Selected movements from Bartók’s six quartets interwoven with personal stories, culminating in a performance of Bartók’s fifth string quartet.

Peter Bartók’s illuminating memoir of his father, Béla, inspired Flinders Quartet (FQ) to delve deeper into the musical portrait of this enigmatic man. Bartók’s fascination with folk melodies and their assimilation into ‘classical’ music is well known, but what about the other elements of his life? The sense of displacement after he fled Hungary to America, the intense discipline with which he lived his life? Through anecdotes and letters, Richard Piper (who was the brilliant dramaturge on FQ’s ‘Puck’s Dream’ and Shostakovich projects) helps FQ unearth some personal meaning behind the seminal canon of Bartók’s six string quartets.

This outstanding event fuses exceptional music, landmark architecture, fine food, and wine.

The event is on Saturday, 10 July 2021.