Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

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The Australian Music Centre's catalogue does not include any recordings or sheet music of this work. This entry is for information purposes only.

It is listed in our catalogue because an event featuring a performance of this work was included in our calendar of Australian music. Details of this performance are listed below.

Work Overview

This work was created as a concert companion to Schubert's masterful quintet with the same instrumentation. It is a mystery why the two-cello quintet has yielded so few successful models compared to its two-viola sibling - they seem to me equally balanced and appealing.

This work is 'pure' music that relies upon no external narrative, poetry or imagery, so each listener may imagine their own setting for the internal drama as it unfolds. It is cast in one continuous movement of four sections. The first of these moves at a fair pace, exploring different pairings of the instruments. It is in a traditional ternary form (A-B-A) with a slower middle section that introduces new instrumental textures to be explored later.

The second section is a vintage slow movement, followed by what Classical composers would call a Minuet - a faster movement with lighter contrasting material, though mostly in 7 rather than the usual 3 beats per bar. The last section is a Presto Finale, marked by a slower contrasting pool at its centre, and a reckless accelerando to the final bar.

String Quintet was commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Julian Burnside AO QC, to be performed by the Jerusalem String Quartet and Zvi Plesser in the Musica Viva National Concert Series. It was first performed by these musicians at the Perth Concert Hall, Western Australia, on the 5th November 2009.

Work Details

Year: 2009

Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos.

Duration: 21 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Dedication note: Dedicated to Julian Burnside. Dedicated to Julian Burnside

Commission note: Commissioned by Julian Burnside for performance by Musica Viva Australia.. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Julian Burnside AO QC

First performance: by Jerusalem Quartet, Zvi Plesser at Jerusalem Quartet (Perth Concert Hall) on 5 Nov 2009

Analysis

Resonate article: Jerusalem Quartet and Zvi Plesser by Mark Viggiani