The Australian String Quartet (ASQ) will launch its first national tour of 2026, titled Interwoven, in Perth this month. The program takes its name from the debut string quartet by Australian composer Elizabeth Younan, who is currently pursuing doctoral studies at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School.
A Decade in the Making
Younan began composing the quartet ten years ago during the first year of her Master’s degree at the Sydney Conservatorium, a task she describes as “very daunting”. She was acutely aware of the weight and history of the string quartet genre, especially since the work was commissioned for the Goldner String Quartet as part of the Conservatorium’s then-new ‘Composing Women’ program.
“My teenage years were spent in part cherishing the Goldner’s recordings of the complete Beethoven, so I felt great pressure because I wanted to thank them for all the joy they had brought me by writing them something special,” Younan said. “The only way to move forward was to let all that external expectation go, and think about what I wanted to say and trust in my voice.”
Movements of Struggle and Release
The first movement, titled “Brooding”, was written in 2016 and “came without much struggle,” according to Younan. However, the second and third movements, “Darkly” and “Vivacious”, written in 2017 and 2018 respectively, proved far more challenging. “I think I composed two or three versions of the second and third movement each before feeling satisfied,” she said. “That is a lot of music to discard! But it had to be done, and those prior versions were necessary to get to the current piece.”
Younan aimed to write something “full of yearning and tension”, employing counterpoint and organicism. She notes that the expressive directions are short but do not reflect the full range of emotions in the quartet. “Figuring out structure — the trajectory of the work — is like moving puzzle pieces around, and I always ask myself if I have expressed what I have wanted to say in the clearest and most earnest way possible,” she said. “That is subjective, of course, but if it resonates with me, there is a good chance it will resonate with a few others, too.”
Inspiration and Growth at Juilliard
Ten years on, Younan still feels “the weight of history”, but finds comfort in knowing that even Brahms felt the weight of Beethoven. Her inspiration has evolved, increasingly drawn from mediums other than music, though she has not abandoned what she loves. At Juilliard, she has broadened her approach, writing in new styles “with curiosity and joy”.
The doctoral program at Juilliard is both rewarding and intense: two years of coursework followed by three years for the thesis and other requirements. Younan is about to finish her second year and has collaborated with brilliant musicians, dancers, and actors. “My composition teacher, Amy Beth Kirsten, has a fearlessness about her, and I hope to be just as free-spirited and courageous as her in my practice and in my life,” she said. “The process will always be messy, and difficult, but therein lies the joy and the growth.”
The Intimacy of a String Quartet
Younan describes a string quartet as an intimate conversation shared. She hopes audiences feel nurtured, enriched in spirit, or changed in some way. “Maybe it will just be a welcome opportunity to relax. All are valid,” she said.
The viola receives special focus in the quartet. “I love the viola dearly, so I made sure to give the viola many aching and yearning moments,” Younan said. “I think Irina Morozova (violist of the Goldners) enjoyed her part! That is why the first two movements open with the viola. It introduces the fugal section in the first movement, and has a lot of beautiful solo lines.”
Tour Details
The ASQ will bring Interwoven, featuring works by Younan, Haydn, Prokofiev, and Clara Schumann, to WA Museum Boola Bardip Hackett Hall on May 11, before touring nationally. The quartet comprises violinists Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew, violist Christopher Cartlidge, and cellist Michael Dahlenburg.
