Fluro Electric (2022)

for String Quartet

Duration: 7’

Commissioned by the Goldmund Quartet

Archival recording available on request

First performed 19 May 2023, Elbphilharmonie Kaistudio 1, Hamburg, Germany, 9pm

Fluro Electric is inspired by two main ideas: the reflection of light through a single grain in a kaleidoscope and the electric energy of rock music. Throughout the work, the two ideas collide, conjuring up a rock show setting with a spectrum of bright lights and lasers, all refracted through a tiny grain of glass. I like to think of Fluro Electric as the little sister to my larger string quartet, Balderdash (2018). It opens with a shredding violin solo, before finding influence in an amalgam of rock, metal, folk and bluegrass. But most of all, it brings together all the things I think are wonderful about rock music and string quartets. There are big metal riffs, guitar-inspired violin lines, palm-muted unisons, and a collection of almost electronic-sounding pedal effects, including delay, phaser, and flanger.

The work was commissioned by the Hamburg-based Goldmund Quartet, winners of the 2018 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and premiered at the Elbphilharmonie in 2023.  

Performances

13 June, Partridge String Quartet, Yass Soldiers Memorial Hall, NSW

11 June, Partridge String Quartet, Headland Theatre, Tathra, NSW

10 June, Partridge String Quartet, Morning Masters, The Concourse, NSW

7 June, Partridge String Quartet, St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Brighton, VIC

29 March, Partridge String Quartet, All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Bathurst, NSW

27 March 2026, Partridge String Quartet, St John Paul College Theatre, Coffs Harbour, NSW - Australian Premiere

19 May 2023, Goldmund Quartet, Elbphilharmonie Kaistudio 1, Hamburg, Germany - World Premiere