The Australia Piano Quartet continues to do a great service to classical music by combining exceptional musicianship with interesting programming. There is a consistent theme amongst classical music followers worldwide, which can be loosely stated thus: how do we incorporate music of contemporary composers into mainstream programmes? If one is looking for the answer, they need look no further than the APQ’s concerts. The APQ has commissioned half a dozen new works this year, but by bookending these new works with mainstays of the Western canon, they produce provocative but successful concerts. Here, a newly commissioned work by Australian composer Elliott Gyger was sandwiched between the twin pillars of Bach and Brahms.

The first piece featured excerpts from an arrangement by Dmitry Sitkovetsky for String Trio of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV988. One of the themes of the APQ’s concerts this year has been architecture, since the ensemble has taken up residence at UTS where Frank Gehry has designed a new building. Indeed, earlier in the year, the group performed a work by Jack Symonds called Responsorium which aimed to capture the actual construction process. As far as musical architecture goes, no composer...