











Tinalley String Quartet continues their exploration of Mendelssohn’s extraordinary legacy of string quartets.
Internationally acclaimed for their ‘addictive sound’ and ‘intuitive’ music making, Australia’s Tinalley String Quartet has established itself as one of Australia’s finest string quartets and most awarded classical exports. In this recording they present a cross-section of works from Mendelssohn’s career that explores his life-long preoccupation with the rich world of chamber music. An active and respected performer of chamber music himself, Mendelssohn infused his compositions with eloquent melodies, dramatic harmonic utterance and imaginative interplay of instrumental textures.
The album opens with his serene quartet in D major, Op. 44 No. 1, wrtten soon after his marriage to Cécile Jeanrenaud and representing a return to the intimate world of chamber music after years of personal and professional upheaval. It’s followed by the more agitated, restless writing of his F minor quartet, Op. 80: often regarded as Mendelssohn’s response to the sudden death of his beloved sister Fanny, Mendelssohn himself was struggling with ill health and died before being able to get the completed work to the publisher. The album concludes with Mendelssohn’s ‘Op. 81’: four movements for string quartet that span the composer’s career and were brought together into a single work after his death.
The Tinalley String Quartet has performed throughout Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States appearing in such prestigious venues as the Wiener Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Bremen Die Glocke, Frankfurt AlteOper and the Sydney Opera House.
International highlights have included performances in New York, Paris, London, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco and San Diego. In Australia, the Quartet has an active recital schedule and regularly appears at the nation’s premier festivals including the Adelaide Music Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival, Huntington Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Formed in 2003, the Tinalley String Quartet was awarded First Prize at the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition and in 2005 took out the Grand Prize at the Australian Chamber Music Competition.
The Quartet is Quartet-in-Residence at The University of Queensland and is named after the laneway that runs through The University of Melbourne Parkville Campus where the Quartet formed.
TRACKLISTING
FELIX MENDELSSOHN 1809–1947
String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 44 No. 1
1 I. Molto allegro vivace
2 II. Menuetto (Un poco allegretto)
3 III. Andante espressivo con moto
4 IV. Presto con brio
String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
5 I. Allegro vivace assai
6 II. Allegro assai
7 III. Adagio
8 IV. Finale (Allegro molto)
Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81
9 I. Tema con variazioni in E major
10 II. Scherzo in A minor
11 III. Capriccio in E minor
12 IV. Fuga in E-flat major
Tinalley String Quartet
Adam Chalabi violin I
Lerida Delbridge violin II
Justin Williams viola
Patrick Murphy cello