Mesothelioma

29.

"We knew we could not replace Cynthia as an oboist," said DeSotto, an operatically trained tenor who also plays violin and mandolin.

"She was one of the world's finest.

We decided to go with a clarinet, and Shalom has been just fantastic.

He is changing the way we sound." Onstage, Quartetto Gelato is noted for combining virtuoso musicianship with a lighthearted approach to music, hence the name, which means "Ice Cream Quartet" in Italian.

Members mix traditional works from classical composers such as Brahms with gypsy music, operatic arias and tango.

"We are forever morphing," DeSotto said.

The presence of Alex Sevastian, a native of Belarus who plays accordion, piano and bandoneon, is a strong indicator that Quartetto Gelato is not your typical chamber music quartet.

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...

It's a dead-set beauty spot.

Near the glorious Wittenoom Gorge and in the shadow of the majestic Hamersley Range, its everything an outback oasis ought to be.

Last year the power and water was switched off, leaving the recalcitrants relying on pumps and generators.

The dirt road off the main highway is left in disrepair.

Without a shop, the gang of eight are obliged to drive 140 kilometres to the mining town of Tom Price to get their groceries.

This year the campaign intensified.

Wittenoom was gazetted as no longer existing.

It's been taken off the map, its road signs taken down.

Officials have also armed themselves with a report declaring the town an "extreme" health risk to those who live there and those who pass through.

A resettlement package of 40,000 Australian dollars (30,000 US dollars) awaits those of the eight who run up the white flag and agree to leave.

Hartmann, the local postman, vows to stay put even if the offer is increased tenfold.

Meg Timewell, 61, insists that the asbestosis danger passed with the closure of the mine and that the authorities are wrong in fearing compensation claims from tourists passing through who may subsequently contract lung disease.

"There is no significant health risk in this town," Timewell, who moved to Wittenoom 30 years ago, told national broadcaster ABC.

"We do believe that there is a hid...