NZ String Quartet presents programme of Haydn, Schumann and Gareth Farr

New Zealand String Quartet plays in Whanganui on Thursday. Photo / Bruce Foster

After a mid-winter break, Chamber Music Whanganui is set to resume its 2022 subscription series with concert number 4 – CMW patrons, the NZ String Quartet who are this year celebrating their 37th year and are coming to Whanganui fresh off their national tour for Chamber Music NZ.

Always vital and passionate, the quartet will treat us to a programme of music by Haydn, Schumann and a recent work by one of NZ's most popular composers, Gareth Farr.

Written in the spring of 2017, Gareth Farr's Te Koanga is a celebration of life and regeneration, and the happiness that the return of the sun gives us after the bitter cold of winter.

Te Koanga was commissioned by the family of Wellington luthier and cellist Ian Lyons, a well-known figure among the Aotearoa New Zealand string community whose instruments he serviced and cared for before passing away unexpectedly in 2015.

"In addition to his passion for music, Ian was passionate about nature and the outdoors and spent much time observing and experiencing the beautiful and rich environment that Wellington boasts," says Gareth Farr.

"This piece is not a lament for Ian - rather, it is a joyous celebration of the things that were most important to him."

The sound world of Te Koanga was inspired by the tui calls heard in the Marlborough Sounds and noted down when Gareth was just 16.

The other two more standard quartets are by Haydn, the String Quartet in D major, the fourth of six quartets in his Op. 20 set (1772) and Robert Schumann's quartet in A minor, first performed on September 13 1842, Clara Schumann's 23rd birthday. In this quartet – the key Schumann often associated with his wife – the legacy of Beethoven, and the influence of Mendelssohn are both present.

This is a wonderful programme (approximately 75 minutes) which will be superbly played by the quartet with the musical wisdom and freedom that comes from years of working together. As the Otago Daily Times wrote, their playing was "… a never-to-be-forgotten experience for all those who attended".

Thank you to our sponsors, John Scott and Whanganui Venues and Events, for their support of this concert.

The Details
What: NZ String Quartet
When: Thursday, August 18, 7.30pm.
Where: Concert Chamber, Whanganui War Memorial Centre
Tickets: Tickets are available in advance from the Royal Whanganui Opera House Box Office or at the door – cash only, no eftpos. Adults $35, seniors $32, CMW Subscribers $20, students $5.