Stunning Season For Chamber Music In NZ 2014

Stunning Season For Chamber Music In NZ 2014

The season brings nine concerts to centres around New Zealand and as well as the five string quartets, it features a piano/percussion concert with Bartok’s rarely performed masterpiece ‘Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion’; the return of the popular Eggner Trio with guest, Berlin Philhamonic principal viola Amihai Grosz; Michael Hill Violin Competition winner Nikki Chooi’s winner’s tour; and a very exciting project that brings together the New Zealand String Quartet with the world-famous Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra from China.

“This epic programme features performers from all corners of the globe and will showcase the multiple personalities of the string quartet, at times united as one by a single heartbeat and at other times multi-layered, wonderfully complex and rich,” said Chamber Music New Zealand chief executive Euan Murdoch. “It’s great to welcome back old friends such as the Eggner Trio from Vienna and the mighty Borodin Quartet from Russia alongside some exciting new faces. I can’t wait for the music to begin.”

The season opens with two overlapping tours – the Kelemen Quartet from Hungary on its first-ever visit to New Zealand and a special project, Tales From The Forbidden City which brings together the New Zealand String Quartet and China’s Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra in collaboration with artists and composer. Both concerts are presented in association with the New Zealand Festival.

The Kelemen Quartet came to international attention after winning the 2011 Musica Viva Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and has a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting string quartets. Led by Barnabás Kelemen, they specialise in Hungarian repertoire and in New Zealand they perform in 10 centres from Auckland to Invercargill from 9 March, pairing Haydn and Mozart classics with Bartók and works from Hungarian modernists Ligeti and Kurtág.

Also opening on 9 March, Tales From The Forbidden City combines the world-famous Chinese traditional instrument orchestra, the Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra, with the New Zealand String Quartet for a unique Asia-Pacific experience. Performed in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch, the concerts include a major new music and film collaboration by New Zealanders Michael Norris and David Downes paired with a new concerto for piano and traditional instruments by China’s best known composer, Gao Ping.

Two of the greatest and most popular chamber music works by Mozart and Brahms feature in the nationwide May tour by the New Zealand String Quartet with Canadian virtuoso clarinettist James Campbell; while in June the winner of the 2013 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Canadian Nikki Chooi performs throughout New Zealand accompanied by pianist Stephen de Pledge and cellist Ashley Brown.

Two favourite ensembles return to New Zealand in July and September to tour nationwide – the Doric String Quartet and the Eggner Trio with Amihai Grosz. Best known for their performances and recordings of the classics, the Doric String Quartet tour in July and perform programmes including Haydn, Schumann and Schubert.

The Eggner Trio is joined by Berlin Philharmonic principal viola, and founder of the Jerusalem Quartet, Amihai Grosz for a 10-centre tour in September performing favourite trios and quartets from Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Dvořák.

Percussion and piano comes to the fore in the five-centre tour Rhythm and Resonance featuring Bartók’s rarely performed masterpiece Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion performed by acclaimed New Zealand-based pianists Diedre Irons and Michael Endres with percussionists Thomas Guldborg and Lenny Sakofsky from Stroma and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with instruments including xylophone, bass drum, cymbals and four timpani.

Celebrating 10 years together in 2014, the Aroha String Quartet tours to five centres in October. The quartet features three members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and its two founding members are acclaimed as China’s most successful chamber musicians. The Aroha String Quartet will perform traditional Chinese folk music alongside masterworks from Beethoven, Ravel and Shostakovich.

The 2014 season ends on a high note with the return of one of the greatest chamber music ensembles of our age – the Borodin Quartet. Founded in 1945, the quartet’s history traces the modern history of the Soviet era and beyond – they were colleagues and friends of Shostakovich premiering his quartets, played at Stalin’s funeral and have an impeccable heritage. They tour to five centres performing a programme featuring Shostakovich, Myaskovsky and Beethoven’s monumental Opus 130.

Bookings for Chamber Music New Zealand’s Kaleidoscopes Concert Season 2014 are open for subscribers from Friday 11 October and public bookings open on Monday 25 November. For more information and the full programme, visit www.chambermusic.co.nz

Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledges major funding from Creative New Zealand.

ENDS

© Scoop Media