the seasons turn, we are excited to explore how the string quartet, like the land itself, continues to grow.  This program marks the beginning of our long-anticipated collaboration with Melody Eötvös: a triptych of commissioned string quartets to be unveiled over five years. We have long admired Melody's visionary voice and, upon hearing her horn trio Shivelight, recognised a shared artistic sensibility that we were eager to explore. Melody's music reaches back through time while unfolding organically, revealing new worlds of luminous colour and rhythmic vitality, shaped by an instinctive understanding of the string timbre and a deep responsiveness to the natural environment.  Indigenous storyteller Nardi Simpson also responds profoundly to Country, inviting us to hear the "feeling of the dirt between your fingers" through her music. Nature lay at the heart of Brahms' creative imagination, and many of his ideas emerged while walking the mountains and lakes of Bavaria, manuscript in hand. Haydn, too, combined his delight in birdsong with characteristic wit in The Bird quartet, reminding us that nature has long been woven into the string quartet tradition."
— ELIZABETH SELLARS, VIOLIN