[6] Born in 1870 in Australia (and raised in New Zealand), Alfred Hill was brought up in a rich musical environment; his father was both a hatter and a skilled violinist who often encouraged singing in the household.
[7] Hill began playing cornet and toured with the Simonsen Opera Company before switching to violin and viola as his primary instruments.
[9] His first three string quartets were composed by 1914, and the others from 1918-1938, many of which were later recomposed as symphonies, with form, melody, and harmony remaining largely unchanged in the recompositions.
5 in A minor, "The Carnival," in which the slow movement and the scherzo are in the opposite order compared to the string quartet.
[3][11] The title "Carnival or A Student in Italy for String Quartet" appears on the front page of the manuscript.
[13] Across his 17 string quartets, Hill uses a standard treatment of sonata form in outer movements, sometimes with an added slow introduction.
[13] The first violin introduces the melody and carries the bulk of the melodic material throughout the movement, with a full chordal texture in the accompaniment and short countermelodies.
[14] Additionally, with the foundation of the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1939, Hill's music became more widely heard, though only a very limited selection of his work was aired.