Flinders Quartet: The Magic Of Paul Dean

The Flinders Quartet joins forces with partners with composer and clarinettist Paul Dean to close their 2014 concert calendar.

This October concert premieres a new work by Paul Dean, one of Australia’s finest contemporary composers and performers. Dean has dedicated the new work, Moments of Transformation, to Phillip and Patricia Pollett in memory of their son Richard — a talented young violinist tragically killed while riding his bicycle in 2011. 

Dean describes Moments of Transformation as a ‘series of abstract emotions’ that he felt as both a friend of the Pollett family and also as a parent himself. “Richard was a very talented young performer and his mother, Patricia Pollett, is also a well-­‐ known and deeply respected member of the Australian musical community. I knew Richard and his family well and, while this work is not programmatic, the violin is the central voice and is clearly an homage to Richard.”

Moments of Transformation is one of three musical tributes which have been dedicated to Richard Pollett. In 2012, Andrew Ford wrote Cradle Song the second movement from his String Quartet No 3 in memory of the young musician, as did Elena Kats-Chernin with For Richard. “He was a very talented and charming young man and his tragic and untimely death – the loss that every parent dreads — was felt by all of us,” said Dean.

Also on the programme, the Flinders Quartet, comprising violinists Helen Ayres and Shane Chen with violist Helen Ireland and cellist Zoe Knighton, will perform Brahms’ superb and timeless Clarinet Quintet and the exuberant cameo, Italian Serenade by Hugo Wolf (1860 ­‐1903).

Tickets: Standard $55 / Concession $50

Bookings: Sydney Opera House Bookings: (02) 9250 7777 / sydneyoperahouse.com