String quartets

Mosaicas: Klein, Gallos, Zamboni & more

Introducing Mosaicas - a four piece string ensemble dedicated to the performance of early and modern tango, interwoven with Argentinian folk, in a contemporary chamber music setting. Paloma Bica (violin), Rose Kavanagh (violin), Nadia Barrow (cello) and Chris Gelok (double bass) perform regularly together as part of the Melbourne Tango Orchestra. Now, Mosaicas sees them fusing their love of Tango with chamber music.

With works by Guillermo Klein through to Ramiro Gallos and Ernesto Zamboni, Mosaicas will present an evening of quartets and duets displaying the breadth of possibilities of Tango for strings.

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Mitchell + Jaffe + quartet: Jaffe & Mitchell

With a unique voice that has made her a promising upcoming act in the Australian folk scene, award winning songwriter, Ailsa Mitchell, has a sound that pairs well with knitted jumpers, scenic road trips and a place by the fire on a frosty day. Fresh off the release of her debut EP 'Orange and Blue', Ailsa will be joined by a string quartet to reinterpret the EP's songs with new arrangements by Pat Jaffe (previously string arranger for Hiatus Kaiyote's Nai Palm and Academy Award winning singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová).

The opening set will feature Pat's chamber works for piano and string quartet from his debut album 'Eldorado' and newer works composed as a part of his Angus Gray Piano Performance Grant in 2021.

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MICMC GRAND FINAL

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION GRAND FINAL

Grand Finalists of MICMC 2023 perform Live in Concert from the Melbourne Recital Centre competing for a prize pool of over $150,000, and a Grand Prize worth $30,000.

Piano Trio Grand Final - 1pm
Piano Trios perform one complete work of the trio’s own choice.

String Quartet Grand Final - 6pm
String Quartets perform one complete work of the quartet’s own choice.

Following jury deliberations at the end of the String Quartet Grand Final Concert, all prizes will be announced.

You can book for single concerts, purchase a Grand Final Day Pass, or purchase a package for the entire competition. Price listed below is for one concert.

More info and bookings for the Grand Final

MICMC SEMI FINAL

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION SEMI FINAL

Following highly competitive Live Rounds, five String Quartets and five Piano Trios perform in the Semi Final concerts at Hawthorn Arts Centre.

String Quartets and Piano Trios will all perform a complete quartet by Beethoven or Schubert.

Following the Semi Finals, the jury will select three (3) string quartets and three (3) piano trios to proceed to the Finals.

There are 5 concerts in the Semi Final, at 10am, 12pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm.

You can book for single concerts, purchase a Semi Final Day Pass, or purchase a package for the entire competition. Price listed below is for one single concert.

More info and bookings for the Semi Final

MICMC ROUND 2

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION ROUND 2

Watch Round Two of this incredible competition live at Hawthorn Arts Centre.

String Quartets and Piano Trios are required to perform the MICMC commissioned work; and a complete 19th or 20th century Romantic work.

In addition to the required repertoire above, all competitors may perform a work of their own choice in either Round One or Round Two.

Following Round Two, the jury will select five (5) string quartets and five (5) piano trios to proceed to the Semi Finals Day.

There are 5 concerts in Round 2, three on Wednesday at 10am, 2:30pm and 7:30pm, and two on Thursday at 10am and 3pm. To see which ensembles are playing in each concert, click here.

You can book for single concerts, or purchase a package for the entire competition. Price listed below is for one single concert.

More info and bookings for Round 2

MICMC ROUND 1

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION ROUND 1

Round One opens this prestigious competition live at Hawthorn Arts Centre.

String Quartets are required to perform a complete quartet by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven Op.18; and a complete 20th century quartet.

Piano Trios are required to perform a complete trio by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven Op.1; and a complete 20th century trio.

In addition to the required repertoire above, all competitors may perform a work of their own choice in either Round One or Round Two.

There are 6 concerts in Round 1, three each day at 10am, 3pm and 6:30pm. To see which ensembles are playing in each concert, click here.

You can book for single concerts, or purchase a package for the entire competition. Price listed below is for one single concert.

More info and bookings for Round 1

Affinity Quartet: Haydn, Misson & Beethoven

Affinity Quartet return to the Primrose Potter Salon for a program featuring two seminal string quartets. Opening with Haydn’s String Quartet Op.50, No.5 ‘Dream’, this work beautifully showcases the dance between violin, viola and cello. Beethoven’s String Quartet No.11 however, was considered an experiment on compositional techniques of the time with the composer himself rumoured to believe it too extreme for audience consumption, quoted as saying ‘[the piece] is never to be performed in public.’

Sandwiched between these two great and vastly different works is the world premiere of a piece that brings together both the progressive and popular elements of string quartet composition: Tom Misson’s Melbourne Recital Centre and the University of Melbourne commissioned Infinite Affinities.

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Affinity Quartet

The Melbourne Athenaeum welcome Josephine, Nicholas, Ruby, and Mee Na of Affinity Quartet to perform in the Athenaeum Library.

Last time Affinity Quartet performed in the library we had to talk them into a second performance in the same week because they proved so popular. Don't miss your chance this time.

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Affinity Quartet: Mendelssohn & Beethoven

Returning by popular demand, Affinity Quartet performs three programs at Aireys Inlet Community Hall this May 26-29 promising audiences a diverse selection of repertoire from their recent 4 month European sojourn - works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Janáček and Kurtag. Aireys Inlet holds treasured memories for Affinity Quartet since their 2021 lockdown adventures and they are very excited to return.

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Affinity Quartet: Schubert

Returning by popular demand, Affinity Quartet performs three programs at Aireys Inlet Community Hall this May 26-29 promising audiences a diverse selection of repertoire from their recent 4 month European sojourn - works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Janáček and Kurtag. Aireys Inlet holds treasured memories for Affinity Quartet since their 2021 lockdown adventures and they are very excited to return.

More info and bookings

Affinity Quartet: Mozart, Kurtag & Janáček

Returning by popular demand, Affinity Quartet performs three programs at Aireys Inlet Community Hall this May 26-29 promising audiences a diverse selection of repertoire from their recent 4 month European sojourn - works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Janáček and Kurtag. Aireys Inlet holds treasured memories for Affinity Quartet since their 2021 lockdown adventures and they are very excited to return.

More info and bookings

Van Kuijk Quartet: Mozart, Debussy, de Chizy & Mendelssohn.

The Van Kuijk Quartet’s performance  as part of the 2023 Chamber Now series celebrates the quartet’s ten-year anniversary with a program of Mozart, Debussy, Mendelssohn and the Australian premiere of Edith Canat de Chizy’s String Quartet No.5 Oh God, written specially for the quartet.

Quatuor Van Kuijk are a fresh voice imbuing new energy and interpretations to the master works of the chamber catalogue. Join them for an evening traversing classical refinement in Mozart, the early Romantic explorations of Mendelssohn, the new Impressionist sounds of Debussy, and the thrilling and unsettling textural explorations of a new Edith Canat de Chizy work.

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Australian String Quartet: Mozart, Westlake & F Mendelssohn

Off the back of their 2022 visit to Sale, the Australian String Quartet returns with a program featuring a selection of melodic and rhapsodic musical gems.

This concert opens with Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor—intensely personal in its expression, it features moments of intimately sublime sorrow which give way to bursts of playful radiance, showcasing this incredible composer’s gift for melody.

Following Mozart is Australian composer Nigel Westlake’s Sacred Sky, commissioned by the ASQ and inspired by the seascape paintings of Westlake’s late sister Kate.

Finishing this concert is Fanny Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E-flat Major. This extraordinarily stunning, dreamlike composition is one of the earliest known string quartets written by a woman, and its rousing finale is the perfect conclusion to this performance.

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Affinity Quartet: Kurtág & Schubert

'DEATH AND THE MAIDEN'

Affinity Quartet performs two masterworks linked by a poetic sense of time. The Hungarian living composer Gyorgy Kurtag’s ‘Six Moments Musicaux’ takes its form from music made famous by Schubert and others in the 19th century, where an entire world of emotions could be conveyed in literally just a ‘moment’.

Following Kurtag, Affinity Quartet performs Schubert’s epic 45 minute String Quartet no.14 ‘Death and the Maiden’, which was not publicly performed during his lifetime. When composing it in 1824, the 27 year old Schubert struggled with knowledge of his imminent death from syphilis. His imagining of ‘Death and the Maiden’ is inspired by the 18th century poem of the same name by Matthias Claudius. Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ conveys an intoxicating dialogue between present, past and future.

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Grigoryan + Grigoryan: tba

The success of any collaboration is dependant on a myriad of factors, some obvious, others less tangible. Sharon & Slava Grigoryan are an example of such a synergy, resulting in music that connects deeply with the listener. Perhaps it is their union professionally and in life that provides the intangible factor fuelling their passionate and sensitive performances.

Their repertoire spans cultures, generations and genres – from standard works for guitar and cello (Vivaldi, Granados, Piazzolla) to creations by contemporary composers, their own compositions and arrangements which shine a new light on familiar favourites.

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Affinity Quartet: Mozart & Mendelssohn

"It tells a lot about the dedication of Affinity Quartet and about the quality of the individual players that after less than a year of playing together, they were awarded 3rd Prize at the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, an incredible achievement.

They continue to further their development at prestigious international courses and we are very lucky to nab them on home turf. Their program features one of Mendelssohn's last and most dramatic works, written after the death of his beloved sister, Fanny, herself an accomplished composer. They were extremely close and it was not long after Fanny's death that Felix himself died." (Wilma Smith)

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ANAM Quartetthaus at Melbourne Museum

The biggest celebration of Australian and British string quartet music ever presented, ANAM Quartetthaus at Melbourne Museum will be staged on the Melbourne Museum Plaza.

Three Australian ensembles with connections to ANAM and three British ensembles with connections to London's Royal College of Music (RCM) – including a professional, early-career, and emerging ensemble from each country – will be performing:

  • Australian String Quartet (Australia), includes 3 ANAM alumni
  • Affinity Quartet (Australia), ANAM alumni
  • Artamidae Quartet (Australia), current ANAM musicians
  • Marmen String Quartet (United Kingdom), RCM alumni
  • Alkyona Quartet (United Kingdom), RCM string quartet fellows
  • Oriole String Quartet (United Kingdom), current RCM musicians

The season includes two works composed specially for the celebration by Jack Symonds (Australia) and Hannah Kendell (UK). The season includes music from Australia by Alice CHANCE, Brett DEAN, Ross EDWARDS, Jack FRERER, Alfred HILL, Miriam HYDE, Liza LIM, Matt LAING, Richard MEALE, Kate MOORE, Peter SCULTHORPE, Harry SDRAULIG, Paul STANHOPE, Jack SYMONDS and Nigel WESTLAKE.

Music from the United Kingdom in the season is by Thomas ADÈS, Sally BEAMISH, Benjamin BRITTEN, Rebecca CLARKE, Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR, Edward ELGAR, Imogen HOLST, Hannah KENDALL, Elizabeth MACONCHY, Henry PURCELL, Michael TIPPETT and William WALTON.

Each of 52 concerts comprises different combinations of these works. Concerts are scheduled at 11am, 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6:30pm and 8pm each day. Four 9pm performances with a different spin – After Dark – are presented on the Friday and Saturday evenings during the season, making 56 concerts in all.

View performance schedule

Prices are for individual concerts, packages are also available.

More info and bookings