NEW ZEALAND’S LEADING CHAMBER ENSEMBLE TO PLAY IN MARTINBOROUGH

After an absence of nearly 20 years, the New Zealand String Quartet is coming to Martinborough at the start of August as part of its annual nationwide concert series. This year’s tour will take them to 11 centres, from Waiheke Island to Invercargill and although they have performed for the last two years in Wairarapa, this will be their very first concert in Martinborough since the late 1990s.

Titled Heartland Classics the tour is all about taking great music to intimate venues around the country. While looking for just the right concert space in Martinborough, the quartet’s manager Christine Argyle was introduced to David and Winifred Bull, owners of The Cabbage Tree Vineyard. She says, “I took a trip over the hill to visit the vineyard one weekend and knew it would be the perfect setting. Winifred and David have created a wonderful space for concerts in their home on the vineyard and they have generously opened their doors to host the Quartet and the local community.”

Winifred Bull says the pleasure is all theirs. “We’re thrilled to be hosting this concert for such a prestigious group of musicians. The programme is going to be absolutely gorgeous and we’re looking forward to the special ‘up close and personal’ experience you get at a house concert. That’s chamber music as it really should be.”
The Heartland Classics programme in Martinborough features music by well-known German composers Mozart and Mendelssohn, 19th-century Czech composer Dvorak and a short piece written specially for the New Zealand String Quartet by Otago-based composer Dame Gillian Whitehead. Dame Gillian’s Poroporoaki cleverly imitates the sounds of Maori instruments which, in turn, reflect the sounds of nature.

Now in its 29th year, the New Zealand String Quartet has entered a new era in 2016 with the appointment of Australian violinist Monique Lapins. This is the first change in the ensemble’s line-up in over 21 years and their Martinborough concert on 6 August will be the first opportunity for locals to hear the new combination.
2pm Saturday 6 August Venue The Cabbage Tree Vineyard
Programme: Mozart: String Quartet no 16 in E flat, K. 428.
Gillian Whitehead: Poroporoaki.
Dvorak: 2 Cypresses (no 3 & no 11)
Mendelssohn: String Quartet no 3 in D, op 44 no 1
Bookings: www.eventfinda.co.nz or phone 0800 BUY TIX.