Top Drawer String Players for Martinborough Music Festival

The last two performances for the Martinborough Music Festival will be the Yuka Eguchi String Quartet and an Octet.

The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music. Austrian composer Joseph Haydn is credited with beginning a repertoire of countless compositions that have been written for string quartets since the 1750s by other composers. Needless to say, there are countless quartets to play them. These days, it is quite common for string quartets to commission their own works, or, to be approached by composers to write works for them.

The string quartet is a popular diversion for players in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The members of the Yuka Eguchi String Quartet are leading players from the NZSO. Yuka Eguchi (1st Violin) is the Assistant Concertmaster of the NZSO. Andrew Thomson will play 2nd Violin, Julia Joyce, Viola and Andrew Joyce, Cello. Andrew Joyce loves playing in a string quartet; “as a playing and musical experience, it is very satisfying to perform in a quartet. You are able to hear the other players playing their individual parts. In the context of the full orchestra, you can only hear the players who sit beside you”.
Members of the Yuka Eguchi String Quartet have all played with the NZSO in Martinborough when the Orchestra performed at Palliser Vineyard as part of the popular Wellington On A Plate Festival held over the past three years. They are looking forward to returning to Martinborough to participate in the inaugural Music Festival. Their programme is still to be finalised.

The octet is exactly what it says, a group of eight musicians performing together. Franz Schubert wrote one of the most popular octets in the repertoire, the Octet in F major, D803. Schubert scored it for clarinet (Patrick Barry), bassoon (Robert Weekes, Horn (Ed Allen), 1st violin (Yuka Eguchi), 2nd violin (Andrew Thomson), viola (Sophia Acheson), Ken Ichinose (cello) and double bass (Joan Peranau Garriga). It is a beautiful piece and will be performed on the final day of the Festival.

Martinborough Music Festival Friday 29 September – Sunday 1 October. Details available shortly.

Winifred Bull