Long, painful road to freedom

By WILLIAM DART

Gillian Ansell, the New Zealand String Quartet's violist, is looking forward to the group's upcoming 4 Strings and Piano concerts, admitting that "we do sometimes go for ages without doing any romantic repertoire".

Compensation comes with two concerts of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms and it's the Mendelssohn quartets that Ansell seems most drawn to.

"We're opening with the F minor, a late work written after the death of his sister. Apart from the slow movement, it's very stormy and fiery, without that sense of joyous ease that one often associates with his music."

Brahms and Schumann are both represented by works with piano - Schumann's solitary Piano Quartet and the Brahms G minor, with Deidre Irons at the keyboard.

Working alongside a pianist is "always a very exciting experience because a musician like Deidre provides a huge backbone we usually have to provide ourselves, but does it with all those extra decibels. In terms of surfing, it's like riding a wonderful wave".

Guest artists bring a valuable perspective, says Ansell. "We spend so many hours together, just the four of us, and get used to the arguments someone is likely to present. Then a new person walks in and has a new way of looking at things. It's really refreshing to have this other musical mind, experience and background."

Last year was not a good one for Ansell, who suffered a recurrence of the OOS that has forced her to take time out on several occasions. "It can just hit you suddenly," she warns, "and you're out for quite a time. You look after yourself as best you can, but I needed to do more and to be stronger. It's a physical reality. Men from the age of 22 and women from 18 are losing 2 per cent of muscle a year, unless they are working on it."

She talks of the importance of warming-up exercises before playing, stretching at the end of a session like athletes do, and the value of basic Tai Chi, but "playing an instrument is not an aerobic activity like running; it doesn't get your heart beating fast".

"It's a matter of command and obey with the muscles. They've got to obey you or you play the wrong note. They consume an enormous amount of energy and by the end of a concert you're starving - that doesn't happen after a rehearsal which might seem just as energetic."

What does she look for in a chamber ensemble? "The obvious thing is matching beautifully. You'd think that after playing with the same people for nine years it would be automatic, but it damned well isn't," she affirms with an ironic laugh.

"You have to work at it all the time. When you achieve it, it takes your breath away and you have that sense of freedom we're all looking for. Spontaneous and yet polished."

Performance:

* What: The New Zealand String Quartet and Deidre Irons

* Where: Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber

* When: Tonight and tomorrow, 8pm