Acacia Quartet: Forbidden But Not Forgotten
Acacia Quartet has just returned from an exciting trip abroad when they performed, recorded and attended masterclasses with violist Emile Cantor from the Orpheus Quartet. “Despite exhausting 10 hour lessons (not exaggerating!), we came out of this week exhilarated and ready to perform” they say!
For violinists Lisa Stewart and Myee Clohessy, violist Stefan Duwe and cellist Anna Martin-Scrase, this journey included discovering and learning the music of German composer Günter Raphael. Born in 1903, Raphael’s flourishing career as a composer was irreparably damaged by the rise of Nazism. Acacia performed and recorded Raphael’s string quartets during this sabbatical in Germany. The CD should be available in 2018!
In the meantime, Acacia would love to share their experiences and more of Raphael’s music with their Australian audiences. They will perform his Quartet No 6 along with Schubert’s Quartet in A minor, Rosamunde and Haydn’s String Quartet in G major Opus 77 No 1. Raphael’s quartet is described as a tempestuous piece full of anguish but with nuances of hope throughout. Written just after the end of the 2nd World War, it is a piece of its time.
