The New Zealand String Quartet has celebrated its silver anniversary both in concert and on CD. Some of us caught the group's cycle of Beethoven concerts that toured the country earlier in the year; many more would have enjoyed Radio New Zealand Concert's broadcasts of the series, which finished just last night.
On CD, the group's latest release, Asian Music for String Quartet, is an illustrious addition to the NZSQ's impressive catalogue.
Ironically, this engrossing programme is exactly the same as a concert the musicians gave at last year's Auckland Festival - a memorable evening marred only by the fact that it drew one of the smallest audiences I have ever experienced in the Town Hall Concert Chamber.
Zhou Long's Song of the Ch'in is a sonority-soaked opener. Evoking a Chinese zither, the composer comes up with an ingenious parade of pizzicato; yet in among the multifarious pluckings, each player weaves wonderfully tinted strands of melody.
Cambodian composer Chinary Ung was present at the Auckland concert when the NZSQ played his Spiral III, and extremely happy with the performance. On disc, his clever cultural blendings that embrace harmonies on the bluesy side are even more inviting.
