The Fidelio Quartet received a rapturous reception last year for the first two concerts in its three-year Beethoven Quartet Cycle. Concerts 3 and 4, to be performed in Melbourne this year, offer two more Op. 18 Quartets: the exhilarating Harp Quartet and the incomparable Op. 131 and 127 Quartets. As the Fidelio Quartet prepares for the third concert on April 30, cellist Rachel Atkinson explains how and why the project came into being, and why Colitis has played its part.

Fidelio QuartetThe Fidelio Quartet. Photograph © James Lauritz

Often I am asked, “why does your quartet only play Beethoven?” The truth is, during our careers, we have spent decades performing hundreds of concerts that others have programmed and now we want to play the music that we love the most. That music is the sixteen Quartets of Beethoven that make up the Beethoven Quartet Cycle.

Violinists Isin Cakmakcioglu, Robert (Bobby) Macindoe and I have worked for over 20 years in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Violist Lisa Grosman returned from Ireland a few years ago where she had worked with the Irish Chamber Orchestra for over 15 years. We formed the Fidelio Quartet to perform...