27 Elul 5784

Rabbi Aviva Kipen

Progressive Judaism Victoria

Elul: an intentional ending
After 30 glorious years, Sydney’s Goldner String Quartet is breaking up. Named for Richard Goldner, 1939 escapee from Vienna and inventor[1], who at war’s end established Musica Viva’s massive musical circuit in Australia, The Goldners are choosing to quit.

Surely the reasons for the decision to stop playing as a quartet are complex. Goldner is at the top of its game and will be remembered for their excellence and harmony on and off the concert platform. Comprising two couples, unlike notorious quartets whose players have come and gone over the years, or who detested each other sufficiently not to fly on the same planes as each other when heading for concert destinations, Dean (First chair – violin) and Irena (Viola), Dimity (Second Violin) and Julian (Cello) have spent 2024 preparing for their final performances in their group identity.

In this final season as Quartet in Residence at the Townsville Chamber Music Festival, they spoke about the experience of endless disclosure. They played for 30 years in the direct sight and sound of spouses who were also colleagues, whose artistic task was to share responsibility for the best interpretations and performances. The players have critiqued each other endlessly with a rigour that has left little to chance for decades. And now it is time to end. It has been an intentional process. Still, Julian wept as he described what it is like to play a piece with this or that quartet for the last time. The audience wept through the standing ovation that farewelled Australia’s iconic foursome on their final festival performance.

In Elul, we are invited to reflect on whether the “music making” of our relationships could be revived with a bit of rigorous work and scrutiny, or whether it is time to relinquish what has become stale, outdated and even destructive. Elul anticipates the most intentional of endings: the close of a year and the turning of a page to the new one. After the close of Elul, then what? What will be the soundtrack of 5785?

“Shiru l’adonai shir chadash, sing a new song to God.” (Ps 96:1 & Ps 98:1)

Shanah tovah to all. May sweetness be shared, may sorrow be diminished,
“may justice flow down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:24)

[1] https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goldner-richard-15195