FLINDERS QUARTET
Elizabeth Sellars • violin
Wilma Smith • violin
Helen Ireland • viola
Zoe Knighton • cello

AGATHA YIM, POLYPHONIC PICTURES filming and editing
ABC CLASSIC Producer • Jennifer Mills / Engineer • Niyi Adepoyibi

Filmed August 2025 in the Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre, Wurundjeri Country/Southbank

Flinders Quartet is deeply grateful for the support of project partner, Creative Victoria, as well as all of our wonderful Fifth String donors.

ALEXANDER BORODIN (1833-1887)
String Quartet No. 2 in D major (composed 1881)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo. Allegro
III. Notturno. Andante
IV. Finale. Andante - Vivace

Borodin was a part-time composer in the most literal sense. He was also a respected chemist, educator, and advocate for women in science. But somehow, amid all this, he managed to produce one of the most enduringly beloved string quartets of the Romantic era.

You may wonder about Borodin’s first string quartet and why it is rarely played. We wonder about that too. Apart from the fact that it is ten minutes longer than the second quartet (making it more cumbersome to program) the melodies in the second quartet have an iconic quality. It’s not just familiarity, they have the intangible quality and arc that is perhaps due to the inspiration behind the work.

Borodin’s second quartet is, quite simply, a love letter. He wrote it while on holiday with his wife Ekaterina, and the warmth of their companionship infuses every bar. The opening Allegro is graceful and open-hearted, full of long, arching phrases that feel like conversations between people who know each other well. The Scherzo is playful and quick-footed with an incredibly tender middle section - perhaps a musical snapshot of the couple themselves.

The famous third movement, the Notturno, is the soul of the piece. It's often played as a stand-alone encore, and you’ll hear why. Its soaring cello melody (later borrowed for the musical Kismet) can claim its rightful place as one of the great lyrical moments in all quartet literature.

The Finale brings us full circle with a joyful burst of energy. The themes feel folk-like, but they’re carefully wrought. Borodin was a master of making the complex seem effortless. It’s hard not to smile during this movement; the music feels like a celebration of shared life, shared rhythm, shared understanding.