New Zealand String Quartet

The New Zealand String Quartet added to their high reputation by their polished and committed performance last night at the Concert Chamber. The present members of the group first played together a decade ago, and through their regular visits to Rotorua audiences here have heard them progress as they have become an outstanding ensemble with an international standing.

Their programme had the theme ‘Famous Last Words’, the final quartets by three masters of the genre, Haydn, Shostakovich and Schubert. A piece with only two completed movements, Haydn’s Quartet no 68 which opened the evening was eloquently played but because of its imbalance had the feel of divertimento rather than a climax to the life’s work by the ‘Father’ of the string quartet form.

A stark contrast to the friendliness of Haydn and Schubert, Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 15 was certainly not for the faint-hearted but was full of rewards for the determined listener. This dark and powerful work of six slow movements is the composer’s emotional testimony against his brutal treatment by the former Soviet state, and taut and vibrant playing brought to life the composer’s suffering in a masterly fashion. Schubert’s G minor Quartet at the end was all that one could ask for, a splendid mixture of charm and nervous excitement.