Proudly ‘Quartet-in-Residence’ since 2014 with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Orava Quartet perform a fiery program that will ignite the love of folk music in each of us. From Spanish dances to ‘mad’ Scottish pipe renditions and Slavic rhythms, the string quartet becomes a shape-shifter, changing between art-music sensibilities and those of ancient storytellers.

Manuel De Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat” is a ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine, commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev. With its premiere in 1919, it still burns with brilliance and intensity. The Miller’s Dance portrays both bull and bullfighter in a fury of athleticism, and into a Flamenco farruca, a ferociously intense dance. The music is passionate and full of lush Spanish harmonies and rhythms.

Pavel Fischer’s ‘Mad Piper’ quartet, composed in 2011, takes its inspiration from pipers of Scotland and continental Europe, namely the brave Piper Bill who played the bagpipes whilst under fire during the D-Day landing in Normandy. The quartet draws on Scottish, Czech, Bulgarian and Romanian folk music, blending traditional and western art music, and brimming with legends and wild energy.

Dvorak’s quintet features an unusual addition of the double bass, liberating the cello to a higher and more lyrical line, and giving a lush and full sound. Full of drive and drama, and a fresh rhythmic vitality evoking the vibrant folk dance music of his native land. Written in 1875 at 32 years old, and revised at 47, Dvořák’s maturing compositional technical skill is evident, with touches of fire, melancholy, lyricism and nobility on display. Orava is joined by Camerata’s double bassist, Marian Heckenberg, for this piece.