The Goldner String Quartet is made up of two married couples. Does that make it easier or harder to work together?
We get asked this question more than any other. It is just the same as any other profession where married couples have to work together. It either works or it doesn’t. In our case, it has worked. The challenge in a string quartet is that you often have to be critical of each other and must find a way to do so without destroying marital harmony. It is also a situation where it’s not possible to switch off from the job at 5pm.
What can you tell us about the history of the group?
We formed the quartet in 1995 after playing together in the Australia Ensemble and successfully performing some difficult quartet repertoire. Ken Tribe was most encouraging that we form a quartet to specialise in this repertoire and we wanted to honour Richard Goldner, a remarkable musician, pedagogue, violist, inventor and mentor to all of us. He founded Musica Viva in 1945 and left Australia a remarkable musical legacy.
How are the works you’ve chosen for your latest tour personally relevant to you?
Beethoven’s quartet Op. 132 is simply, in our opinion, the most remarkable quartet ever written. It touches each of us in a very personal way because of the hardship and struggle that Beethoven was enduring at the time of composition, and we all can relate to that for different reasons. György Ligeti was one of the most remarkable musical minds of the 20th century and we are all invigorated by his skill as a composer and amazing thought process. Paul Stanhope is one of the most important younger composers active in Australia today and we are delighted to champion his excellent new quartet, written especially for us, which contains a haunting lament based on an Aboriginal theme.
How strong is the chamber music scene in Australia these days?
It is now the strongest it has ever been. There are so many more opportunities for young players. There are scholarships, mentoring programs, better and more venues in which to play and a proliferation of young ensembles anxious to make it on the stage. It helps to have events like the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and to have organisations such as Musica Viva, who provide tremendous stimulus to musicians contemplating a career in chamber music and who provide real support to that end.
Goldner String Quartet will be playing at the City Recital Hall on Monday 4 May and Sunday 10 May. They will also be appearing at the Harold Lobb Concert Hall in Newcastle on Thursday 30 April.
