On 18 February Carl Vine’s Endless, a guitar quintet for Karin Schaupp and the Flinders Quartet, premieres at the City Recital Hall, Sydney, starting a national concert tour presented by Musica Viva Australia. Endless receives 9 additional performances in venues in Nowra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Brisbane, Hobart, and Adelaide.
The 16 ½-minute piece is cast in one movement. Vine writes of the piece,
This work celebrates the life of Jennifer Bates, a professional architect, project manager and dedicated environmentalist whose life was tragically cut short by a rogue motorist. Jen and her husband travelled widely, working for a year in Bhutan as international volunteers for the Australian government. There Jen became inspired by Buddhist symbolism and especially the "endless knot" - the emblem of this score - signifying the interconnectedness of all things.
This composition evinces the positivity and commitment to community contribution that Jen displayed throughout her life. At its heart is a reflective elegy, followed by a celebratory dance inspired by Jen's much-loved salsa. Endless was commissioned by her mother, Kathryn Bennett, as a living legacy for a precious life that ended too soon.
Vine was Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia for twenty years, from 2000-2019. As part of the Musica Viva Tour, the Flinders Quartet also perform Imogen Holst’s Phantasy for string quartet, recently published by Faber Music.