Guy van Egmond
As the walls of Prefab Hall strained to hold the swelling music that poured off the strings of the Quartet, comments from a certain Hollywood actor that ‘no one cares’ about classical forms of art strayed into my mind and were instantly shattered. Last Leaf, Wandering East was both a classy presentation of fine compositions as well as an energetic celebration of folk tunes.
Made up of Gillian Ansell (viola), Peter Clark (violin), Martin Smith (cello), and guest violinist Manu Berkeljon, the New Zealand String Quartet presented Last Leaf, an album by the Danish String Quartet that reimagined classic Scandinavian folk melodies for a modern four-piece. The performance included a second half that had us wandering east of Europe, for a set of compositions by Kiwi Ross Harris, based on the Ashkenazi Klezmer traditions.
I hadn’t been to a chamber concert in a long time and what had me bewildered was how the music moved around us. The air felt thick with melodies that ebbed and eddied around the room. It was wonderful to let myself float along like a leaf on the current, letting my mind wander through the images of highlands and fjords and verdant forests that the music painted.
Shore was a rousing modern opener, with a heartbeat motif behind it that imbued the hall with life. Some of the following pieces, such as Polska from Dorotea and Shine You No More, had such driving rhythms and delicious motifs that made me yearn to jump up and dance. The music’s energy was clear in the musicians too, who would flick their head or an arm for a musical flourish or sway gently to the rhythm with a little smile. Other pieces, like Minuet No. 60, were softer and more heartfelt. The rise and fall of the pieces—from grandiose to flighty or whimsical—put me unsurprisingly in mind of the works of Grieg.
The arrangements made the most of a Quartet’s capabilities, and then some. In Tjønneblomen, the violins and viola would move between layering together and then overlapping different melodies. They were at their best when weaving together, the music melding and filling into one another, as opposed to the short solo sections. In a later piece—with my eyes closed—I swear it sounded like a brass segment joined in, so well did the Quartet play beyond their four instruments.
The second segment, Harris’ Klezmer Tunes, was a wild and fun encore. Volglenish started with great pace and polka-energy, then slowing in pace before racing back up to full tilt. Many of Harris’ pieces featured this kind of energy, either changing in pace or bouncing the melody around the musicians. Schmegegge was also a wild medley of sounds, which drew chuckles from the audience but I felt became haphazard. Nonetheless, I found myself leaving the Hall humming the final melody to myself and wishing it had all gone on just a little bit longer.
Last Leaf, Wandering East was a one-off performance, but the NZSQ will be back in Wellington on May 6th, playing Storytellers: Origins in Wellington at Prefab Hall.
I hadn’t been to a chamber concert in a long time and what had me bewildered was how the music moved around us. The air felt thick with melodies that ebbed and eddied around the room. It was wonderful to let myself float along like a leaf on the current, letting my mind wander through the images of highlands and fjords and verdant forests that the music painted.
Shore was a rousing modern opener, with a heartbeat motif behind it that imbued the hall with life. Some of the following pieces, such as Polska from Dorotea and Shine You No More, had such driving rhythms and delicious motifs that made me yearn to jump up and dance. The music’s energy was clear in the musicians too, who would flick their head or an arm for a musical flourish or sway gently to the rhythm with a little smile. Other pieces, like Minuet No. 60, were softer and more heartfelt. The rise and fall of the pieces—from grandiose to flighty or whimsical—put me unsurprisingly in mind of the works of Grieg.
The arrangements made the most of a Quartet’s capabilities, and then some. In Tjønneblomen, the violins and viola would move between layering together and then overlapping different melodies. They were at their best when weaving together, the music melding and filling into one another, as opposed to the short solo sections. In a later piece—with my eyes closed—I swear it sounded like a brass segment joined in, so well did the Quartet play beyond their four instruments.
The second segment, Harris’ Klezmer Tunes, was a wild and fun encore. Volglenish started with great pace and polka-energy, then slowing in pace before racing back up to full tilt. Many of Harris’ pieces featured this kind of energy, either changing in pace or bouncing the melody around the musicians. Schmegegge was also a wild medley of sounds, which drew chuckles from the audience but I felt became haphazard. Nonetheless, I found myself leaving the Hall humming the final melody to myself and wishing it had all gone on just a little bit longer.
Last Leaf, Wandering East was a one-off performance, but the NZSQ will be back in Wellington on May 6th, playing Storytellers: Origins in Wellington at Prefab Hall.