East meets Aotearoa for Aroha String Quartet's National Tour

[Media Release]

East meets Aotearoa for Aroha String Quartet's National Tour in October

"Rarely have I heard a string quartet produce such breathtakingly gorgeous, mellow, velvety sound" – MusicWeb International

The Aroha String Quartet marks 10 years together in 2014 and, to celebrate, the ensemble is performing in five New Zealand centres as part of the Chamber Music New Zealand 2014 Kaleidoscopes Concert Season.

The Aroha String Quartet performs at Hamilton's Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts on Saturday 25 October on the tour which also takes them to Nelson, Invercargill, Palmerston North and New Plymouth.
The members of the Aroha String Quartet are all well respected musicians – three of the players play with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the two founding members are acknowledged among China’s most successful chamber musicians, while Robert Ibell is considered one of New Zealand’s finest cellists.

True to their Chinese roots, the programme for the tour includes surprising and delightful takes on traditional Chinese folk music, as well as masterworks of the repertoire including Beethoven’s String Quartet in A, the glorious Ravel quartet and the first and happiest quartet from Shostakovich, who said of this work that he “visualised childhood scenes and somewhat naïve and bright moods, associated with spring”.

The Aroha String Quartet
Violin: Haihong Liu
Violin: Blythe Press
Viola: Zhongxian Jin
Cello: Robert Ibell

Programme
Beethoven | String Quartet in A Op 18 5
Shostakovich | String Quartet 1
Hua Yan-Jun, arr. Ding Shan-De | Er-Quan-Yin-Yue (Spring water reflects the moon)
Traditional, arr. A Ke-Jian & Zheng De-Ren | Fan-Shen-Dao-Qing (Song of emancipation)
Ravel | String Quartet in F

NELSON: Old St John’s Church | Monday 13 October 7.30pm | Book tickets at TicketDirect 0800 4TICKET (484 253) www.ticketdirect.co.nz
INVERCARGILL: Civic Theatre | Tuesday 14 October 7.30pm | Book tickets at TicketDirect 0800 4TICKET (484 253) www.ticketdirect.co.nz
PALMERSTON NORTH: The Speirs Centre | Thursday 23 October 7.30pm – free pre-concert talk 6.45pm | Book tickets at Dash Tickets 0800 327 484 www.dashtickets.co.nz
NEW PLYMOUTH: Theatre Royal | Friday 24 October 7.30pm | Book tickets at Ticketmaster 0800 111 999 www.ticketmaster.co.nz
HAMILTON: Gallagher Academy | Saturday 25 October 7.30pm | Book tickets at Ticketek 0800 TICKETEK (842 538) www.ticketek.co.nz

About the Aroha String Quartet
The Aroha String Quartet celebrates 10 years together this year and over that time have developed an international following, as well as huge acclaim from critics and audiences the length and breadth of New Zealand. Acclaimed as demonstrating "accomplished brilliance, soulfulness and sublime intensity in perfect balance and tonal unity" (The Dominion Post), the Aroha String Quartet is firmly established as one of the finest chamber music ensembles at the forefront of New Zealand chamber music. Founded in 2004, this versatile Wellington-based ensemble is known for its passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovation. In 2009, Haihong Liu, and Zhongxian Jin were joined by well-known New Zealand cellist Robert Ibell. In 2012 Blythe Press joined them as second violin, taking the place of original quartet member, Beiyi Xue. Alongside their busy schedule of orchestral and teaching duties, Aroha are highly committed to presenting string quartet works from traditional Chinese folk music to western classical and avant-garde contemporary repertoire, as well as bringing the abundant variety of chamber music to its audience by collaborating with numerous national and international high-profile musicians.

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