‘Peter Sculthorpe : The Quartets’
with the Goldner String Quartet
We have worked closely with Peter over many years; we have performed all of his string quartets, some of which were commissioned especially for us, and we have recorded them all in his presence. In Peter’s own words, ‘the journey of my life can best be traced through my compositions for string quartet’ and we have wanted for quite some time to capture this journey on film. With thanks to our many generous donors, Screen Australia, the ABC, and the renowned filmmaker John Weiley, our documentary – “The Quartets; Peter Sculthorpe with the Goldner String Quartet” – is now a reality.
As the first stage in the project, the Goldner String Quartet performed a selection of Peter’s string quartet repertoire in the professional recording studio of Trackdown at Fox Studios, Sydney, on 29 April 2012 (Peter’s 83rd birthday). These selections were interspersed with Peter talking about his inspiration for and recollections of each composition, all of which were captured on film to form the basis of the documentary.
The Goldners are very proud of the final result, which was premiered at the Melbourne Festival and soon after was screened for the first time on ABC TV, in October 2013.
The next exciting component of our Sculthorpe Project is using the documentary as the basis for producing a multi-media concert version which we will tour nationally and internationally, thereby taking Peter’s music to an even wider audience. In this version we will perform whole works accompanied by visual imagery appropriate to each work. Our wish is that current and future generations experience the unique creative insights that only Peter can share through his music and storytelling.
As the project continues to progress, we invite you to keep up to date with developments by checking back here regularly.
For further information regarding our philanthropic drive, please visit our project page on the Australian Cultural Fund website.
