Flinders Quartet: A Life’s Work

Program

Clara Schumann 3 Preludes and Fugues, Op.16

Melody Eötvös Hope. Fear. Anything

Margaret Sutherland String Quartet No.2, ‘Discussion’

Katy Abbott Kvasnica Splitting the Ambivalence

About the artists

Flinders Quartet has garnered a reputation as one of Australia’s most loved chamber music ensembles. A quartet for the 21st century and a highly respected force in Australian chamber music, their musical skill and maturity has continued to flourish over more than two decades of performing together.

About the concert

Their performance in Primrose Potter Salon presents a program with common threads, linking lives that are centuries apart. A celebration of the discovery of artistry, exploring three extraordinary artists – Margaret Sutherland, Camille Claudel and Clara Schumann.

Katy Abbott has used Sutherland’s own words to create a song cycle, allowing the quartet delve into her many obstacles and triumphs. Sutherland’s 2nd string quartet Discussion is gloriously jovial and fun, with her signature harmonic complexity and sharp wit.

Camille Claudel is best known as Rodin’s muse, but she was an outstanding sculptor in her own right. Using Claudel’s own words (in French), Melody Eötvös is creating a song cycle connecting us to a story of unrecognised creative genius.

Clara Schumann’s story is perhaps the best known of the three women. A Romantic composer who sadly never wrote a string quartet. Schumann’s 19th-century Op.16 Preludes and Fugues lend themselves perfectly to string quartet; Jessica Wells’ arrangement is a welcome addition to the canon