Quartet celebrates 30 years
Forbidden love and hidden passions are behind the New Zealand String Quartet’s latest tour.
For its 30th anniversary tour, Dangerous Liaisons, the quartet will be tackling the topic of forbidden love, explored through composers such as Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Janacek.
‘‘Love, either tragic or unrequited, is the theme in each piece,’’ violist Gillian Ansell said.
Janecek’s Intimate Letters was written when the composer was in his 70s and desperately in love with a married woman half his age.
Over a period of 11 years, he wrote to her more than 700 times.
From Mendelssohn, the quartet will be playing his String Quartet in A minor.
Written in 1827, when Mendelssohn was just 18 the piece charts the composer’s first experiences with love.
The New Zealand String Quartet is based in Wellington and while their tour covers most of the country, the group are pleased to be performing in their home base.
The quartet are fresh off a tour in Canada and for their anniversary tour will be playing 13 centres from Kerikeri in the far North of the country to Dunedin in the south.
‘‘It’s always a great pleasure to play for our home town audiences and we especially love performing at Expressions Whirinaki which has such great ambience and acoustics for chamber music,’’ Ansell said.
Ansell studied at the Royal College of Music in London and is one of the quartet’s founding members.
She originally played as the second violinist before moving to the viola.
The other musicians are first violinist Helene Pohl, second violinist Monique Lapins and cellist Rolf Gjelsten.
They will be using some impressive instruments.
Pohl will be playing a 1730 violin made by Pietro Guarneri in Venice while Lapins will be playing a 1784 Lorenzo Storioni violin on loan.
Gjelsten will be taking to the stage with a cello made in 1705 by Francesco Goffriller in Venice.
The quartet will be performing at Expressions on September 11 at 7.30pm.
The Upper Hutt Leader has a double pass to give away, to go into the draw, email info@expressions.org.nz with ‘The New Zealand String Quartet’ in the subject line.