HEAVEN & EARTH 3 with Castlemaine Chamber Players

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HEAVEN & EARTH 3

Castlemaine Chamber Players
Violins, Sasha Bronshtein, Heather Cummins
Viola, Frances Gall
Cello, Elisabeth Anderson

Mozart – String quartet in C (Dissonance), KV465, 1st and 2nd movements
Beethoven – String quartet in C, Opus 59, No.3 (Rasumovsky Quartet No.3)
Florence Price - String quartet in G (1929), 1st movement
Braguinha & Pixinguinha - Carinhoso, arranged by Wendy Rowlands

This year the Chamber Players finish their cycle of the three Beethoven's Rasumovsky string quartets, composed in 1805-6 in Vienna for Count Rasumovsky, the Russian ambassador. In these middle-period quartets Beethoven pushed the string quartet form to new heights. Like Mozart's Dissonance quartet, the first movement has a short introduction with surprising harmonies and weighty silences, followed by a lively Allegro vivace in C major which lightens the mood. The Andante con moto is one of Beethoven's most divine slow movements, the descending augmented 2nd suggesting a Russian melody. Menuetto and Allegro molto round off the quartet; the Allegro molto theme introduced by the viola is developed into several fugal episodes, finishing with a tempestuous race to the end.

Possibly Beethoven knew of Mozart's Quartet in C, nicknamed the Dissonance quartet, which also has a short dissonant introduction followed by a lively Allegro in C. Mozart's dissonant introduction is even more surprising than Beethoven's and it so displeased later music theorists that they rewrote it with corrections; perhaps Mozart was not so much of a god then as he is today!

In 1933 Florence Price was the first female African-American composer to have her work performed by a major American symphony orchestra, the Chicago Symphony. Many of her compositions, such as this string quartet, were lost until 2009, when they were found in her abandoned summer house. This string quartet in G from 1929 was only published in 2015 and this may be its first performance in Australia.

Castlemaine Chamber Players loves to play Brazilian music and this program includes 'Carinhoso' by composers Braguinha & Pixinguinha, arranged here especially for the group by well-known local composer, arranger and conductor, Wendy Rowlands.

"Their concept of sound is glorious", Zoe Knighton, Flinders Quartet

Castlemaine Chamber Players was formed in 2014 and performs a wide range of string quartet music featuring iconic classical composers such as Shostakovich and Beethoven. In their April 2023 concert ‘Bringing Female Composers to the Fore’, they brought new music to regional audiences by Rebecca Clarke, British-American early 20th-century composer, and Andrea Keeble, contemporary Melbourne composer. Previous concerts with guest performers Fintan Murphy, Sam Goble and Emma Wade have included Mozart’s quintets and Brahms’ string sextets. They like to perform contemporary Australian compositions and have commissioned music by Castlemaine composer Wendy Rowlands.

Castlemaine Chamber Players frequently attend the Mt Buller Chamber Music Summer School held in the summer in Mt Buller, Victoria. Here, they immerse themselves in chamber music, learn from guest tutors of renown and enjoy sharing with like-minded musicians.