In memory of Günter Pichler

I was about to write our April newsletter when we received the shocking news that our mentor, Günter Pichler, had died suddenly on Friday 24 April. 

A true legend of the string quartet world, Günter Pichler was the founding first violinist of the Alban Berg Quartet from 1970 to 2008. Continuously throughout his career he taught chamber music with voracious energy, shaping generations of string quartets, right to the end as a sprightly 85‑year‑old. His past students are now sharing their tributes around the world — Belcea Quartet, Ébène, Artemis, Leonkoro Quartet, and quartets recently studying with him.

For us, the opportunity to study with Günter Pichler at the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, and then for two consecutive years at the International Institute of Chamber Music, Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, brought into focus and refined with new clarity of purpose all the ambitions and dreams we had when we formed the Affinity Quartet as students at ANAM in 2015.

Our decision to create a lockdown bubble in mid‑2021 at the southern tip of regional Victoria to focus single‑mindedly on the string quartet might have seemed worlds apart from Vienna, yet it felt deeply validated by Günter’s reflections on the beginnings of his own Alban Berg Quartet:

“While I fundamentally appreciated the Viennese quartets of that time (both of which consisted of members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), it became obvious to me quickly that the international quartets (such as the Amadeus, Juilliard, Quartetto Italiano, La Salle, Hungarian, Smetana Quartet and others) performed at a superior level, as they solely focused their careers on chamber music.”

The words he shared with us, his concise advice distilled onto a single page, and the many phrases we came to cherish—“never too much talking”, “you must sing and swing”—along with his mindful approach to the score, his career advice, and his constant attention and encouragement even after we returned to Australia, have shaped us deeply. His sudden death is painfully felt, as it must be by his family, students, and all who encountered his singular personality and tenacity as a musician, pioneer, and teacher.

“You Australians,” he would say—both a chiding and a compliment meant so much to us. As Australians, we felt far removed from the Viennese school of music‑making that he so fully embodied, yet under his guidance we grew in conviction, knowledge, and voice. “Do not return to me without First Prize!”—scary, but motivating. By then, he had already guided us through two international competitions resulting in Second Prizes, and for the first time we felt we might truly be capable of bringing home a First Prize. And we did.

He often sent emails dictated by speech recognition. We loved the sign‑off: “Best vicious, Günter”. You could hear his thick accent shaping the English words, and the mis‑transcribed phrases somehow felt entirely perfect.

As we now enter our own second decade as the Affinity Quartet, it will be bittersweet to carry forward the memories and legacy of Günter Pichler here in Australia.

Vale GP. Like the musical term general pause, you held time like no other.