South Australian-born violinist Niki Vasilakis and acclaimed cellist and composer Hilary Kleinig come together for an intimate recital exploring the extraordinary expressive possibilities of just two string instruments.

Niki’s career has taken her around the globe, appearing as soloist with Australia’s major symphony orchestras and performing on stages from the Sydney Opera House to Europe, Asia and the United States. An acclaimed chamber musician and concert curator, she has collaborated with leading Australian and international artists throughout a career spanning performance, recording, film and television.

Hilary is an award-winning cellist, composer and multidisciplinary artist whose work crosses classical, contemporary and improvised music. For more than 20 years she was cellist and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Zephyr Quartet, and her career has encompassed performances with leading ensembles and artists, composition for orchestra, theatre and dance, and a deep commitment to creating adventurous new music.

At the heart of their program is Zoltán Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 - one of the great masterpieces written for this pairing. Composed in 1914 and deeply influenced by the Hungarian folk music Kodály collected alongside Béla Bartók, the work pushes two instruments to their limits: at once intimate and expansive, raw and lyrical, fiercely rhythmic and breathtakingly virtuosic.

Alongside Kodály, Niki and Hilary perform music by British composer Deborah Pritchard, a friend and collaborator of Niki’s, bringing a contemporary voice into conversation with this twentieth-century masterpiece.

Two musicians. Two instruments. An extraordinary world of colour, intimacy and imagination.

The City of Burnside is pleased to be working with Chamber Adelaide Music to program the Community Concert Series with qualilty performers.