Vision String Quartet Program Guide | September 2023

Vision
String Quartet

2

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the many lands on which we meet, work and live,
and we pay our respects to Elders past and present – people who have sung their songs, danced their
dances and told their stories on these lands for thousands of generations, and who continue to do so.
VISION STRING QUARTET
FLORIAN
WILLEITNER
violin
DANIEL
STOLL
violin
SANDER
STUART
viola
LEONARD
DISSELHORST
cello
ADELAIDE
Adelaide Town Hall
Thursday 12 October, 7.30pm
• Pre-concert talk: 6.45pm,
Prince Alfred Room
BRISBANE
Conservatorium Theatre,
Griffith University, South Bank
Tuesday 26 September, 7pm
Recorded for broadcast by 4MBS
• Pre-concert talk: 6.15pm, Boardroom,
Qld Conservatorium, Griffith University
• Meet the Artists after the concert
CANBERRA
Llewellyn Hall,
ANU School of Music
Thursday 5 October, 7pm
• Pre-concert talk: 6.15pm,
Larry Sitsky Recital Room
MELBOURNE
Elisabeth Murdoch Hall,
Melbourne Recital Centre
Saturday 23 September, 7pm
• Pre-concert talk: 6.15pm,
Salzer Suite, Level 2
Tuesday 10 October, 7pm
• Pre-concert talk: 6.15pm,
Salzer Suite, Level 2
• Meet the Artists after the concert
NEWCASTLE
City Hall
Thursday 21 September, 7.30pm
• Pre-concert talk: 6.45pm,
Mulubinba Room
• Meet the Artists after the concert
PERTH
Perth Concert Hall
Monday 2 October, 7.30pm
Recorded for broadcast by ABC Classic
• Pre-concert talk: 6.45pm,
Corner Stage Riverside, Terrace Level
• Meet the Artists after the concert
SYDNEY
City Recital Hall
Saturday 7 October, 2pm
• Pre-concert talk: 1.15pm,
Function Room, Level 1
• Meet the Artists after the concert,
Concert Hall
Monday 9 October, 7pm
Ken Tribe Tribute Concert
• Pre-concert talk: 6.15pm,
Function Room, Level 1
• CD signing after the concert,
Main Foyer
—
With special thanks to the Producers’ Circle
and Amadeus Society for their support of
the 2023 Concert Season.
01

From the Artistic Director
© Darren Leigh Roberts
The concert that clinched the Vision String
Quartet first prize in the 2016 Geneva
International Music Competition included a
blistering performance of Bartók’s fifth quartet
from memory, no safety net in place. It is a
staggeringly mature and confident showing, the
lyrical second movement seeming to stop time.
From this performance, this competition success,
one would have expected the Quartet to follow
a familiar trajectory: concert tours taking in
Baden-Baden, Hamburg and Wigmore Hall;
appearances at the great summer festivals;
recordings and residencies. The Quartet has
done all this, in spades, yet it is the unquenched
curiosity of these four musicians about the future
of the genre as much as its past that makes
them stand out. They are driven by a sense of
exploration and humour, almost as if learning
some of the most difficult pieces in the repertory
by rote is the very least audiences should expect
from a quartet, the lowest of bars for them to
step over with such casual virtuosity.
Intimacy and energy characterise their
performances, and the sense of exploration
and humour that first drew them to my attention
make me excited about the future of this most
precious genre, the string quartet. It’s a thrill to
welcome Florian, Daniel, Sander and Leonard
to Australia for the first time.
Paul Kildea
Artistic Director
02

Program
Ernest BLOCH (1880–1959)
Prelude, B. 63 (1925)
5 min
Béla BARTÓK (1881–1945)
String Quartet No. 4 in C major, Sz. 91 (1928)
26 min
I
II
III
IV
V
Allegro (Fast)
Prestissimo, con sordino (Extremely quick, with mutes)
Non troppo lento (Not too slow)
Allegretto pizzicato (Fairly fast, plucked)
Allegro molto (Very fast)
INTERVAL
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841–1904)
String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106 (1895)
37 min
I
II
III
IV
Allegro moderato (Moderately fast)
Adagio ma non troppo (Slow but not too slow)
Molto vivace (Very fast and lively)
Finale. Andante sostenuto (Moving along at a walking pace, sustained)
– Allegro con fuoco (Fast and fiery)
Please ensure that mobile phones are turned to silent before the performance.
Photography and video recording are not permitted during the performance.
Further Listening
As exclusive recording artists with Warner Classics, the Vision
String Quartet released their 2021 album Spectrum, with music
that was entirely composed and produced by the quartet,
together with accompanying music videos which the quartet
directed, produced and curated themselves. In 2020, their
debut album Memento received an Opus Klassik Award for
best chamber music recording.
03

S E A
2
O 2 4
S O N
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Regional Touring
As part of Musica Viva Australia’s Regional
Touring Program, the Vision String Quartet
will perform in:
• Mon 25 September: Hobart
Hobart Town Hall, Tasmania
• Sat 30 September: Tyalgum
Tyalgum Music Festival
—
For further details visit:
musicaviva.com.au/regional
Masterclasses
The following masterclasses are
presented as part of this tour:
• Thu 28 September: Brisbane
University of Queensland
(closed to public)
• Mon 2 October: Perth
University of Western Australia,
Eileen Joyce Studio
• Fri 6 October: Canberra
Australian National University
• Mon 9 October: Sydney
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
• Wed 11 October: Melbourne
— Florian Willeitner
Monash University
(closed to public)
• Wed 11 October: Melbourne
Victorian College of the Arts
Secondary School
(closed to public)
—
For further details visit:
musicaviva.com.au/masterclasses
Musica Viva Australia’s Masterclass
program is supported by:
Nicholas Callinan AO & Elizabeth Callinan
Caroline & Robert Clemente
Ian Frazer AM & Caroline Frazer
Patricia H Reid Endowment Fund
Andrew Sisson AO & Tracey Sisson
Mick & Margaret Toller
Anonymous (2)
Musica Viva Australia Masterclasses in Western
Australia are supported by Wesfarmers Arts.
Anneleen Lenaerts at Sydney Conservatorium of Music
© Sean Moloney
Zoe Knighton at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
© Janet McKay
Timothy Ridout at Sydney Conservatorium of Music
© Sean Moloney
05

Vision String Quartet
© Harald Hoffman
06

Founded in 2012, the Vision String Quartet has
already established itself as one of the finest
young string quartets of its generation, with a
unique versatility that focuses on the classical
string quartet repertoire alongside their own
compositions in other disparate genres such as
folk, pop, rock, funk and minimalist music. The
four young musicians from Berlin who identify
as much as a ‘band’ as a ‘string quartet’ are
on a mission to re-address, with integrity, how
classical music is presented and perceived by
both new and traditional audiences.
The quartet experiments with concert formats
that challenge perceived expectations
whilst being true to their vision of the music.
Performances have included Schubert’s
Death and the Maiden quartet performed
in complete darkness, Beethoven’s Quartet
in A minor, Op 132 from memory, and
experimenting with lighting designers to
give further creative dimensions to their
performances. Breaking new ground, they
have brought these ideas to leading classical
concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie
Hamburg, Berlin Philharmonic, Gewandhaus
Leipzig, Oji Hall Tokyo, Philharmonie
Luxembourg and London’s Wigmore
Hall. Festival appearances include the
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Rheingau
Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music
Festival, Trondheim Chamber Music Festival
and the Lucerne Festival.
The quartet has achieved many other notable
prizes in international competitions such as the
2016 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Competition
in Berlin and the 2016 Concours de Génève.
Testament to their charisma as well as their
musicianship, not only did they receive First
Prize in both of these, but all the audience and
special prizes too. The Ritter Prize from the
Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation followed in
2021, as well as the Jürgen Ponto Foundation's
Chamber Music Prize (2018) and the Würth
Prize (2016).
Recent highlights have included tours to
both the USA and Japan, with performances
in New York, Toronto, Chicago, Tokyo
and Kyoto. Highlights of the 21/22 season
included appearances in Germany, Italy,
Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Bulgaria
and Norway as well as the world premiere
of Thorsten Encke’s concerto for string
quartet and orchestra, technologia, with
the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. In 22/23
they have been Artists in Residence at the
Beethovenfest in Bonn and the Bodensee
Festival at Lake Constance, and toured Japan,
South Korea, Mexico and South America.
The Quartet completed their chamber
music studies with the Artemis Quartet at
the University of the Arts in Berlin and with
Günter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartet at
the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía
in Madrid. In addition, they have received
tuition from teachers such as Heime Müller,
Eberhardt Feltz and Gerhard Schulz, as well
as participating in masterclasses at Jeunesses
Musicales, ProQuartet in France and the
Foundation Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz
where they were scholarship holders.
The Vision String Quartet performs with kind
support from the Deutscher Musikrat (German
Music Council) and is thrilled to endorse
Thomastik-Infeld strings.
© Sander Stuart
07

About the music
Swiss-born composer and conductor
Ernest Bloch emigrated to the United
States in 1916, following a tour of the States
with the Canadian dancer Maud Allen.
Bloch conducted the 40-piece orchestra
that accompanied Allen on the tour; a
contemporary review described him as ‘a
conductor of strong, virile personality’.
cornerstone. While some of Bloch’s other works
of this period explored quarter tones and other
extended techniques, this one is simpler –
short, sweet, and an ideal concert-opener.
© LUKE IREDALE 2023
In the late 1920s, Béla Bartók was living in
Budapest, and was starting to be known all
over the world. Despite this fame, however, he
remained an intensely private and introverted
person. He was not fond of teaching or
performing, although he had to do both to
support his family. He spoke and wrote very
little about his own compositions, preferring to
let the music represent itself. The one topic that
made his eyes light up was the collection and
study of folk music – Hungarian, Romanian,
Bulgarian and even Arabian – that had
occupied him from his youth and continued to
be central to his life. To Bartók’s thinking, folk
music was of more than scientific interest: it
was the life-giving seed without which there
was no way forward in musical creation.
His ideal was to internalise the rhythms and
contours of the folk melodies he collected, to
a point where his own compositions were the
natural result.
Despite good reviews, the touring company
eventually went bankrupt, after which Bloch
elected to remain in the US, taking on a variety
of teaching positions in the ensuing decades.
The Prelude for string quartet of 1925 came
during Bloch’s transition from the Cleveland
Institute of Music to the San Francisco
Conservatory. Subtitled Recueillement
(‘contemplation’), it is richly suffused with
post-Romantic passion and adventurous 20thcentury
harmony; European-meets-American,
like the composer himself. The sighing
theme first heard on the viola is the work’s
He composed his Fourth Quartet in 1928.
Everything about the piece betrays Bartók’s
obsession with mirror-images and symmetry,
a hallmark of his mature style. In every
movement one hears a melody in one voice
answered by the same melody upside-down in
another voice. There are abundant examples
of a motif answered by its duplicate on a
different pitch. Once in a while a melody is
even replied to by its retrograde: the same
melody played backwards. These contrapuntal
games are hardly unique to Bartók, but he
saturated this music with them to an unusual
extent.
08

The entire, five-movement layout of the quartet
is symmetrical as well. Bartók cast the piece
in an arch form, coupling the first movement
with the fifth movement, the second with the
fourth, and the third movement standing alone
as the work’s solitary capstone. The paired
movements share various characteristics: basic
soundscape, motivic material, and emotional
heft.
is a charming, somewhat rustic tableau where
the quartet plays only pizzicato. We seem to
have stumbled across a village scene where
a band of four balalaika players (or perhaps
cimbaloms) are entertaining the locals. The
strings are often strummed back and forth,
guitar-like, and sometimes snapped harshly
against the fingerboard: the ‘Bartók pizzicato’.
The outer movements are lively, energetic
and bold. The first develops its material in an
orderly and considered fashion; one might
even say that it is forbiddingly heavy in its
dense textures and its forests of semitones. At
the same time, it has enormous energy: with
every imitation, every reflected melody, every
exclamatory chord, one hears the verve of
new creation, of musical DNA being mapped
and remapped. Central to the movement is a
galloping six-note idea, three rising chromatic
notes followed by three faster falling ones. This
‘motto’ returns in the last movement and binds
the piece together.
The fifth movement is a rugged, stamping folk
dance. The main melody is a simple, primal
idea that goes up and down four notes of
an exotic scale. The accompanying rhythms
recall those of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring;
undoubtedly Bartók sought here to evoke a
rustic, vital energy of his own. In the quieter
central episode, the galloping motto idea from
the first movement sneaks back in, starting
in the cello part. The main material from the
finale returns to do battle with this intruder,
and they vie to the end of the movement, but
the motto theme gets the last word.
The second and fourth movements are lighter
scherzo movements. The second is muted,
weightless and fleet, a four-way game of
Catch on fast-forward. Striking effects abound:
glissandi that smear the canvas, the glassy
sound of ponticello (playing near the bridge),
harmonics and pizzicati. The fourth movement
The third movement is night music, solitary and
mournful. A chord fades in, note by note, at
the beginning, and becomes a backdrop for
a melody in the cello part which sings, weeps
and yodels, questing ever upward through
three ascending verses.
© MISHA AMORY
09

Antonín Dvořák, a professional viola
player, wrote chamber music throughout
his life; his first official opus was a twoviola
string quintet written when he was 20,
closely followed by his first string quartet.
Over the next 34 years he composed 14
string quartets, three string quintets and a
sextet as well as piano trios, quartets and
quintets.
Between his eleventh quartet in 1881 and his
twelfth quartet (the well-known 'American')
there is a twelve-year gap. This was the
time when his international reputation
grew, thanks mainly to appreciative British
audiences – he made five extended
trips to England between 1884 and 1886.
Their admiration for his work, and lack
of prejudice against his native folk music,
gave him the freedom to develop his own
musical style. The interest of the Novellos in
publishing his music also gave him welcome
leverage to secure increased fees from his
long-standing publisher Simrock – he had
six children to maintain.
His visits to England were interrupted
by Mrs Jeanette Thurber's invitation to
be artistic director of her new National
Conservatory of Music in America,
based in New York. Her aim, to which
Dvořák was sympathetic, was to develop
a national American style of art music.
Dvořák immersed himself in spirituals
and plantation songs from the South, and
transcriptions of Amerindian melodies.
During his stay in America, Dvořák returned
to quartet writing with what was to be his
best-known quartet, the ‘American’.
The G major quartet in this program, his
thirteenth, was written at the end of 1895
soon after his return home from America.
The raw material, presented at the
beginning, is rhythmic and episodic rather
than melodic, with each of the first four bars
containing a different motif; however, these
motifs are soon transformed into a confident
risoluto (resolute) theme. It contrasts with a
more tender triplet-based second subject,
which will reappear in the last movement.
The Adagio has a dark, melancholy, Slavic
theme, introduced by the violin and repeated
throughout the movement in a variety of
different moods and keys. Dvořák’s good
cheer returns in the Scherzo. In the first of its
two trios the violin echoes a gentle theme from
the viola.
A brief Andante introduces the theme of the
final Allegro con fuoco. The Andante returns
to introduce the middle section, which is
a meditation on the second subject of the
first movement. Other elements from that
movement also contribute, including the
tumbling triplets of the opening third bar. The
movement's main Allegro theme returns and
after some characteristic Dvořák sliding keychanges
we romp to the finish.
ADAPTED FROM A NOTE © CHRIS DARWIN
10

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—
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to more than 150,000 students live in schools across Australia.
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Interview
BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Repeat.
Repeat.
'Repeat. Repeat.
As concertgoers, we feel a profound sense of
awe when we watch a musician performing
from memory.
Sometimes they’ll close their eyes and allow
the music to immerse them; other times, they’ll
glance around to their performance partners,
giving cues through human connection in
lieu of notes on the page. We marvel at the
spectacle of a player who exhibits technical
skill and stirring expression – all without
missing a note.
It’s common to experience this feeling when
watching a soloist who has memorised a
concerto. Less often do we have the chance
to see a chamber ensemble filled with four
virtuosic musicians, equally talented at their
instruments, all playing their parts from
memory while creating a unified sound. A
sound that identifies them as a group – in this
case, as the Vision String Quartet.
When asked how the players prepare to
tour a full concert program from memory,
violinist Daniel Stoll offers a surprisingly simple
response: ‘Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.’ In fact,
he goes on to repeat this word a further 23
times (once interjecting the word ‘sleep’ in the
middle of the list). Though it’s safe to assume a
far greater number of repetitions take place in
the practice room.
The Vision String Quartet’s decision to play
everything from memory arose during a
masterclass – ‘one unforgettable day’ in
southern Germany. Cellist Leonard Disselhorst
recalls how the group was practising Debussy’s
string quartet, and could hear another
ensemble playing the same music through the
walls.
‘Without glancing at the score, we instinctively
joined in, and successfully managed to
navigate through the entire piece,’ Leonard
shares. ‘This experience led us to embrace
the challenge of performing from memory – a
decision we carried forward to our very first
concert.’
The choice has flow-on effects: without sheet
music, there’s no need for music stands – so
why bother sitting in a standard configuration?
‘The decision to play from memory naturally
led to the choice of standing up, and since
then, we have all mostly grown accustomed
to this approach,’ Leonard says. (With the
exception of the cellist, of course.)
It may sound like a logistical decision, but
it’s one that enhances the impact of their
performance. They’re not rigidly confined to
their seats: we can watch the four become
unleashed with the music, playing it with their
whole bodies.
14

Repeat.'
As violinist Florian Willeitner explains, it’s not
just for show: ‘Playing from memory allows
you to connect even deeper with the musical
flow. You listen and play differently. There is an
additional layer of excitement when you play
by heart, which forces you to be into the music
100 per cent, all the time.’
Without music stands, there is no physical
barrier between audience and performer. And
this too speaks to the ethos of the Vision String
Quartet and the way these players represent
what they’re about, which may be unlike the
other ensembles you’ve come across. They like
to describe their group as a ‘band’. In group
photos, they dress traditionally in the colour of
concert blacks – but they may be standing in a
pastel pink ball pit.
Their Warner Classics album Spectrum was
so tailored to their ideas about how chamber
music can be presented that it was entirely
composed, performed and produced by the
group – and they directed their own film clips,
too.
‘We want to show our audience that chamber
music – and especially a string quartet – is
not necessary four serious conservative
[musicians],’ Daniel says. They make a point of
their music being for anyone and everyone –
no matter how old or new their repertoire.
In this Musica Viva Australia tour, the artists
present a series of invigorating, complex and
emotive works. ‘We searched for a program
which is full of contrasts,’ Daniel says.
Their insights as composers of new music has
paved the way for a deep level of respect
when interpreting older works, too. ‘We find it
very important to really get into a music style
or genre with all its specifications and details
before going on stage,’ Daniel says.
To this the musicians bring their own emotional
responses to the repertoire. ‘I personally love
Dvořák, says Florian, ‘because it feels very
much like home for me. Dvořák was born in
Bohemia not far from where I grew up, so I am
very familiar with the landscapes – beautiful
soft green hills, and endless forests – and the
folk music Dvořák was influenced by.’
The Bartók quartet was also influenced by folk
music, Florian says. ‘We love to play folk music
and include elements of it into our own pieces
as well, which is why we feel very close to this
repertoire.’
Of course, the Berlin-based group have their
own ideas about what it means to take this
European music on their international tour.
‘We are eagerly anticipating the opportunity
to travel to the far reaches of the world,
and perform in the land of kangaroos and
untamed creatures,’ Leonard says with a smile.
But on a more serious note, he adds: ‘The
prospect of connecting with our Australian fan
community is exhilarating. This tour marks
a significant milestone for us, and we are
deeply humbled to be a part of the Musica
Viva Australia season. We are dedicated to
bringing a fresh perspective to the chamber
music scene in Australia, and making a
positive impact.’
15

ENSEMBLE
PATRONS
+
CONCERT
CHAMPIONS
For nearly 80 years Musica Viva Australia has delivered tours of the highest calibre
in concert halls throughout the country. At the heart of our touring program are our
generous Ensemble Patrons and Concert Champions, whose extraordinary vision
of supporting the finest possible Australian and international artists has
enriched the lives of music lovers through live performance and online.
Thank you for everything you do.
For information about our Ensemble Patrons and Concert Champions programs, please contact:
Zoë Cobden-Jewitt, Director of Development
zcobden-jewitt@musicaviva.com.au
0409 340 240

Patrons
CUSTODIANS
ACT Margaret Brennan, Clive & Lynlea Rodger,
Ruth Weaver, Anonymous (4)
NSW Catherine Brown-Watt PSM & Derek Watt,
Jennifer Bott AO, Lloyd & Mary Jo Capps AM, Andrew &
Felicity Corkill, Peter Cudlipp, Liz Gee, Suzanne Gleeson,
David & Christine Hartgill, Annie Hawker, Elaine Lindsay,
Trevor Noffke, Dr David Schwartz, Ruth Spence-Stone,
Mary Vallentine AO, Deirdre Nagle Whitford, Richard
Wilkins, Kim Williams AM, Megan & Bill Williamson,
Ray Wilson OAM, Anonymous (12)
QLD Anonymous (2)
SA Monica Hanusiak-Klavins & Martin Klavins,
Anonymous (4)
TAS
Kim Paterson QC, Anonymous
VIC Elizabeth & Anthony Brookes, Julian Burnside AO
QC, Ms Helen Dick, Robert Gibbs & Tony Wildman, Helen
Vorrath, Anonymous (8)
WA Graham Lovelock, Anonymous (4)
LEGACY DONORS
ACT
The late Geoffrey Brennan
NSW The late Charles Berg, The late Stephen Center,
The late Janette Hamilton, The late Dr. Ralph Hockin in
memory of Mabel Hockin, The late Geraldine Kenway,
The late Kenneth W Tribe AC
QLD
The late Steven Kinston
SA The late Edith Dubsky, In memory of Helen Godlee,
The late John Lane Koch, The late Lesley Lynn
VIC In memory of Anita Morawetz, The family of
the late Paul Morawetz, The late Dr G D Watson
WA
Anonymous
CONCERT CHAMPIONS
The mainstage concerts of our 2023 Season are brought
to life thanks to the generosity of our Concert Champions
around the country.
Adelaide Helen Bennetts & Tim Lloyd, The late Lesley Lynn,
Dr Susan Marsden & Michael Szwarcbord, Leonie Schmidt
& Michael Davis, Anonymous (2)
Brisbane Ian & Cass George, Andrea & Malcolm Hall-Brown,
Andrew & Kate Lister, Barry & Diana Moore, Anonymous (2)
Canberra Andrew Blanckensee Music Lover, Professor
Malcolm Gillies & Dr David Pear, Sue & Ray Edmondson,
Claudia Hyles, Margaret Lovell & Grant Webeck,
Ruth Weaver & Anonymous, Dr Suzanne Packer,
Sue Terry & Len Whyte
Melbourne Alexandra Clemens & Bibi Aickin, Penelope
Hughes, Peter Lovell, The Morawetz Family in memory of
Paul Morawetz, Dr John Tang, Dr Michael Troy, Ray Turner
& Jennifer Seabrook, Mark & Suzy Suss in memory of
Dr James Pang, The late Dr G D Watson, Dr Victor Wayne &
Dr Karen Wayne OAM, Igor Zambelli
Newcastle Judith Bennett, Gabrielle Bookallil &
The Musica Viva Australia Newcastle Committee,
Megan & Bill Williamson
Perth Dr Robert Larbalestier AO, Deborah Lehmann AO
& Michael Alpers AO, Prichard Panizza Family (2),
For Stephanie Quinlan (2), Valerie & Michael Wishart
Sydney Judith Bennett, Patricia Crummer, Pam Cudlipp,
Dr Jennifer Donald & Mr Stephen Burford, Charles Graham
– in acknowledgement of his piano teacher, Sana Chia,
Katherine & Reg Grinberg, Anthony Strachan, Tribe Family,
Kay Vernon, Kim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey (2)
PRODUCERS’ CIRCLE
Darin Cooper Foundation, Peter Griffin AM & Terry Swann
ENSEMBLE PATRONS
Our artistic vision for 2023 is made possible thanks to
the extraordinary generosity of our Ensemble Patrons,
each of whom supports the presentation of an entire
national tour for our 2023 Season.
Ian & Caroline Frazer (Karin Schaupp & Flinders Quartet)
Ian Dickson AM & Reg Holloway and Anonymous
(The Cage Project)
Stephen & Michele Johns & Anonymous (Chopin’s Piano)
Eleanore Goodridge OAM (Wildschut & Brauss)
AMADEUS SOCIETY
Tony Berg AM & Carol Berg, Marc Besen AC & Eva Besen AO
dec., Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn AO, Dr Di Bresciani OAM,
Ms Annabella Fletcher, Dr Annette Gero, Katherine &
Reg Grinberg, Jennifer Hershon, Fred & Claire Hilmer,
Penelope Hughes, Michael & Frédérique Katz, Ruth Magid
& Bob Magid OAM, Dr Hadia Mukhtar, Prof. John Rickard,
Philip Robinson, Andrew Rosenberg, Ray Wilson OAM
17

MASTERCLASSES
GIVING CIRCLE
The Masterclasses Giving Circle is a group of generous
donors whose collective support will enable the artistic
development of the next generation of Australian
chamber musicians.
Nicholas Callinan AO & Elizabeth Callinan, Caroline &
Robert Clemente, Patricia H. Reid Endowment Fund,
Andrew Sisson AO & Tracey Sisson, Mick & Margaret
Toller, Anonymous
COMMISSIONS
Musica Viva Australia is proud to support the creation
of new Australian works through The Ken Tribe Fund
for Australian Composition and The Hildegard Project.
We are grateful to the following individuals and
collectives for their generous support of this work:
In loving memory of Jennifer Bates, Christine Bollen &
Friends, Stephen Johns for his wife Michele,
The Barry Jones Birthday Commission, DR & KM Magarey,
Naomi Milgrom Foundation & Ian Dickson AM &
Reg Holloway, Playking Foundation, Tribe Family
in honour of Doug Tribe’s 75th Birthday, Adelaide
Commissioning Circle, Perth Commissioning Circle
The Barry Jones Birthday Commission ($500+)
Steve Bracks AC & Terry Bracks AM, Dr George Deutsch
OAM & Kathy Deutsch, Carrillo Gantner, Professor
Margaret Gardner AC & Professor Glyn Davis AC,
Naomi & George Golvan QC, Hon David Harper AM,
Ellen Koshland & James McCaughey, Miles Lewis, Julie &
Ian Macphee, Barry McGaw, Jeannette McHugh, Fiona
McLeod AO SC, Peter & Ruth McMullin, peckvonhartel
architects, Ralph & Ruth Renard, Anne & Robert Richter
QC, Gianna Rosica, Joy Selby Smith, Smith Family,
Maureen & Tony Wheeler, Lyn Williams, Dr Robyn
Williams AO, Bob, Robyn, Annie & Nick, Anonymous (3)
MAJOR GIFTS
$100,000+
NSW The Berg Family Foundation,
Patricia H. Reid Endowment Fund, Anonymous
$50,000+
ACT
Marion & Michael Newman
NSW J A Donald Family, Katherine & Reg Grinberg,
Tom & Elisabeth Karplus
$20,000+
NSW Michael & Frédérique Katz, Vicki Olsson
QLD
Ian & Caroline Frazer, Andrea & Malcolm Hall-Brown
VIC The Morawetz Family in memory of Paul Morawetz,
Marjorie Nicholas OAM, Anonymous
WA
$10,000+
ACT
Anonymous
R & V Hillman, Mick & Margaret Toller, Anonymous
NSW Gardos Family, Gresham Partners, Hilmer Family
Endowment, Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway, Mrs W G
Keighley, Anthony Strachan, Jo Strutt, Ray Wilson OAM
QLD
Anonymous
SA Jennifer & John Henshall, Stoneglen Foundation,
Anonymous
VIC Roger Druce & Jane Bentley, Peter Lovell,
In Memory of Dr Ian Marks, Mercer Family Foundation,
Anonymous
WA Legacy Unit Trust, Deborah Lehmann AO
& Michael Alpers AO
$5,000+
ACT Goodwin Crace Concertgoers, Craig Reynolds,
Sue Terry & Len Whyte
NSW Christine Bishop, Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn AO,
Patricia Crummer, Sarah & Tony Falzarano, Katherine &
Reg Grinberg, David & Carole Singer, Diane Sturrock,
Richard Wilkins, Kim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey
QLD
SA
Anonymous
Aldridge Family Endowment, Anonymous
VIC In memory of Kate Boyce, Dr Di Bresciani OAM
& Lino Bresciani, Julian Burnside AO KC & Kate Durham,
William J Forrest AM, Leanne Menegazzo, Joy Selby Smith,
Greg Shalit & Miriam Faine, Musica Viva Australia Victorian
Committee MICMC Prize, Bruce Missen, Anonymous
WA David Wallace & Jamelia Gubgub, Zoe Lenard &
Hamish Milne, Anonymous
18

ANNUAL GIFTS
$2,500+
ACT Kristin van Brunschot & John Holliday,
Dr Andrew Singer, Anonymous
NSW ADFAS Newcastle, Penny Beran, Susan Burns,
Hon. Professor Ross Steele AM
SA
DJ & EM Bleby
VIC Jan Begg, Alastair & Sue Campbell, Anne
Frankenberg & Adrian McEniery, Lyndsey & Peter Hawkins,
Michael Nossal & Jo Porter, Ralph & Ruth Renard,
Maria Sola, Wendy R. Taylor, Helen Vorrath, Igor Zambelli
WA
$1,000+
Ros Kesteven, Mrs Morrell, Anonymous
ACT Andrew Blanckensee, The Breen/Dullo Family,
Odin Bohr & Anna Smet, Dudley & Helen Creagh,
Martin Dolan, Liz & Alex Furman, Kingsley Herbert,
Margaret & Peter Janssens, Margaret Oates, S Packer,
Clive & Lynlea Rodger, Hannah Semler, Anonymous (4)
NSW Judith Allen, David & Rae Allen, Maia Ambegaokar
& Joshua Bishop, Stephen Booth, Jennifer Bott AO,
Vicki Brooke, Neil Burns, Hugh and Hilary Cairns,
Hon J C Campbell QC & Mrs Campbell, Lloyd &
Mary Jo Capps AM, Richard Cobden SC, Opus 109
Sub-fund, Community Impact Foundation, Robin & Wendy
Cumming, Trish & John Curotta, Thomas Dent, Nancy Fox
AM & Bruce Arnold, John & Irene Garran, Charles & Wallis
Graham, Kate Girdwood, H2 Cairns Foundation, Annie
Hawker, Robert & Lindy Henderson, Lybus Hillman, Dr Ailsa
Hocking & Dr Bernard Williams, Dorothy Hoddinott AO,
Catharine & Robert Kench, Kevin & Deidre McCann, DR &
KM Magarey, Arthur & Elfreda Marshall, Dr Dennis Mather
& John Studdert, Mora Maxwell, Professor Craig Moritz,
Michael & Janet Neustein, Paul O’Donnell, Laurie Orchard,
Ms Vivienne Sharpe, Dr Robyn Smiles, Tom & Dalia Stanley,
Geoff Stearn, Graham & Judy Tribe, Kate Tribe, Dr Elizabeth
Watson, John & Flora Weickhardt, Megan & Bill Williamson,
Anonymous (6)
QLD George Booker & Denise Bond, Prof. Paul & Ann
Crook, Stephen Emmerson, Robin Harvey, Lynn &
John Kelly, Andrew & Kate Lister, Jocelyn Luck, Barry &
Diana Moore, Keith Moore, Barbara Williams &
Jankees van der Have, Anonymous (2)
SA Ivan & Joan Blanchard, Richard Blomfield,
Max & Ionie Brennan, Peter Clifton, Elizabeth Ho OAM, in
honour of the late Tom Steel, Joan Lyons, Fiona MacLachlan
OAM, Dr Leo Mahar, Ruth Marshall & Tim Muecke, Geoff &
Sorayya Martin, Ann & David Matison, Diane Myers,
Leon Pitchon, Jennie Shaw, Anne Sutcliffe, Anonymous (3)
TAS
Dianne O’Toole
VIC Joanna Baevski, Russ & Jacqui Bate, Marlyn Bancroft,
Marc Besen AC & the late Eva Besen AO, Jannie Brown,
Alison & John Cameron, Mrs Maggie Cash, Alex & Elizabeth
Chernov, Kathy & George Deutsch OAM, Dhar Family,
Lord Ebury, Dr Gelnys & Dr Alan French, Naomi Golvan &
George Golvan KC, Virginia Henry, Doug Hooley, Helen
Imber, The Hon. Dr Barry Jones AC & Ms Rachel Faggetter,
Angela Kayser, Angela & Richard Kirsner, Angela Li,
Janet McDonald, Ruth McNair AM & Rhonda Brown in
memory of Patricia Begg & David McNair, June K Marks,
Christopher Menz & Peter Rose, Traudl Moon OAM, D & F
Nassau, Adrian Nye, Resonance Fund – Michael Cowen &
Sharon Nathani, Barry Robbins, Murray Sandland, Ms Thea
Sartori, Marshall Segan & Ylana Perlov in memory of his
late parents, Gary Singer & Geoffrey Smith, Darren Taylor
& Kent Stringer, Ray Turner & Jennifer Seabrook, Dr Victor
Wayne & Dr Karen Wayne OAM, Lyn Williams, Mark &
Anna Yates, Anonymous (2)
WA David & Minnette Ambrose, Dr S Cherian,
Michael & Wendy Davis, In memory of Raymond Dudley,
Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert,
Ms Helen Hollingshead, Anne Last & Steve Scudamore,
Hugh & Margaret Lydon, Olivier David & Dr Bennie Ng,
Marian Magee & David Castillo, John Overton, Prof Robyn
Owens AM, Margaret & Roger Seares, Robyn Tamke,
Anonymous (4)
$500+
ACT Margaret Brennan, Christine Bollen, Christopher
Clarke, Peter Cumines, Susan Edmondson, Jill Fleming,
Robert Hefner, Claudia Hyles OAM, Margaret Millard,
Helen Rankin, Ruth Weaver, Dr Paul & Dr Lel Whitbread,
Anonymous
NSW Denise Braggett, Christopher & Margaret Burrell,
Robert Cahill and Anne Cahill OAM, Lucia Cascone,
Howard Dick, Dr Arno Enno & Dr Anna Enno, Bronwyn
Evans, Anthony Gregg, The Harvey Family, Roland &
Margaret Hicks, David & Sarah Howell, Alicia Howlett, In
honour of Michael Katz, Cynthia Kaye, Mathilde Kearny-
Kibble, Bruce Lane, Graham & Sue Lane, Olive Lawson,
Trish Ludgate, Dr Colin MacArthur, Ian & Pam McGaw, Dr V
Jean McPherson, Frances Muecke, Kim & Margie Ostinga,
Christina Pender, Trish Richardson in memory of Andy Lloyd
James, Dr John Rogers, Penny Rogers, Peter & Heather
Roland, Christopher Sullivan & Jim Lennon, Kathie & Reg
Grinberg – In honour of Dalia Stanley’s birthday, Beverley &
Richard Taperell, Kay Vernon, Andrew Wells AM, Margaret
Wright OAM, Anonymous (15)
QLD Geoffrey Beames, Noela Billington, Janet Franklin,
Timothy Matthies & Chris Bonnily, Anonymous
SA Zoë Cobden-Jewitt & Peter Jewitt, Daniel & Susan
Hains, Elizabeth Hawkins, Dr Iwan Jensen, The Hon.
Christopher Legoe AO QC & Mrs Jenny Legoe,
Helga Linnert & Douglas Ransom, Julie Mencel &
Michael McKay, Trish Ryan & Richard Ryan AO,
Tony Seymour, Anonymous (5)
TAS
Anonymous
VIC David Bernshaw & Caroline Isakow, Coll & Roger
Buckle, Pam Caldwell, John & Mandy Collins, John & Chris
Collingwood, Ted & Alison Davies, Mary-Jane Gething,
John & Margaret Harrison, Dr Anthea Hyslop, Eda
Ritchie AM, Professor Lynne Selwood, Maureen Turner,
Anonymous (8)
WA Jennifer Butement, Fred & Angela Chaney, Rachel &
Bruce Craven, Helen Dwyer, Dr Barry Green, Russell Hobbs
& Sue Harrington, Paula Nathan AO & Yvonne Patterson,
Lindsay & Suzanne Silbert, Father Richard Smith, Ruth
Stratton, Christopher Tyler, Anonymous (5)
19

Concert Partners
Perth Concert Series Sydney Morning Masters Series Musica Viva Australia at The Edge Series
Commissioning Partner (The Cage Project)
Rehearsal Partner (The Cage Project)
Project Partner (The Cage Project)
Legal
Chartered Accountants
Piano & Tuning
Media Partner Wine Partner act, nsw, qld, sa, vic Wine Partner wa
Hotel Partner
Hotel Partner
Government Partners
Musica Viva Australia is assisted by
the Australian Government through Creative Australia,
its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Musica Viva Australia is supported
by the NSW Government through
Create NSW.
Musica Viva Australia is a Not-for-profit Organisation
endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a Deductible
Gift Recipient and registered with the Australian Charities
and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).
Emerging Artists Partners
Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition
Principal Partner
Strategic Partner
Grand Prize Partner
Key Philanthropic Partner
FutureMakers Lead Partner FutureMakers Residency Partner Key Philanthropic Partner
20

Education Partners
Government Partnerships & Support
National Education Supporters
J A Donald Family
Marion & Mike Newman
Musica Viva Australia In Schools & Professional Development
• Aldridge Family Endowment • Godfrey Turner Memorial Music Trust • In Memory of Anita Morawetz
• Keith MacKenzie Will Trust • Margaret Henderson Music Trust • Marsden Szwarcbord Foundation
• Perpetual Foundation - Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment • Scully Foundation
National Music Residency Program
The
Benjamin
Fund
Day Family
Foundation
The Marion &
E.H. Flack Trust
• Aldridge Family Endowment • Carthew Foundation • Foskett Foundation • FWH Foundation
• John & Rosemary McLeod • Joy Selby Smith • Klein Foundation • Legacy Unit Trust
• Lipman Karas • Seeley International • Anonymous Donors (3)
21

Stories to inspire
BY MATHEW JORDAN & HARRIET CUNNINGHAM
A WELL-LIT
PATHWAY
Strike A Chord 2022 winners Trio Bellissimo,
presenting the MICMC Piano Trio Audience Prize
to Trio Bohémo. © James Grant
Affinity String Quartet – Monash University
Grand Prize Winners. © James Grant
—
Aura Go as Chopin. © Aaron Francis
On a winter’s weekend in Melbourne, three
extraordinary moments brought Musica Viva
Australia’s commitment to emerging Australian
talent into sharp focus.
On the Saturday night Aura Go, 2018–19
FutureMaker and now Head of Piano
at Monash University, gave a virtuoso
performance as pianist and actor in the first
night of Chopin’s Piano, playing multiple roles
while simultaneously giving a breathtaking
rendition of Chopin’s 24 Preludes.
Then on the Sunday, Trio Bellissimo, a prizewinning
young Australian ensemble from
Strike A Chord 2022, stepped onto the stage
of the Melbourne Recital Centre to present
the Melbourne International Chamber Music
Competition Piano Trio Audience Prize to
Czech-based ensemble Trio Bohémo.
Finally, later that day, the Melbourne-based
Affinity String Quartet, after their dazzling
performance of Schubert’s Death and the
Maiden, became the first Australian ensemble
to win the Monash University Grand Prize
in the Melbourne International Chamber
Music Competition (MICMC). The weekend,
exhilarating for audiences and performers
alike, represented a culmination of Musica
Viva Australia’s mission to establish a ‘well-lit
pathway’ of interconnected opportunities to
develop a music-rich future for Australia.
It’s a pathway that starts from the earliest
years. Affinity Quartet founder and cellist,
Mee Na Lojewski, remembers her first taste of
classical music fondly, when she experienced
the Musica Viva Australia In Schools program,
live, in the hall of her primary school. Mee
Na was captivated by the music. While her
parents suggested she play the smaller, more
manageable violin, she was adamant she
wanted to learn the cello. Her determination
stuck: from lessons, to a music degree, then
study at the Australian National Academy
of Music, now an international career as a
chamber musician beckons.
22

It sounds seamless now, but Mee Na’s
long journey from spectator to student to
professional was full of the difficult choices and
critical junctures which face aspiring musicians.
Musica Viva Australia has identified some of
these defining transitions: from primary to
secondary school; from secondary school to
tertiary music education; and from the tertiary
training environment to establishment as a
professional musician. The Emerging Artist
Program is designed to intervene at each
of these transitions through four strands of
activity: Strike A Chord, aimed at participation
and skills development for secondary school
students; the Masterclass Series, which
offers coaching, mentorship and teaching
opportunities for tertiary music students by
acclaimed artists from both Australia and
around the world; FutureMakers, the intensive
two-year program for exceptional emerging
artistic leaders; and, last but definitely not
least, the quadrennial Melbourne International
Chamber Music Competition.
2023 has seen this long-term, strategic
approach deliver big wins. But beyond
the heady excitement of international
competitions and rave reviews, Musica Viva
Australia’s Emerging Artist Program continues
to forge connections and create opportunities
throughout the musical ecosystem. For
example, Aura Go took time out from
rehearsing for Chopin’s Piano to co-curate
the Monash University Strike A Chord Winter
Workshop, a weekend of music-making for
secondary school students, which offered
ensemble coaching and group sessions
delivered by outstanding musicians including
MICMC competitors and jury members and
Wilma Smith, Artistic Director of Competitions
at Musica Viva Australia. Meanwhile, Affinity
Quartet and Trio Bohémo were in Canberra
the day after the MICMC Grand Final, giving
concerts and workshops. And at the other
end of the pathway, primary school students
will soon be enjoying a new show from
FutureMakers alumni Arcadia Winds, currently
in development.
2024 sees the fourth iteration of the national
secondary schools chamber music program
Strike A Chord. Building on the foundational
work of the Musica Viva Australia In Schools
program, Strike A Chord is a national program
of engagement, support and connection
culminating in a national secondary schools
chamber music championship. With both
novice and main categories, it welcomes
students at a wide range of skill levels, with the
aim of driving participation and engagement.
Thus, Strike A Chord becomes another
stepping stone on the journey.
Through musicians like Mee Na and the
Affinity Quartet, through FutureMakers
alumni Arcadia Winds and Aura Go, through
budding musicians like Trio Bellissimo and
through the exchange of inspiration and
wisdom in masterclasses, the Emerging Artists
Program connects the dots: from primary
school students singing along with a visiting
ensemble, to secondary school students taking
part in Strike a Chord, to the masterclasses
and competitions and – who knows? – one
day becoming a FutureMaker or a mainstage
artist for Musica Viva Australia and beyond.
It’s all about making that well-lit pathway from
listening to loving playing, from seeing to
being.
—
If you would like to know
more about supporting
Australian Emerging Artists
and next year’s
Strike A Chord competition,
please contact Irene Ryder,
iryder@musicaviva.com.au
0487 330 199
—
23

Tribute
KENNETH W TRIBE AC
(1914–2010)
The concert in Sydney on Monday 9 October
celebrates Ken Tribe’s contribution to Musica Viva Australia.
Through the 1970s and 1980s Ken’s influence
in Australian cultural life was far-reaching.
He served on boards and committees for
organisations including the Australia Council
for the Arts, Canberra School of Music, Sydney
College of the Arts, the NSW Arts Advisory
Council, the Australian Opera and the
Australian Broadcasting Commission,
as it was then known.
With apparently endless energy Ken also
worked on the boards of a number of trusts,
funds and in different capacities with a large
number of arts bodies. Much of Ken’s value to
the community over the years was ‘behind the
scenes’ support, always pro bono.
Kenneth Wilberforce Tribe was born in
Sydney in 1914, the second of three children
born to Cecil and Elizabeth Tribe. Having
attended St Andrew’s Cathedral Choir School,
Ken won scholarships to Sydney Church of
England Grammar School (Shore), then to the
University of Sydney to study Law, graduating
in 1937 (music not being regarded as a viable
occupation during that time of the Great
Depression).
Despite family responsibilities and an
extremely demanding professional life, Ken
soon began a pattern of engaging in activities
outside of his profession; the most significant
and long-standing of these associations
was with Musica Viva Australia. In 1949 Ken
joined Musica Viva Australia as Chairman
of the executive and in 1966 took on the role
of Artistic Director, which amalgamated with
that of President in 1973. It was Ken’s initiative
that created Musica Viva Australia’s National
Board in 1980–81.
Ken retired from the Presidency of Musica
Viva Australia in 1986 and was Patron until his
death in July 2010. He maintained a visionary
commitment to commissioning new music from
Australian composers and his support has
enabled new works by luminary composers
including the late Richard Meale, the late Peter
Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards, Carl Vine and Nigel
Westlake. This commitment will continue to be
honoured by Musica Viva Australia through
the Ken Tribe Commemorative Fund for
Australian Composers.
It would be impossible to overstate Ken’s
impact on the arts in Australia and on music
especially. Our lives have been enriched
because of his unique capacity to combine
plain hard work with a vision of what things
might be. As part of Musica Viva Australia
for more than 60 years, Ken’s influence was
enormous.
© GWEN BENNETT
AND MUSICA VIVA AUSTRALIA
24

Wildschut & Brauss
Violinist Noa Wildschut and pianist Elisabeth Brauss
make one of the most exciting musical partnerships heard in years.
Join us for their Australian debut in an eight city national tour.
musicaviva.com.au/wildschut-brauss
1800 688 482
13–30 NOVEMBER

la música habla
:”(
nagsasalita ang musika
η μουσική μιλάει
âm nhac nói .
:-D
...
;-)) :o
ਸੰਗੀਤ ਬੋਲਦਾ ਹੈ
LA MUSICA PARLA
mizik la ka palé
音 乐 说 话
:-)
waiata korero
The language of music is universal;
it transcends borders and unites us as people.
At Musica Viva Australia we believe that music
makes the world a better place.
It’s our ongoing mission to create unforgettable experiences for audiences
across the country: from a child in a classroom seeing live music for the first time,
through to the seasoned concertgoer discovering new work.
Help us to continue our work so that everyone, regardless
of age, location or circumstance, can access
and share the very best live music.
To make a gift:
musicaviva.com.au/support-us
For more information:
Caroline Davis | cdavis@musicaviva.com.au | 0421 375 358