The Orava Quartet hit the dramatic opening of Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ String Quartet in D Minor with crisp authority, cleaving the gestures into the silence of the Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room, before taking a more thoughtful tack in the quiet response – and fizzing with energy as they leapt into the Allegro proper.

The Orava Quartet: Daniel Kowalik, Thomas Chawner, Karol Kowalik and David Dalseno. Photo © Dylan Evans Photography, courtesy of Universal Music Australia

The concert was the first in the ensemble’s Death and the Maiden tour (though they aired the Schubert at the recent Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival) which will see them take this staple of the quartet repertoire – written in 1824, late in Schubert’s life – to Victoria and Queensland. It’s music well suited to the group, which has become known for its spirited performances, and they brought a taut intensity to this performance, lower strings motoring and the four musicians shooting running figures around the ensemble.

The Utzon’s Room acoustic is perilously exposing for strings (vocal groups seem to fare better there) and there were occasional moments when intonation went ever so slightly...