APQ plays Liebestod

The woman in the seat next to me at the Australia Piano Quartet concert at the Sydney Opera House Utzon Room yesterday was reduced to tears by their playing of the Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde. As she blew her nose afterwards and tried to recompose herself, I reflected on the power of music to move us. The piece had been arranged by the APQ for quartet so there was no soprano, but this music is so evocative that an instrumental version played by a virtuoso group like the APQ is capable of exciting extreme emotional response.

Schumann's Piano Quintet in E flat Major (Anna de Silva Chen joined the group as second violin) followed Liebestod. Wonderful music played with passion.