New Zealand String Quartet at Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber

The New Zealand String Quartet's contribution to Mozart Year took an enterprising approach. Mozart's six Haydn Quartets were written for no other reason than paying tribute to an older colleague. He worked on them for three years; a labour of love and an acknowledgment of Haydn's genius.

The same spirit of generosity and devotion was evident in the NZSQ's performances of these pieces, particularly in Saturday evening's programme. All the more lamentable then that both concerts attracted such meagre audiences.

The four players captured me, in seconds, with the grace of their opening phrase of the G major Quartet. Occasionally there was a forced sense of urgency, as the Allegro progressed, but the musicians enjoyed exploring the many colours of Mozart's scoring.

The sforzandi in the Minuet made their Haydnesque point without labouring it; the Trio was daring, and successfully so, in its rubato.

The D minor Quartet brought deeper emotional engagement. That perilous moment in the second movement where the ensemble encounters the key of A flat was effortlessly navigated, the Minuet was indeed one to dance to and, in the final pages, premonitions of Mahler did not go unnoticed. By the E flat quartet, the balance of rustic Minuet and long-breathed, song-like Andante showed the NZSQ at the peak of its form.

Sunday's concert completed the set. The B flat Quartet caught the "hunt" that gives it its nickname. It was a study in ensemble work, especially in the twists and turns of the Finale.

Contrapuntal intricacies are at the heart of the A major Quartet, and the NZSQ made them seem as natural as the most artless of ditties. If the Andante seemed a mite long-winded this is Mozart's fault as well as the musicians', and the players once again delivered a crisp, exuberant Finale.

All four revelled in the opening chords that gave the C major "Dissonance" Quartet its name. The slow movement was shapely in its contours, the slightly reserved Minuet a perfect foil for the ebullient Finale.

The high point of both concerts was the appearance of Peter Nagy, a distinguished Hungarian pianist on the staff of Canterbury University's Music Department, who took part in Mozart's two Piano Quartets.

Within four bars of the G minor work, brilliant performances could be predicted; Nagy delivered coruscating passagework and phrasing of ineffable rightness. The three string players, especially on Saturday, were inspired to new heights.

The mercurial Nagy was the leader; what could have been Viennese prettiness at times took on a darker sheen and the slow movements were as intensely moving as the much later Beethoven, especially in the exchanges of the E flat Trio's Larghetto.