Horizons: Continents

Featured Artists

Australian String Quartet

Dale Barltrop
Violin

Francesca Hiew
Violin

Christopher Cartlidge
Viola

Michael Dahlenburg
Cello

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Affinity Quartet

Shane Chen
Violin

Nicholas Waters
Violin

Isabella Bignasca
Viola

Mee Na Lojewski
Cello

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Lassana Diabaté
Balafon

Garth Knox
Viola, Viola d’amore

Lassana Diabaté | Balafon

Lassana Diabate, the musical director of the group, is a virtuoso balafon player who comes originally from Guinea, where the balafon originates. The balafon as an instrument type played by griots dates back at least to the 13th century.  Lassana began playing balafon at the age of 5 at home in Conakry with his father, Djelisory Diabate, a master balafon player, from Kindia, some 150 kms inland. Lassana later apprenticed himself to some of the celebrated balafon masters such as the late, great El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyate, also from Kindia, as well as the late Alkali Camara. To this day, Lassana cherishes the now rare recordings of his mentors, whose unique styles continue to be an important inspiration to him. He settled in Mali in the late 1980s after being invited to join the band of the diva Ami Koita, and has since recorded with many of Mali’s top artists such as Toumani Diabate, Salif Keita, Babani Koné, Tiken Jah Fakoly, and Bassekou Kouyaté; he was also a member of the Grammy-nominated Mali-Cuba collaboration, Afrocubism.

Australian String Quartet

Since 1985, the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) has created unforgettable string quartet performances for audiences around the world.

Dedicated to musical excellence of the highest standard, they aim to create chemistry and amplify intimacy through experiences that connect people with music.

From their home base at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of

Music, they reach out across the globe to engage people with an outstanding program of performances, workshops, commissions, digital content and education projects.

Their distinct sound is enhanced by a matched set of 18th-century Guadagnini instruments, handcrafted by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini between c.1743 and 1784 in Turin and Piacenza, Italy. These precious instruments are on loan for their exclusive use through the generosity of UKARIA.    

Dale Barltrop plays a 1784 Guadagnini Violin, Turin

Francesca Hiew plays a 1748-49 Guadagnini Violin, Piacenza

Chris Cartlidge plays a 1783 Guadagnini Viola, Turin

Michael Dahlenburg plays a c.1743 Guadagnini Violoncello, Piacenza, ‘Ngeringa’

Affinity Quartet

Affinity Quartet earns its place as one of the most outstanding string quartets of its generation. Recent awards include Grand Prize, String Quartet First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition; 2nd prizes at Bad Tölz and Mozart International String Quartet Competitions (2023); and 3rd Prize at Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition (2022). Striving for synergy, intimacy and renewal in its form, Affinity Quartet represents excellence in Australian chamber music. Affinity Quartet is based between Australia and Europe, and receives mentorship from Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet) at Madrid’s International Institute of Chamber Music.

Garth Knox | Viola, Viola d’amore

Garth Knox is at the forefront of the new music scene in many fields. Former member of the Arditti Quartet and of Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris he has become a unique performer of music of many different styles, ranging from minimalist understatement to the cutting edge of new techniques and new technologies. Thanks to his interest in the viola d’amore and the medieval fiddle, his repertoire has opened up to the music of the past (medieval, baroque) which he persuasively brings into the present, his Irish roots enabling him to dialogue freely with traditional musicians without complexes.