Barton & Brodsky

Ancient strings, living spirit.

Witness musical history as chamber music masters the Brodsky Quartet meet master yidaki artist William Barton to create a performance that revolutionises the idea of what a string quartet can become.

In this profound musical dialogue between traditions, baroque precision meets ancient breath; European chamber music encounters First Nations wisdom.

Barton’s yidaki doesn’t merely accompany the Brodsky’s pristine strings, it converses with them, in sonic dialogue spanning millennia. From Henry Purcell’s baroque geometries to Peter Sculthorpe’s dreamtime landscapes. From Leoš Janáček’s intimate confessions to new works born from Australia’s burning heart, this program traces an extraordinary arc through time and culture.

Music’s deepest truths emerge when profound traditions meet as equals. Together, the Brodsky Quartet and William Barton conjure moments of startling beauty where the ancient breath of the yidaki weaves through Stravinsky’s modernist fragments, and where Andrew Ford’s Eden Ablaze emerges like smoke from a burning continent.

With the Brodsky’s 50-year legacy and legendary precision and Barton’s pioneering talents, this is your chance to experience Australia’s musical soul in conversation and self-reflection, from past to present.

This concert is supported by the British Council.

Brodsky Quartet: Krysia Osostowicz violin; Ian Belton violin; Paul Cassidy viola; Jacqueline Thomas cello

William Barton didgeridoo

Henry Purcell Fantasia in D minor, Z.739

Peter Sculthorpe String Quartet No.11, Jabiru Dreaming

Robert Davidson Minjerribah

Leoš Janáček String Quartet No.1, The Kreutzer Sonata

Igor Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet – 1st Mov. ‘Dance’

Andrew Ford String Quartet No.7, Eden Ablaze

Salina Fisher Tōrino

Traditional She moved through the fair

William Barton Square Circles Beneath the Red Desert Sand

Wednesday 25 February 2026 – 7:30pm

Duration: 2 hours 30 mins (incl. interval). Please note, running times are approximate and subject to change.

Tickets: Premium $139; A Reserve $119 ($99 Concession); B Reserve $99 ($79 Concession); C Reserve $79

Under 40s B & C Reserve $49