City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney
May 4, 2015

Lest we forget, the Goldner String Quartet is one of the ornaments of the Australian classical music scene. In a climate that seemingly throws up a new latest hot young chamber ensemble every week (and don’t get me wrong – some of them are excellent), we occasionally need reminding of what 20 years of playing together can do for a group of musicians. The Goldners are celebrating that particular milestone this year and their anniversary tour for Musica Viva shows those qualities to perfection – ensemble, communication, intonation and, the rarest of them all, apparent musical effortlessness. One suspects being two couples counts for something when it comes to the above, but that shouldn’t overshadow the sheer musicianship of the group. This programme highlights each of the Goldners’ various strengths in turn. Ligeti for technique and dramatic boldness, Paul Stanhope for commitment to new music, Beethoven for discipline and pure “innigkeit”.

Ligeti’s First String Quartet owes more of a debt to Bartók than you might imagine – in some of its aggressive stamping sections it’s like The Miraculous Mandarin on ice (the recreational drug, not the latest conceptual ballet for the festive...