Matt Withers guitar | Acacia Quartet
ABC Classic is proud to announce the release of Imaginations, an album of Australian compositions for guitar and string quartet – including eight world premiere recordings – performed by Matt Withers and Acacia Quartet.
Imaginations features the winning works of the 2018 Matt Withers Australian Music Composition Competition – Wade Gregory’s Water Music, Rick Alexander’s Storming and Nava Ryan’s Solitude – coupled with new commissions and pre-existing favourites for the ensemble combination.
Established works by Richard Charlton, Nick Wales and the late Phillip Houghton are featured alongside premiere recordings of Robert Davidson’s solo guitar work Forest, Gordon Kerry’s String Quartet No. 5 and Moya Henderson’s Kudikynah Cave.
The competition called upon composers to submit an original composition inspired by the visual artwork of Queensland based artist, Sue Needham. As with Needham’s artwork, the works featured on Imaginations are rich in sonic colour and texture, conjuring visions of striking natural landscapes and seascapes.
“Matt is an inspiration in his artistry and in his boundless enthusiasm for new Australian works, and he has exceptional collaborators in the brilliant Acacia Quartet”, says ABC Classic Label Manager Hugh Robertson. “Imaginationsis an album rich in colour and movement, and gives audiences their first opportunity to hear recordings of a number of exciting new pieces.”
Matt Withers is an ambassador for Australian music, a well-established classical guitar pedagogue, performer and role model for musicians across the country. His career to date has seen him perform with highly esteemed artists of the likes of William Barton, Sally Whitwell, many national orchestras as well as maintaining strong commitments in the leading Australian chamber music group Guitar Trek alongside Timothy Kain.
In just eight years of existence, Acacia Quartet have won great respect for their versatile and inventive programs. They have recorded six albums, with ‘Blue Silence’ earning a nomination for an APRA-AMCOS Art Music ‘Award for Excellence’.
TRACKLISTING
RICHARD CHARLTON
Shorelines*
1 I. Dark Horizon
2 II. The Lonely Shore
3 III. Storm Dance
WADE GREGORY
Water Music*
4 I. Clouds
5 II. River
6 III. Ocean
Matt Withers & Acacia Quartet
ROBERT DAVIDSON
7 Forest*
Matt Withers
MOYA HENDERSON
8 Kudikynah Cave*
NICK WALES
9 Harbour Light
Acacia Quartet
NAVA RYAN
10 Solitude*
ROBERT DAVIDSON
11 Landscape*
PHILLIP HOUGHTON
In Amber
12 I. Dance
13 II. Dream
14 III. Initiation
Matt Withers & Acacia Quartet
GORDON KERRY
String Quartet No. 5*
15 I. Bright Summer
16 II. Seascape
17 III. Scherzo
18 IV. Fantasia on ‘Hyfrydol’
Acacia Quartet
RICK ALEXANDER
19 Storming*
Matt Withers & Acacia Quartet
*World Premiere Recordings
Matt Withers guitar
Acacia Quartet
Lisa Stewart violin
Myee Clohessy violin
Stefan Duwe viola
Anna Martin-Scrase cello