Tuesday, 9 July 2013

We've just performed the Wheel of 4Tunes concert for the last time – at least until it gets picked up again at some point in the future. Two lovely concerts in Wales and Dorset – Lower Machen and Beaminster Festivals. Brilliantly the promoters in the Lower Machen decided to let the audience vote for the last piece on the programme. No surprise that they chose Death and the Maiden! Then in Dorset, the Wheel chose the only piece that had never yet come up – Lavista's Reflecos de la Noche! And for the final work, Death and the Maiden again – a suitable ending to an amazing adventure. We have put the Wheel of 4tunes in storage now ( in my basement!) but there is a lot of interest for it elsewhere in the world so we hope to see it again soon. 

Now we are in Australia and embarking on the second of our Shostakovich cycles here. Melbourne was a triumph – we worked with students at the incredible ANAM conservatoire. The students performed with us in some of the quartets, performed some on their own, and left the rest to us. It was really a fantastic event. We are full of admiration for the adventurousness and ingenuity of all involved at this brilliant institution. Now we are in Sydney to repeat the cycle alone at the Opera House. Very much looking forward to it but we will miss our lovely students. Then on to Brisbane for another weekend of Shostakovich and before that working with the exciting group Topology again, who we have performed with twice now. 

Winter in Australia is pretty damp and chilly but the sun has just come up over Darling Harbour, so I may go out for a walk before our rehearsal begins. It's tough to know – from watching Wimbledon on the television – that London is enjoying a heatwave! Never mind – at least it helped Andy Murray to complete his triumph. It was wonderful to watch in the middle of the night after our final Shostakovich concert in Melbourne - I felt super patriotic.

Wow, we've just heard we got guest tickets to hear Tosca at the Opera House tomorrow night. That will be an absolute treat... Must go out now and get some air - the sun's actually beaming down now. What a city!

We've had some great reviews here so far – check out our Facebook page for the links.

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