On the eve of its Aurora national tour, the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) has announced its 2025 national tours – Rapture and Convergence – alongside two intimate bespoke festivals – the ASQ’s Dunkeld Festival of Music and Margaret River Weekend of Music.
Beginning with Rapture, the ASQ’s first national tour for 2025 explores the full expressive range of the Quartet through works by Beethoven, Perica, Janáček and Golijov in May. Beethoven’s Serioso quartet sets the tone, bursting forth with unrivalled energy and intensity before Janáček’s Intimate Letters then transports audiences to the passions of unrequited love and Golijov’s tender Tenebrae for String Quartet reminds us of the wonder and fragility of human existence.
“Our 2025 national touring and festival programs are a celebration of life and the power that music brings to it,” says ASQ violinist Dale Barltrop. “A major artistic highlight of next year will be the World Premiere of a new quartet by one of Australia’s most exciting and celebrated jazz composers, Vanessa Perica. We are huge fans of Vanessa’s work and her latest creation, No Feeling is Final, will be a thrilling opportunity to showcase her phenomenal talent and explore a fresh new world of musical possibility.”
Commissioned by the ASQ through its Australian Music Fund, Perica’s work is an autobiographical exploration of a tumultuous period in the composer’s life.
“Being commissioned to write this piece for such an extraordinary ensemble of musicians gave me the glorious opportunity to stretch my creative boundaries,” says Perica. “Although it came at a time of huge uncertainty, this period gave me so much to write about. This work is emotionally charged. The first three movements explore moments of heavy darkness intertwined with beauty, hope and joy. The fourth movement erupts in an exciting finale, showcasing the virtuosic talents of the ASQ.”
Convergence will conclude next year’s national touring in November with an imaginative program that brings the stunning voices of three legendary composers – Mozart, Ligeti and Schubert – into focus. From the lyrical melodies of Mozart’s Prussian Quartet in D major to Ligeti’s ground-breaking String Quartet No.2, the emotional peak of Convergence is reached with Schubert’s enduringly popular fourteenth quartet – Death and the Maiden.
“Being commissioned by these phenomenal musicians has been a great honour and a significant milestone in my career. I cannot wait for them to bring this labour of love to life, and to share it with audiences across the country.” – Vanessa Perica
2025 will feature the Quartet’s flagship bespoke festival – the Dunkeld Festival of Music – hosted in Victoria’s Southern Grampians in late March and early April. The Quartet will perform with outstanding guest artists, pianist Aura Go and soprano Sara Macliver, in a program of works for voice, piano and string quartet. Macliver also joins the ASQ as the guest artist for their ever-popular Margaret River Weekend of Music which returns to Western Australia’s most well known wine region in November.
ASQ Chief Executive Angelina Zucco says: “As Australia’s pre-eminent organisation dedicated to string quartet music, we are so proud of our commitment to presenting our own national tours to engage with communities around Australia. In 2025 we want to share thes breathtaking performances with more people. To help realise this we are excited to announce a new ticket offering for anyone born from 1985 onwards. As we celebrate 40 years of groundbreaking musicmaking, these tours and our bespoke festivals mark the first of our ambitious plans for the year ahead.”
Tickets for the ASQ’s 2025 season are on sale from Monday, 14 October 2024 at 11am.
Catch the ASQ on their Aurora national tour between Mon 21 October – Fri 22 November 2024.
For more information and bookings please visit asq.com.au or phone the Australian String Quartet on 1800 040 444 during business hours. You may also email asq@asq.com.au at any time.
