Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Flinders Quartet (FQ) wraps up its stellar 2024 season with THE MENDELSSOHNS, a concert of words and letters from the Mendelssohns woven together by the music of Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Bryony Marks; with dramaturgy by Richard Piper. Fanny’s son, Sebastian Hensel, published a collection of family correspondence together with other writings from Fanny. This special performance explores the intense, complex and loving relationship between these siblings and the very different careers afforded them due to their genders. “Ever since we performed Fanny Mendelssohn’s string quartet in 2021 and learned of her letters to her brother, Felix, we knew there was the nucleus of an idea that could help illuminate Felix and Fanny’s world for us today.” Zoe Knighton, Cello Taking inspiration from Felix’s very successful and much loved incidental music for the play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Bryony Marks has been commissioned to write her own incidental music linking together the dramatic and musical elements of this performance. Her work is the perfect conduit for connecting these characters and the music that defines them. Dramaturge/director Richard Piper has collaborated with Flinders Quartet on a number of previous projects including “Puck’s Dream (after Midsummer)”, the Shostakovich cycle and "Bartok, My Father.” His innate musicianship and theatrical sensitivity always takes us on insightful adventures. This time, he directs the four musicians of the quartet in their discovery of the letters between Fanny and Felix, complete with some writings of his own.

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by email to admin@flindersquartet.com

Featured artists

• Presented by Flinders Quartet
• New work by Bryony Marks