BY EUNISE CHENG, PARTRIDGE STRING QUARTET
The Partridge String Quartet is one of the newest emerging chamber ensembles to come fresh out of the Australian National Academy of Music. It won the ANAM 2018 Chamber Competition for its performance of the Ligeti String Quartet No. 1 Métamorphoses nocturnes. Eunise Cheng writes about her experience as a member of the quartet.
As a member of the Partridge String Quartet, I can tell you that we’re having a great time in the Australian Youth Orchestra Chamber Players Program. For the past week, we’ve been tutored by Joel Link, the first violinist of the Dover String Quartet. The whole program has been quite intensive, however wholesome and rewarding, as we continue growing as a quartet.
We are preparing the Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 and Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4, and we have been very lucky as participants of the program to be given the opportunity to watch all the chamber music concerts throughout the 2019 Musica Viva Festival, Sydney. These chamber music concerts include artists such as the Dover String Quartet and the amazing bassist Edgar Meyer.
Giving anything and everything a go
Partridge has been an amazing journey for all of us in the past few years. I think our positive and open attitude in giving anything and everything a go has brought us to where we are today.
The experiences we’ve had have been so diverse, and we’ve learnt something new through each of them. We’ve gone from performing at art exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria to being in motion capture suits, and recording at labs at the Deakin University as part on ongoing project with motion.lab.
It has brought us together to Banff, Canada, where for three weeks we performed and were mentored by international string quartets – the Parker, Eybler, and JACK quartets – to performing with Paul Dean at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
When I played in my first quartet back at the University of Western Australia, I knew that chamber music was my newfound passion. However, I never expected it to take me this far, and to meet so many people that I had grown up listening to and hearing about.
Throughout my musical career, I’ve been so lucky to have had amazing chamber music mentors such as Paul Wright, Caroline Henbest, Howard Penny, and the Australian String Quartet; and to be part of fantastic programs in Australia such as the Musica Viva masterclasses, which have led me to play for chamber groups such as the Borodin, Jerusalem, and Elias String Quartets.
The Australian Youth Orchestra also has an amazing chamber program called the AYO Chamber Players, where I’ve had the opportunity to be tutored by members of the Eggner Trio, Doric String Quartet, and Goldner String Quartet. Through ANAM, I have played chamber music with violinist Anthony Marwood, Stefan Dohr from the Berlin Philharmonic, Dudu Carmel from Israel Philharmonic, and members from the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Chamber music has always been the medium that has moved and inspired me
But above all these experiences, what I love about chamber music is how personal and honest it is. While it may be different for others, chamber music has always been the medium that has moved and inspired me as a performer or as part of the audience. Particularly in Melbourne, we are spoilt for choice, with many great ensembles such as the ASQ, Penny Quartet, and Affinity Collective, to name a few who we look up to!
We strive to contribute to the Australian music scene, share our positivity, and to make worthwhile performances even with all the difficulties. With my quartet, I’m so very grateful to have found three other people who I can call friends and colleagues, and who are just as passionate about chamber music as I am. It’s one thing to love chamber music, but it’s not a one-person job. And I believe so many people would be able to relate when they know they’ve found the right quartet bond!
As a quartet, we’re looking forward to seeing what can happen and how far we can take it. We realise there are always going to challenges, such as geographical ones of being free and in the same state or country at the same time. But, at the same time, I think it’s always a good thing if everyone is keeping busy doing what they want and love, and there will always be a way to work around it.
We’d love to keep exploring and discovering different repertoire together. I believe all of us still have quite a few more pieces to get through on our bucket list!
For now, the Partridge String Quartet will perform Ravel’s String Quartet at the Melbourne Recital Centre later this year, but we have some exciting future plans to share soon, so keep posted on this space! Drop by our next performance at ANAM in May.
The Partridge String Quartet features Eunise Cheng (viola), Daniel Smith (cello), and William Huxtable and Mana Ohashi (violin).
The ensemble will perform at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 11.30pm April 26; and at the Australian National Academy of Music, 1pm May 1. The programs will feature Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 and Bartok String Quartet No. 4.
Shout the writer a coffee?
If you like, you can shout Eunise a coffee for taking you backstage with Partridge. No amount too much or little 🙂
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