Borodin tour nears end

The Borodin Quartet's tour is fast drawing to a close with a string of successful concerts to wrap up the tour.

The Brisbane concert brought out the who's-who of Brisbane concert goers. One of our annotations writers, Angela Turner, commented she couldn't remember the last time she had seen so many musicians at a concert, and was impressed with the number of students attending as well. Many in the Newcastle audience remembered the Quartet's previous line-up and were eager to discuss the Borodin's history, and while the Quartet was happy to indulge in these memories, they were even happier to indulge in the pavlova served at the post-concert supper!

Our new matinee series in Sydney on Saturday got off to a great start. Musica Viva's CEO Mary Jo Capps commented she had never seen such an attentive, wide-awake audience with "literally not one cough throughout the first half of the concert!" The Sydney branch of the Amadeus society had its first performance on Sunday. The Borodin's performance of Haydn and Shostakovich again captivated an intimate assembly of music lovers and Musica Viva supporters.

And finally, a full house at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place, last night enjoyed not only a brilliant concert but an entertaining and insightful post-concert discussion with group members afterwards. When one audience member asked about the instruments the Quartet perform on, Igor Naidin very helpfully explained that the quartet uses two violins, a viola and cello. "They're Russian, you'll have to be more specific!" quipped host Carl Vine, before the ensemble went on to explain the make and history of each instrument.

Today the Quartet heads off to Adelaide for the final concert of the tour tomorrow night. The Adelaide Town Hall is sold out and this promises to be a very special concert indeed.