Orava Quartet
Mad Piper
The Empire Theatres
54-56 Neil St
Jun 24, 2022
7:00 PM GMT+10
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About this concert
PROGRAM
Manuel DE FALLA Danza del Molinero (the Miller’s Dance) from Three-Cornered Hat
Pavel FISCHER String Quartet No.3 “Mad Piper” (2011)
I. Mad Piper
II. Carpathian
III. Sad Piper
IV. Ursari
Anton DVORAK String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 77, B. 49 with Marian Heckenberg
I. Allegro con fuoco
II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
III. Poco andante
IV. Finale. Allegro assai
FEATURING
Orava Quartet
Daniel Kowalik, violin
David Dalseno, violin
Karol Kowalik, cello
Thomas Chawner, viola
Marian Heckenberg, double bass
Proudly ‘Quartet-in-Residence’ since 2014 with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Orava Quartet perform a fiery program that will ignite the love of folk music in each of us. From Spanish dances to ‘mad’ Scottish pipe renditions and Slavic rhythms, the string quartet becomes a shape-shifter, changing between art-music sensibilities and those of ancient storytellers.
Manuel De Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat” is a ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine, commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev. With its premiere in 1919, it still burns with brilliance and intensity. The Miller’s Dance portrays both bull and bullfighter in a fury of athleticism, and into a Flamenco farruca, a ferociously intense dance. The music is passionate and full of lush Spanish harmonies and rhythms.
Pavel Fischer’s ‘Mad Piper’ quartet, composed in 2011, takes its inspiration from pipers of Scotland and continental Europe, namely the brave Piper Bill who played the bagpipes whilst under fire during the D-Day landing in Normandy. The quartet draws on Scottish, Czech, Bulgarian and Romanian folk music, blending traditional and western art music, and brimming with legends and wild energy.
Dvorak’s quintet features an unusual addition of the double bass, liberating the cello to a higher and more lyrical line, and giving a lush and full sound. Full of drive and drama, and a fresh rhythmic vitality evoking the vibrant folk dance music of his native land. Written in 1875 at 32 years old, and revised at 47, Dvo?ák’s maturing compositional technical skill is evident, with touches of fire, melancholy, lyricism and nobility on display. Orava is joined by Camerata’s double bassist, Marian Heckenberg, for this piece.
“The quartet is known for lively and passionate performances, and this was no exception … a thoroughly enjoyable concert.” The Creative Issue, July 2021 (live review, Brisbane Music Festival)
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What fans are saying
Glenn
November 6th 2023
Interesting venue. Could be more parking.
Concert was exceptional.
This is a fantastic quartet and I would travel for days to see them.
Pianist also brilliant
Total concert an absolute joy.
There should have been hundreds of people there!
Glenn
Bowen Hills, Australia@Old Museum Brisbane
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Orava Quartet Biography
The Orava Quartet, founded in 2007 by brothers Daniel Kowalik (violin) and Karol Kowalik (cello), Thomas Chawner (viola), and joined in 2011 by David Dalseno (violin), is one of the most exciting string quartets of its generation. Known for their passionate and engaging performances, they have been hailed by The Australian as, “the future of Australian Chamber Music, the real deal.”
Orava Quartet has been invited to perform in Canada, the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines, as well as for Queen Sofia of Spain and Pope Benedict XVI. As graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado (USA), they had the privilege of working closely with the world-renowned Takács Quartet from 2012-2014. During this time the Quartet were selected to be part of the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar in New York City, and toured extensively in the US including at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.. The Quartet also made their debut at the Sydney Opera House for VIVID Festival (in PLANETARIUM: Sufjan Stevans, Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly) and won two major awards at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, including the Musica Viva Australia Tony Berg Award for ‘Most Outstanding Australian Ensemble’.
Since returning to Australia, the Orava Quartet has continued its impressive and rapid rise to national attention, earning a reputation for consistently excellent and thrilling performances. Alongside performances for Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra, where they are Quartet-in-Residence, they have performed at major festivals which include return engagements at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and Huntington Estate Music Festival; the BBC Proms Melbourne (for which they were named one of the ‘2016 Arts Highlights of the Year’ by arts luminary, Robyn Archer); Queensland Music Festival, Melbourne Festival (where they were again one of the ‘Top 10 Picks’ of the Festival, in the Herald Sun), the Musica Viva Festival, Brisbane Baroque, and more.
2018 heralds the release of Orava Quartet’s debut album for Universal Music, for worldwide release on a major classical label in February, alongside performances for New Zealand Festival, Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Music Series, Melbourne Recital Centre, Canberra International Music Festival, Darwin Entertainment Centre and more.
In addition to the University of Colorado, and Camerata, the quartet has held residencies at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada, the Bundanon Trust in Australia, and studied with members of the Jerusalem, Emerson, St Lawrence, Schoenberg, Julliard, Brentano and Goldner String Quartets. Mentored during their undergraduate studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music by Uzi Wiesel, Janet Davies and Ole Böhn, the quartet regularly collaborate with musicians such as harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, trumpet soloist Paul Merkelo, the Goldner Quartet, pianists Piers Lane, Tamara-Anna Cislowska, Olga Kern; singers Katie Noonan, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and guitarists Slava Grigoryan and Karin Schaupp.
Orava Quartet is grateful for the support of private sponsors and the University of Colorado, the Australia Council for the Arts, Australian Music Foundation, Musica Viva, Ian Potter Cultural Trust Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, PPCA Performers’ Trust Foundation, Ernest Llewellyn Scholarship and Ars Musica. Daniel, David and Thomas play on instruments by contemporary American luthiers David Gusset and Ryan Soltis, and Karol on a French, 19th century cello.
Read MoreOrava Quartet has been invited to perform in Canada, the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines, as well as for Queen Sofia of Spain and Pope Benedict XVI. As graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado (USA), they had the privilege of working closely with the world-renowned Takács Quartet from 2012-2014. During this time the Quartet were selected to be part of the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar in New York City, and toured extensively in the US including at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.. The Quartet also made their debut at the Sydney Opera House for VIVID Festival (in PLANETARIUM: Sufjan Stevans, Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly) and won two major awards at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, including the Musica Viva Australia Tony Berg Award for ‘Most Outstanding Australian Ensemble’.
Since returning to Australia, the Orava Quartet has continued its impressive and rapid rise to national attention, earning a reputation for consistently excellent and thrilling performances. Alongside performances for Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra, where they are Quartet-in-Residence, they have performed at major festivals which include return engagements at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and Huntington Estate Music Festival; the BBC Proms Melbourne (for which they were named one of the ‘2016 Arts Highlights of the Year’ by arts luminary, Robyn Archer); Queensland Music Festival, Melbourne Festival (where they were again one of the ‘Top 10 Picks’ of the Festival, in the Herald Sun), the Musica Viva Festival, Brisbane Baroque, and more.
2018 heralds the release of Orava Quartet’s debut album for Universal Music, for worldwide release on a major classical label in February, alongside performances for New Zealand Festival, Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Music Series, Melbourne Recital Centre, Canberra International Music Festival, Darwin Entertainment Centre and more.
In addition to the University of Colorado, and Camerata, the quartet has held residencies at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada, the Bundanon Trust in Australia, and studied with members of the Jerusalem, Emerson, St Lawrence, Schoenberg, Julliard, Brentano and Goldner String Quartets. Mentored during their undergraduate studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music by Uzi Wiesel, Janet Davies and Ole Böhn, the quartet regularly collaborate with musicians such as harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, trumpet soloist Paul Merkelo, the Goldner Quartet, pianists Piers Lane, Tamara-Anna Cislowska, Olga Kern; singers Katie Noonan, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and guitarists Slava Grigoryan and Karin Schaupp.
Orava Quartet is grateful for the support of private sponsors and the University of Colorado, the Australia Council for the Arts, Australian Music Foundation, Musica Viva, Ian Potter Cultural Trust Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, PPCA Performers’ Trust Foundation, Ernest Llewellyn Scholarship and Ars Musica. Daniel, David and Thomas play on instruments by contemporary American luthiers David Gusset and Ryan Soltis, and Karol on a French, 19th century cello.
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