You’ve performed at the Dunkeld Festival before with the Australian String Quartet. For you, what are the pleasures of these kinds of festival?

I did the Dunkeld Festival twice before. It is lovely to go back. At the Dunkeld Festival everything is so compact. And the intimacy with the audience is great, and there is so much opportunity to meet the audience. The programming is usually really interesting and well thought of. It’s like festivals should be – it’s a festive occasion and it lasts for days!

And in Margaret River, of course, there is the wine dimension and the glamour of the environment, the locations. It’s quite spectacular.

Cellist Pieter Wispelwey joins the Australian String QuartetCellist Pieter Wispelwey. Photo © Simon Shiff

You will be performing the world premiere of a new string quintet by Gordon Kerry. Were you familiar with his work before preparing for the festival?

No, this will be very exciting for me. Every time you start working on a new piece it’s a very uplifting experience. You just need to invest all your creativity and imagination, because that’s what composers do, you have to match that. I mean, they are...