Canberra International Music Festival / Serioso and Serene, Flinders Quartet. At Albert Hall, May 1. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

This concert combined old and new music, creating exceptional musical stories through intense emotion and moments of calm resolve.

The Flinders Quartet, consisting of Elizabeth Sellars, violin; Wilma Smith, violin; Helen Ireland, viola, and Zoe Knighton on cello, began the concert with Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 11, Op. 95, Serioso.

This quartet, written during the turbulent Napoleonic era, conveys Beethoven’s personal and political turmoil through urgent, defiant shifts in tone that mirrored a yearning for liberty.

The rush this work opens with is a bit like an electric shock. Full of grand statements and bright outbursts. This, combined with sweet interludes, made for a charged opening to this concert.

The sensitivity of the second movement was matched by the playing. Short motives kept reoccurring to keep the ear tuned to the overall uniformed nature of the composition.

The large audience seemed to be listening as one. This music makes a listener concentrate and feel its subtleties. Its clear tonal construction speaks like a well-spoken person. Through clarity, refinement and connecting emotional qualities, this was high classical music, played with grace and accuracy.

Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s string quartet, Bungaree, sheds light on the crucial, yet frequently ignored role Bungaree, a Kurringai man, played alongside explorer Matthew Flinders in charting Australia. This piece honours Bungaree’s contributions and cultural legacy by combining indigenous music with the classical string quartet.

There’s a voice in this work that speaks not only of Bungaree but also of his wife and of the broader question: How do we make meaningful change?

Using contemporary techniques, the cello acted as a voice within a voice. This is Bungaree. It’s emotive, loud, and direct. It sat above and perhaps beyond the other voices to make a strong personal statement.

The softness and yearning of the second movement filled the hall with a tenderness that words could not have expressed. It was sheer musical beauty. Much like spoken word, there was a conversation not just between the instruments, but to the audience. Through musical emotion, Bungaree’s story was heard and appreciated.

For the final work, Dvořák’s, String Quartet No. 14, Op. 105 in A flat, which was his last string quartet. Opening with an adagio, the piece blends Czech folk idioms with classical elegance. It speaks both of nostalgia as Dvořák was leaving America, and joy, as he anticipated a return to his homeland.

As a concert closer, this is a highly effective piece. It’s full of hope and bright, jumpy tunes. Dvořák’s musicality was like few others. His ability for intimate expression through grand musical narratives still captures audiences.

This all-female ensemble is a refined and intuitive group. They proved more than capable of capturing the essence of music across centuries. With precision, poise and expressive depth, they delivered a performance that was, quite simply, engrossing.