Music / Alma Moodie Quartet. At Wesley Music Centre, Barton, October 30. Reviewed by SARAH BYRNE.

Minor rant alert: I wish music programmers in Canberra would get their collective act together. Some weeks are deserts – in others, like this, we have at least 12 concerts vying for the same audience.

On Friday alone, lovers of classical piano will have to choose between two international stars, meaning neither will have the audience he deserves. Last night, the Wesley Music Centre should have been stuffed to the gills with listeners for the outstanding Alma Moodie Quartet; but at least I was among the lucky few.

Named for brilliant Queensland-born violinist Alma Moodie, celebrated in Europe in the first half of the last century, this quartet has only been around for a few years but has fast established a reputation for its exciting repertoire and fresh approach. Kristian Winther and Anna Da Silva Chen swap between first and second violin, and Thomas Marlin plays cello. The group has cycled through a couple of violas, but current guest stand-in, James Wannan, looks as if he may be here to stay.

Tonight’s menu served up Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor (K421), Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor Op 10, and Schubert’s String Quartet in D major D887 – acknowledged by Winther as “possibly our most conservative program ever” – but not remotely conservative in the delivery.

This quartet is almost as much fun to watch as it is to listen to. Winther, in particular, might have inspired Shakespeare’s “There is no art to read the mind’s construction in the face”. There’s nothing performative about the performance, however – just the obvious investment and delight of each player in the music and the collaboration. Wannan, as the newbie, gave a masterclass in watchfulness, and fit in as if he’d always been there.

The Mozart was a pleasure, the allegro deft and dramatic, followed by an andante that seems civilised and controlled until a burst of passion and a Mexican wave of phrase that cascades around the instruments until resolution. The menuetto and allegro was impassioned, then flirtatious, and the allegretto showed a depth and delicacy that had the audience spellbound, the movement tied off with tripping little cadences from the first violin. There is a lot crammed into this piece, and it was a pleasure to see the expressions on the quartet’s faces at the end. They nailed it, and they knew it.

The Debussy was just as strong – the first popular string quartet of the era that was not German or Russian – and, we are told, a favourite of Schoenberg’s, for which I will forgive it. The quartet dived in with a physical flourish and an audible intake of breath and delivered terrific dynamics with tremendous skill and generosity.The Andantino Doucement Expressif movement in particular lived up to its name, the rolling cello careful and tender, and the final movement rich and nuanced and at times a little bit Gothic.

The second half of the program was devoted to the Schubert – according to Winther his last, longest, and most challenging quartet. The interpretation highlighted the genius of the Alma Moodie Quartet – it’s the same notes as ever, but their approach is so fresh and new and impassioned that it almost feels like a different piece. Chen’s first violin absolutely shone with determination, grace, and a delicacy that was never fragile. The picaresque final movement, the Allegro Assai, was delivered at fever pitch, con brio, con gusto, and with an almost superhumaynchronicity and control.

These charismatic performers are bringing something innovative and exceptional to otherwise familiar pieces. If you have a chance to catch them, do not let it pass by unrealised.