Music / Alma Moodie Quartet. At Wesley Music Centre. October 21. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

The Alma Moodie String Quartet, along with clarinettist Olivia Hans-Rosenbaum and flautist Mark Xiao, performed a program of lively and passionate music.

Among Australia’s most gifted yet overlooked musicians, violinist Alma Moodie (1898-1943) carved out a dazzling career across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Based in Germany, she was celebrated for her precision, warmth of tone, and a modernist sensitivity that made her one of the leading violinists of the inter-war years.

The Alma Moodie Quartet began in 2021 as a tribute to Moodie. The performers were Kristian Winther and Anna da Silva Chen, violins; James Wannan, viola; Miles Mullins-Chivers, cello, with Olivia Hans-Rosenbaum, clarinet and Mark Xiao, flute.

The concert began with a selection of eight works from Béla Bartók’s 44 Duos for Two Violins. With Winther and da Silva Chen performing, these are some of the most playable yet cleverly composed violin duets. They combined styles ranging from smooth and flowing to agitated and danceable. Each like a music lesson, they were created for practice purposes, but you wouldn’t know that when hearing them.

Full of passion and the movement of life, the players created a performance equally matching the lively dynamic and finesse of each selection.

This was followed by the Sonata for Flute and String Quartet in D Major, Opus 94, by Prokofiev. Arranged by the Australian composer Lee Bradshaw, it is full of the zeal and fire that fills so much of Prokofiev’s music.

The intricacies of this Sonata are astounding. Like a five-way conversation, there’s so much going on, so much is said in its unique way; this sort of music keeps a listener connected and entertained. The players had a knack for bringing out every note, phrase and dynamic to create a unity that just worked.

Parts of the music rush at a listener with sliding tonalities across varying playing techniques. It filled the ear with a complex, but completely understandable musical and emotional statement. The flute playing by Xiao was simply electric.

After the interval, and to finish the program, the Clarinet Quintet in B minor Opus 115, by Brahms, with Hans-Rosenbaum on clarinet.

All players decided to sit down for this piece, even though it was full of lively gypsy music. The rich sonorous sounds of this composition were perhaps a bit overwhelming. Five players in this small room pushed the demands of an enjoyable listening volume.

That said, what a beautiful sound it was. Their playing created a warm, thick texture that suited the feeling of the music perfectly.

Hans-Rosenbaum moves with the music to add that extra expression to her playing. Her lyrical warmth and depth of tone sat so well with her subtle yet concentrated performance. The Alma Moodie Quartet chose well with their woodwind players for this concert.

The quality of sound the performers created, would make any listener want to return again and again.