The Goldner String Quartet at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

The Goldner Quartet is an ensemble of which Sydney can be rightly proud. Established in 1995, the founding members, violinists Dene Olding and  Dimity Hall, viola player Irina Morozova and cellist Julian Smiles, continue to perform together and have gained recognition as an ensemble of excellence both at home and abroad.

In addition to their busy combined and individual careers, in 2013, the Goldner String Quartet will present two concerts in association with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the first of which is in late May in which they will perform a luscious collection of string quartets by Szymanowski, Shostakovich and Dvorak.

In 2011, the Goldner String Quartet performed in their second City of London Festival. Here’s what critic Andrew Clements in The Guardian said:

“It’s always thrilling to discover that performers you have admired on disc seem even more impressive when you eventually get to hear them live. The recordings by the Sydney-based Goldner Quartet of works by Peter Sculthorpe and most recently by Elgar had suggested that this was a group of the highest international class; their playing in the second of two City of London festival appearances, in which not a note was out of place or out of tune and not a gesture misjudged, confirmed that completely.”

This month, the Goldner String Quartet returns to the UK to perform in Portsmouth followed by week of performances in Oxford as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Oxford May Music Festival. Portsmouth and Sydney share a history.  In 1787, Arthur Phillip led what was to become known as the First Fleet from Portsmouth’s harbour. The following year the boats entered Port Jackson and the European settlement of Sydney began.  In 1984, Sydney and Portsmouth signed a Sister City agreement. The quartet will commemorate this in a performance of music celebrating the links between the two cities.

Pedagogy is as important as performance in the passing on of skill and the Goldner String Quartet will also participate in the Conservatorium’s teaching programme. The recent appointment of Julian Smiles as Lecturer in Cello at the Sydney Conservatorium underscores the commitment of the Goldner String Quartet to teaching the next generation of musicians. The Goldner musicians have already been involved in programmes run by Music Viva, ANAM and the AYO in mentoring emerging chamber musicians.

The Programme:

Szymanowski: String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 37

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83

Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 ‘American’

Tickets: $33/$44/$55 Additional fees may apply

Booking information: 02 8256 2222 or 1300 797 118  or on line at www.cityrecitalhall.com