Celebrating their twenty-fifth season in 2020, the Goldner String Quartet has a long-standing reputation, not only as Australia’s pre-eminent string quartet but as an ensemble of international significance, favourably compared with the best in the world. Launched in 1995 and still retaining all its founding members, the Quartet is named after Richard Goldner, founder of Musica Viva Australia. Unanimous audience and critical acclaim following their Wigmore Hall debut in 1997 ensured the Goldner Quartet’s invitations to prestigious UK and European festivals. Performances in the USA and throughout Asia have followed, in addition to several tours of New Zealand.

The Goldners’ recent UK appearances include performances at London’s Wigmore Hall with pianist Piers Lane (broadcast by the BBC), Leicester, and the Oxford May Music festival. They also performed in Ireland, and in Italy for the opening of the 2019 Biennale Arte in Venice.

The Quartet regularly appears at many of Australia’s leading music festivals including Musica Viva’s Sydney Festival, Music in the Hunter, and at Huntington Estate amongst others, in addition to being Quartet in Residence at the annual Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, North Queensland. The Goldner Quartet regularly tours for Musica Viva Australia as part of their International Concert Series.

Special projects have included a major twentieth-century retrospective, and an international project in celebration of Sydney’s sister cities. The Goldners’ recordings of the complete Beethoven string quartets—performed and recorded live across three weeks, and released on ABC Classics—won the 2009 Limelight Award for Best Classical Recording. The Quartet’s numerous recordings for Hyperion, in collaboration with pianist Piers Lane, have attracted rave reviews. The Quartet also has several other album releases on ABC Classics, Tall Poppies and Naxos. The Goldners’ own DVD documentary, The Quartets, recorded with Peter Sculthorpe, was released by ABC Classics.

Strongly committed to teaching the next generation of string quartets, the Goldners have mentored young ensembles through programmes of the Australian Youth Orchestra, Musica Viva Australia and the Sydney Conservatorium. New works by many of Australia’s leading composers have been regularly commissioned for the Goldners.