Public Transport Update: Sydney buses will be diverting and missing stops between 12.45pm and 2pm on Saturday, 20 Nov due to a Police operation taking place in the CBD. Please take this into consideration when travelling to City Recital Hall. You can see transport times and plan your trip here.
A concert where pianist Bernadette Harvey and the Goldner String Quartet share the stage is a concert that’s simply not to be missed. With each musician at the very top of their game, audiences are in for an evening of divine music-making, made even more special in light of the Goldners’ disrupted tour for Musica Viva Australia earlier this year. Sydney and Newcastle audiences are therefore in for a treat with this special one-off concert.
Dvorak’s String Quartet in F Major, 'American', will open proceedings, a masterpiece of the quartet repertoire and a work that the Goldners have performed to great acclaim. Composed during Dvorak’s time in America and incorporating elements of American folk music, it nevertheless remains some of the composer’s most intensely Czech music. In fact, it was written during his summer holiday in the Iowan town Spillville, which was then home to a large Czech immigrant community. Dvorak’s contentment amongst his compatriots is reflected in the quartet, which is full of an ease and vitality that lifts the spirits.
Harvey will then join the Goldners for Schumann’ Piano Quintet in E-flat, one of the jewels of the chamber music repertoire. “Full of strength and freshness”, Clara Schumann said of her husband’s composition, which was written for her to perform as a pianist of formidable skill. The quintet is the crowning achievement of Schumann’s ‘chamber music year’, 1842, which saw him produce three string quartets, a piano quartet, and works for piano trio. The quintet distinguishes itself by its endlessly inventive nature, balancing a sense of exaltation with a more delicate lyricism.
Meet the Artists
We are pleased to announce that the Goldner String Quartet and Bernadette Harvey will be participating in an onstage Meet the Artists session on Saturday 20th November. The event will be hosted by Artistic Director Paul Kildea at City Recital Hall directly after the 2pm concert. To participate, simply remain in your seats after the performance.
