Cameron Hill, Helen Ayres, Stephen King, Simon Cobcroft and Konstantin Shamray

After wowing audiences on tour earlier this year, the celebrated pianist Konstantin Shamray will once again appear in concert for Musica Viva alongside some of Adelaide’s very best – violinists Cameron Hill and Helen Ayres, violist Stephen King, and cellist Simon Cobcroft. Audiences will be familiar with Ayres, King, and Cobcroft, who also performed for Musica Viva in 2020. Stepping in for the originally scheduled Goldner String Quartet and Piers Lane, they are sure to perform to the exceptional standard set by their esteemed colleagues.

Some of that original programming will be presented here too, beginning with Dvořák’s String Quartet No 12, American. Composed during his stint as Director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, the string quartet is one of Dvořák’s most important works, marking his break with the European tradition of chamber music. The work’s simple harmonies, structural freedom, and manner of introducing new themes all help usher in this new era in Dvořák’s output, while its animated nature has seen it become an audience favourite.

The Brahms Piano Quintet will get a splendid hearing in the assured hands of Shamray and his fellow musicians. First conceived of as a string quintet with two cellos, then a sonata for two pianos, the Piano Quintet is so superbly rendered that its provenance remains surprising. It’s an undeniable masterpiece, encompassing wildly disparate moods that build to a whirlwind finale.

Another highlight of the program will be a work by Peter Sculthorpe, included as a nod to the Goldner String Quartet and their close relationship with the composer’s towering body of work.