Musicians of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO), led by violinist and guest director Alexandra Osborne, are presenting string quartet concerts in Merimbula and Mallacoota this month.
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A recipient of prestigious international awards, and with vast experience as a chamber musician, Alexandra will bring unique insight and energy to this series of performances, while making her MCO debut.
Alexandra has recently returned to Australia after spending over a decade as violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC and said touring regionally empowered the musicians to share their music with a much broader audience.
"It is always exciting to play to new audiences and it's very special to perform in local environments," Alexandra said.
"It's a gift for us to bring our music into these communities to promote cultural exchange, community healing and the joy of what live music provides," Alexandra said.
'Quartet Heritage' is an apt title for the concert program, which compares the work of two masters of the string quartet genre - Josef Haydn, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Haydn wrote approximately eighty different quartets throughout his career, thereby establishing the genre and inspiring countless other composers to continue in the same vein.
His first Opus 71 quartet brings us effortless charm and musical mischief and showcases a composer at the peak of his compositional prowess.
Beethoven's first-numbered quartet demonstrates an incredible mastery of the musical language of Haydn and Mozart but showcases an emotional depth and range of colours that would have shocked his contemporaries.
Beethoven's personality is on full display in this work that instantly announces his right to a place in the Pantheon of string quartet composers.
These performances also feature Swiss-French composer Frank Martin's Larghetto, a dark and yearning example of string quartet writing from the mid-20th century.
The Merimbula concert will be held at Twyford Hall on Friday, March 25 at 7.30pm and the Mallacoota concert will be held at Mallacoota Golf and Country Club on Saturday March 26 at 2.30pm.
Ticket pricing: MCO supporter - $50, standard - $30, concession (pensioner/carer) - $20, student - $10.
Bookings: https://mco.org.au/event/quartet-heritage/ or by calling (03) 9119 1599. Door sales (accepting EFTPOS or exact cash) are subject to seating availability.
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Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
