Music / Australian String Quartet. At Gandel Hall, NGA, November 20. Reviewed by GRAHAM McDONALD.

THE Adelaide-based Australian String Quartet has long championed new Australian music which pushes the boundaries of contemporary art music.

Combined with an ongoing passion for Beethoven’s string quartets, this has led to some interesting concerts over the years. For this concert they contrasted a new work from young Australian composer Jack Symonds with one of Beethoven’s last quartets, that in C sharp minor, Op.131, written the year before his death in 1827.

The ASQ play a quartet of late 18^th century instruments by Italian maker Giovanni Batista Guadagnini, on loan from UKARIA, a philanthropic organisation that has raised the funds to buy the four instruments with the intention of having them played by an outstanding Australian quartet.

This current tour has showcased the premier performances of Symonds’ String Quartet No.2, commissioned by the ASQ. It is a complex work, full of dissonance and jerky rhythms, and to these ears not enjoyable at all. Music, surely, should primarily be an enjoyable experience. Why else would you listen?

In contrast, the ensemble’s performance of the Beethoven quartet was exquisite. It is 40-minutes long, in seven movements and played with barely a pause between the movements so it flows together into a river of ever shifting sound. The balance between the instruments was delightful.

It should be noted that while the concert ran for two hours, there was only one hour of music. At least half an hour was taken in the musicians (and composer) talking about both works. While a return to the old days of classical musicians walking on to the stage, playing and leaving without a word spoken is certainly not desirable, too much talking can be almost as distracting. The music should be able to speak for itself.