Event description ‘The young ensemble thus sets in motion a perfectly coordinated machine that takes the listeners between their wheels and releases them breathlessly.’ – Affinity Quartet review ‘Rollercoaster Ride on 16 Strings’, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany Award-winning ensemble Affinity Quartet showcases the virtuosity and synergy that made history when they won all three top prizes at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition with a ‘highly committed and suavely flexible account’ of Schubert’s String Quartet ‘Death and the Maiden’. (The Age) One of the most internationally acclaimed string quartets of their generation, this will be Affinity Quartet′s first performance at Qdos Fine Arts, the Great Ocean Road′s premier art venue and sculpture park. Affinity Quartet pairs Schubert′s poetic and monumental ′Death and the Maiden′ with Beethoven′s Second String Quartet in G Major. It was Beethoven’s idiosyncratic musical development and emotional depth and range in the form that would inspire Schubert to compose his own string quartets. Alongside these pivotal works, Affinity Quartet premières Australian composer, Alice Chance′s new work for Affinity Quartet, commissioned by Musica Viva Australia to be performed at their Sydney Morning Masters Series and the Melbourne Recital Centre. Reflecting on Schubert’s rich fantasy and metaphors of love and destruction in Death and the Maiden, Chance draws on Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy’s 17th century fairy tale l’Oiseau bleu with and Rossini′s The Thieving Magpie to explore how objects gifted to loved ones can communicate significance across time and realms. Website http://alicechance.com Following the performance, stay for a short Q&A with the artists. 4-6pm Saturday November 16 2024 Doors and Gallery Bar open 30 minutes prior to performance All tickets $50, reservations recommended DEATH & THE MAIDEN Alice CHANCE, New String Quartet (October 2024 première) BEETHOVEN String Quartet opus 18 no.2 in G Major Interval SCHUBERT String Quartet no.14 ‘Death and the Maiden’ in D minor Affinity Quartet artists Seonhye Song, violin Nicholas Waters, violin Meagan Turner, viola Mee Na Lojewski, cello Affinity Quartet image by Kristoffer Paulsen affinityquartet.com.au