2019 MUSICA VIVA FESTIVAL -
CONCERT 4: ESSENCE

The Musica Viva Festival’s fourth concert, named Essence — and rightly so — was like a four-course degustation with two packed mains. It was an evening bursting with colours and playful sensations and by the end, left the mouth hanging open for more.

As if prophesying the density of the night ahead the two ladies behind me exclaimed at the start “I love Julian’s socks!” Indeed, Julian Smiles, the cellist of the Goldner String Quartet was clad in black, with coloured, vertically striped socks. And so the entrée: a one bite taster packed with an array of colours, textures and richness, yet all the while retaining the light-heartedness of a Mozart work. The Flute Quartet in D Major was a perfect precursor to the rest of the night, and an excellent synthesis of wind and strings between Adam Walker and the Goldner String Quartet. All three movements saw the flute soar above the quartet with runs that utilised the full length of its register whilst the quartet provided a warmly balanced accompaniment throughout, which was particularly well rounded in the lower registers. A homogenous pleasantry was created both literally and musically. There were minuscule moments where scalic runs in the flute were not so cleanly tapered off, however, that detail did not detract from a delightful opening.

A mathematically structured and a mathematically executed performance, it was a great sequence as it did a 180 turn around to the second main dish of the night – Matthew Hindson’s String Quartet No 2, Starburst.

Hindson himself provided a brief background of his creation, where he revealed the nickname “Starburst” which was sadly absent from the program. He described his work as “scientists discussing ideas and postulating what forms the universe” and “the thrill of discovery.” With that explanation, Smiles’s choice of socks was made clear as the Goldner String Quartet returned to the stage once again. The work began with the sound of a meteorite falling, rapid glissandos and descending runs, straight away setting the space atmosphere. Throughout its four movements it explored tonally but in a more technical manner, the stereotypical space sounds found predominantly in television and films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey or Star Trek. Melodies were passed from viola through to cello and then the two violins. There were also mixes of harmonics and extended techniques some which seemed improvisatory in nature. And the Goldner String Quartet answered all of these with the poise of a veteran quartet.

Shirley Zhu, Limelight Magazine