Flinders Quartet at Montsalvat – Musical Portraits

Shostakovich’s incredibly powerful String Quartet No. 8 was officially dedicated ‘to the memory of the victims of fascism and war’ but there is much to suggest that Shostakovich meant it as a musical self portrait. Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life” is a different type of musical portrait, taking us on a vivid, programmatic journey through young love, and the devastation of tinnitus. In discussing these works, we began to be curious about how a composer would capture the essence of Flinders Quartet and have commissioned Tasmanian composer Maria Grenfell to paint us in sound. It will be illuminating for us to perform our very own musical portrait for audiences and look into the musical mirror to see ourselves in music. Program: DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 MARIA GRENFELL New Work* BEDŘICH SMETANA String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, "From My Life" * Commissioned by Flinders Quartet (60 minute duration, no interval)