Canberra International Music Festival: Inheritance and Invention
Thu, 30 Apr
|Wesley Uniting Church
The sublime Australian String Quartet performing classic British works – perfect for the purists and chamber aficionados. The Australian String Quartet charts a vibrant journey through British music, culminating in one of Benjamin Britten’s greatest creations. Written in 1945 to honour the 250th a
Time & Location
30 Apr 2026, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Wesley Uniting Church, 20-22 National Circuit, Entrance via, Fitzroy St, Forrest ACT 2603, Australia
About the event
A brilliant combination of British Baroque imagination and modern mastery
The Australian String Quartet charts a vibrant journey through British music, culminating in one of Benjamin Britten’s greatest creations.
Written in 1945 to honour the 250th anniversary of Purcell’s death, Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 stands as a monumental reflection on legacy, renewal and artistic conviction in the aftermath of war. Its spacious first movement unfolds with searching clarity, the vivid central Vivace drives forward with razor sharp rhythmic energy, and the vast closing ‘Chacony’ offers a glowing homage to Purcell’s ground bass traditions. Bold, architectural and deeply expressive, it is a summit of Britten’s chamber writing.
For more information, visit: https://cimf.org.au/shows/inheritance-and-invention