Orava Quartet: A Dream within a Dream (Toowoomba)

Predicted by The Australian to become ‘one of Australia’s proudest cultural exports’, the Orava Quartet have been taking audiences around the world by storm. Proudly ‘Quartet-in-Residence’ with Camerata, and regular faces in the orchestra throughout the year, they return to share their ‘intensity, precision and incredible teamwork’ (Limelight) with a program of old music and new, with the Quartet’s trademark love of folk music threaded through. Hear Debussy’s evergreen String Quartet in G Minor, loved especially for its heart-meltingly romantic movement, with the breathtaking intensity for which the Oravas have become renowned, along with the Queensland premiere of extraordinary Brisbane-based composer Paul Dean’s new work, written with the Oravas in mind and inspired by the gothic fantasy world of Edgar Allan Poe. Multi award-winning Polish composer, Slawomir Czarnecki's compact String Quartet feasts on highlands folklore with a visceral rawness belying the serene beauty of the Tatra mountains that inspired it, in contrast to the Nordic Folk Music arranged by the Danish String Quartet in Woodworks, which have deservedly inspired a cult-like following the world over. While Debussy’s String Quartet had its first performance more than 130 years before Paul Dean’s new work, Orava Quartet’s ability to blend these very distinct musical worlds into something contemporary, yet familiar, will be on full display in an unforgettable and celebratory performance marking this milestone anniversary with Camerata.