Upcoming Tour

I promised I would be in touch again before the first tour of the year and so here it is. I must apologise for making this a short note as we are deep in rehearsals at the moment and are also busily preparing for the first of the lunchtime concerts at City Recital Hall tomorrow afternoon. Apparently this concert is sold out so we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone so soon.

I have to say that rehearsals have been fascinating as has my research leading up to the concerts. The relationship between these three masterful composers, and their relationship to the genre of chamber music is inspiring. We have discovered much about the youthful genius of Mendelssohn who, only two years after he wrote the piano quartet we will perform, was to write one of the true masterpieces in the entire chamber repertoire - the Octet. The development of his genius is staggering! The Brahms A major Quartet is the work we will perform for the lunch time concert tomorrow and it too is an amazing work. Here is Brahms in the midst of enormous personal struggle but every bit the mature master in full control of every note. The work that begins the program by Schumann is a charming idyll in the midst of these two larger works. It is amazing how very different all three works are, having been composed over a period of some forty years, one by a youthful master of only 14, and the other two by powerfully mature men around their 30th year. I hope you will be able to join us for this marvellous program.

Our concerts in Canberra and Bowral are sold out but there are still some tickets available for Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

PROGRAM
Schumann - Piano Trio in A minor, Op.88 'Fantasiestücke
Mendelssohn - Piano Quartet No. 2 in F minor, Op.2
Brahms - Piano Quartet No.2 in A major, Op.26

DATES
Saturday 16 February - Recital Room at Oxley College, Bowral - 5:30pm
Monday 18 February - Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery, Canberra - 7:30pm
Tuesday 19 Feburary - City Recital Hall Angel Place, Sydney - 7pm
Wednesday 20 February - Melba Hall, University of Melbourne - 8pm
Sunday 24 February - Elder Hall, University of Adelaide - 2:30pm

Tickets are available to all concerts. You can contact us on 02 9969 7039 or email info@selbyandfriends.com.au.

City Recital Hall is also selling Sydney tickets on 8256 2222 or through their comprehensive website http://www.cityrecitalhall.com/events/id/205/Selby-and-Friends-2008-Recital-Hall-Concert-Series.

In Adelaide, tickets may also be purchased through BASS.

Gifts

I had planned to give away a couple of tickets to each of our tour concerts around the country but will give 2 tickets each for Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide this time. Thanks go to our Canberra and Bowral supporters for making this possible!

If you live in either of the three capital cities mentioned above, please email me back with the answer to this not so easy question and I will pick the winners at random.

Who wrote an article entitled "New Pathways" which proclaimed Johannes Brahms as a fully formed musical master who could "utter the highest ideal expression of his time" and thus lead the way to the future? (Hint: the writer could be one of the composers in the upcoming tour!)

Good luck and speak to you again soon.

Warm regards

Kathy