The Sydney-based Australia Piano Quartet has been working since 2011 towards establishing itself as one of the city’s premier chamber groups and, based on tonight’s sell-out performance, things are on track. First on the program was Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A Minor – the single opening movement of a work left incomplete by the composer. Violist James Wannan seemed to barely glance at the page as he constantly sought out eye-contact with his colleagues. He and violinist Rebecca Chan share a great musical rapport, but stand-in cellist Michael Dahlenburg was quick to find his place alongside them. This was a masterclass in non-verbal communication.

The second work was a newly commissioned piece by local composer Jack Symonds. It is worth noting that the Australia Piano Quartet only played four minutes of Australian music in a program that lasted well over an hour. Those four minutes were also all that was afforded music-makers of the past century, but Symonds’ explorative writing allowed the ensemble to demonstrate that they are certainly capable of handling the kind of techniques modern music often demands. We were only treated to the first movement of Responsories and as it started to gain momentum it...