Petersen Quartet at Auckland Town Hall

Germany's Petersen Quartet has more than 20 CDs on the Capriccio label to support the superlatives from critics worldwide.

Even allowing for Gallic hyperbole, a French review hailing one of the Petersen's performances as "a common vision that reached perfection" would seem to indicate that these four men are from chamber music heaven.

They open their New Zealand and Australian tour in Auckland on Friday but, a week ago, the musicians were on stage in Sion, Switzerland, playing a Bruckner Quintet with violinist Shlomo Mintz.

Instantly, a Kiwi connection. "Shlomo told us he'd been to New Zealand recently," violinist Daniel Bell says. "He told us we must have a window-seat when we land in Wellington because it's the most beautiful landing anywhere in the world."

The Englishman, who joined the quartet in 2000, points out the advantages and disadvantages of ensemble work. "You have to balance being in an established group, with a good number of well-paid concerts, and the need to fit into the other musicians' established playing style and way of working."

The Five Pieces by Erwin Schulhoff, featured in Friday's concert, are a case in point. "It was requested for this tour that we play something from that area of repertoire," is Bell's cool explanation.

This is a work the Petersens recorded 12 years ago and Bell says: "I prefer to do repertoire that's new for everyone."

But Bell is more than happy working in his favourite medium. Although invited by Claudio Abbado to be concertmaster of the conductor's Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra, there is no doubt where this violinist's preferences lie.

"When you're in an orchestra, especially as a string player, no one actually hears what you're playing. Over the years, this can become disheartening.

"In a quartet every single note is heard, not only by the audience but by yourself. The individual responsibility is much greater."

If you come along to the Town Hall on Friday you'll find - among Mozart, Schumann and Schulhoff - an antipodean offering in the form of Peter Sculthorpe's Ninth Quartet.

This is another requested work - Musica Viva, the Australian equivalent of Chamber Music New Zealand, are asking their guest artists this season to play something by Australia's senior composer.

The ultimate choice of which one of Sculthorpe's 15 quartets lay with the Petersens, and Bell says they were caught by the Ninth's "particularly strong character" and that "it's not really difficult to listen to at all".

They are looking forward to meeting Sculthorpe this month. "We were rehearsing it the other day and we were reminded of Janacek. I don't know if that is something the composer is conscious of, but we can ask him in a few weeks."

As always, it is refreshing to have a contemporary work as part of a concert, reminding us that there is a spiritual continuum from Mozart to the music of today. The Petersens do more than their share to keep it alive, most recently in collaboration with the composer Aribert Reimann. But Bell says it is important to programme the present-day alongside the standard repertoire.

"Groups that specialise in contemporary music have famously small audiences. It is worthy but it doesn't have much impact if there's nobody listening to it. If you have a programme combining contemporary music with the classics then you get more people in the hall listening to it - and usually enjoying it."

*What: Petersen Quartet
*Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, Friday 8pm