Selby & Friends' 2024 season lies at the heart of celebrating Australian musicians. In honor of their 18th year, Kathryn Selby, the Artistic Director and pianist, has curated a group of performers whose artistic contributions have left a profound mark on the Australian music landscape. The upcoming year will witness Selby & Friends embarking on five distinct tours, taking their melodic journey to Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Bowral, Turramurra, and Sydney.
Two of these tours will feature esteemed pairs of Australian musicians who graced the stage in the 2023 season. Additionally, the Goldner String Quartet, having announced their final year together as an ensemble, will also make a special appearance. Selby holds the members of the quartet in high regard, considering them some of her closest and most longstanding companions.
Dene Olding, a violinist from the Goldner Quartet, remarked, "Selby & Friends has established itself as a significant musical presence, showcasing an exceptional lineup of predominantly Australian artists who deliver top-tier chamber music performances."
The roster of artists reads like a collection of accomplished instrumentalists, many of whom are recognized for their illustrious careers and meaningful contributions to the Australian music scene. This series has offered an essential platform for their musical talents, bringing joy to countless audiences in the process.
The inaugural tour of the Selby season welcomes back the same trio that inaugurated the 2023 season with a "spectacular opening." Violinist Alexandra Osborne and cellist Clancy Newman reunite for "Golden Blues," a program featuring cherished pieces such as Beethoven's Allegretto for Piano Trio, Pärt's Fratres, Schumann's Drei Fantasiestücke, and Dvořák's Piano Trio No. 4. The title piece, a duet composed by Newman for cello and piano, will have its Australian premiere during this tour.
From May 11 to 19, "Luminaries" takes center stage as a part of the Goldner String Quartet's final season before their disbandment. This concert presents cherished works including Mozart's arrangement of his Piano Concerto No. 12, Tchaikovsky's debut string quartet, and Shostakovich's Piano Quintet in G minor, serving as a fond farewell to this beloved ensemble.
Another returning artist, Natalie Chee, joins the 2024 season alongside clarinetist Lloyd Van't Hoff for "Jewels in the Crown." This performance includes renditions of Beethoven's Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 9, Brahms' Clarinet Sonata No. 2, and Bartók's Romanian Dances. Among these offerings, Selby eagerly seizes the opportunity to present a piece she has cherished since her childhood – Bartók's Contrasts.
"Triple Treat" (August 25 – September 1) reunites violinist Susie Park and cellist Timo-Veikko Valve, who are presently featured in Selby's "Three Stages of Man" program. The trio is set to perform an adaptation of Beethoven's unique Triple Concerto, the composer's sole concerto of this type, as well as Haydn's fluid Piano Trio in A major. The concert concludes with Dame Ethel Smyth's Piano Trio in D minor, a piece chosen by Valve that has been postponed due to the pandemic but will finally have its moment in the spotlight.
To conclude the season with flourish in November, Selby extends an invitation to two longtime friends for a culturally diverse program. The husband-and-wife duo of violinist Dimity Hall and cellist Julian Smiles – one half of the Goldner Quartet – collaborates with Selby for "Lonely Angel." This performance presents three poignant works from the later stages of the composers' careers: Turina's Piano Trio No. 2, infused with lively Spanish influences; the delicately powerful Brahms' final Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor; and Fauré's eloquent Piano Trio in D minor. The title piece, "Lonely Angel," comes from the pen of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, weaving together themes of heartache and hope.
Selby enthusiastically explains, "The 2024 program will epitomize the diversity and variety that our audience has come to anticipate from a Selby & Friends season, featuring duets, trios, quartets, and quintets to satisfy a wide range of tastes."
