Avi Avital & Giocoso String Quartet

ARTISTS:
Avi Avital – mandolin

Giocoso String Quartet
Sebastian Casleanu – violin
Teofil Todica – violin
Martha Windhagauer – viola
Bas Jongen – cello

PROGRAM:

SCHUMANN String Quartet no 1 in A minor, op 41 no 1
Elena KATS-CHERNIN [New work]*
JS BACH Chaconne from Partita in D minor for violin, BWV1004
BRUCE Cymbeline for mandolin and string quartet

*Commissioned by Musica Viva by Kim Williams AM

A solo superstar, an award-winning quartet, and music for the heart and the mind. Avi Avital is a ground-breaking virtuoso of the mandolin. Able to move easily between foot-stomping folk dances and filigree Baroque concertos, his performances challenge people’s perceptions of his instrument and are celebrated for an all-embracing stage presence. Here, these bright yet intimate sounds are a perfect foil for the warm strings of the Giocoso Quartet. As winners of the Musica Viva and Audience prizes at the 2015 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, their zesty, characterful playing has helped them steadily build a reputation through Europe and Asia.

Together, this unusual combination demands fascinating repertoire. This includes two works written for Avi: David Bruce’s tribute to the Celtic sun god, Cymbeline, and Elena Kats-Chernin’s new piece, sparkling with her trademark theatricality along with Bach and Schumann.