The Sydney Symphony Orchestra with the Australian String Quartet
A mesmerising evolution of sound
In a unique presentation, the superb Australian String Quartet will join the Sydney Symphony to perform the mesmerising Absolute Jest by American composer John Adams, a work that takes small fragments of Beethoven’s music and develops them into something new, and newly inspiring.
Duration
The concert will end at approximately 3:30pm (Thursday) and 9pm (Friday & Saturday).
Latecomers might be admitted during a suitable break in the performance and will be guided to first available seats.
Pre-Concert
Join us for the pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performance in the Northern Foyer, by Paige Gullifer.
CONCERT GUIDE
Behind every great piece is a great story. Have a read through the concert guide to get all the details.
There is a separate concert guide for the matinee performance. Please download the concert guide for the performance you are attending.
Adams’ music is rhythmic, minimalist and utterly compelling. Focusing on small musical fragments that repeat and evolve, the work unfolds into a rich and deep experience.
Brilliantly incorporating amplified string quartet and orchestra, the intimate interplay of the quartet unfurls into a vast soundworld of a symphony orchestra.
Ravel and Schoenberg were both genius orchestrators, utilising every tone of every instrument to realise their respective visions. Ravel’s tribute to French Baroque composer François Couperin takes a suite of courtly dances and transforms them into evocative, cinematic gems that are unmistakably Ravel’s own.
Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’ First Piano Quartet is a gorgeous example of a huge contemporary imagination building on an historic work. Schoenberg’s ability to draw colour from an orchestra may, in this triumphant reimagining, even match that of Brahms himself.
Program
RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin
John ADAMS Absolute Jest
BRAHMS orch. Schoenberg Piano Quartet No.1
Artists
ANJA BIHLMAIER conductor
AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET
DALE BARLTROP violin
FRANCESCA HIEW violin
CHRISTOPHER CARTLIDGE viola
MICHAEL DAHLENBURG cello
Photo credit: Agatha Yim/Polyphonic Pictures
Series Presenting Partners
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