Chamber Music Wanganui celebrates 50 years

The New Zealand String Quartet Helene Pohl (left), Monique Lapins, Rolf Gjelsten and Gillian Ansell.

This year marks the 50th year of Chamber Music Wanganui's association with Chamber Music NZ, or the National Federation of Chamber Music as it was back in the 1960s.

This long-standing association has helped provide our community with international quality live performances on a regular basis and the subscription series for 2018 is no exception.

The first concert of the series will be given on Saturday, March 17 in the Concert Chamber of the War Memorial Centre.

The performers are the NZ String Quartet, (patrons of Chamber Music Wanganui), together with visiting American pianist Diane Walsh.

Walsh is a former prize winner in the Ferruccio Busoni, Van Cliburn and Salzburg Mozart competitions and highlights of her career include recitals at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Reviews of her playing have talked about her "intelligent virtuosity" as well as her "exquisite care and loving touch".

The Whanganui concert will feature music of Beethoven (String Quartet op 59 no 2), as well as Elgar's Piano Quintet, written in 1918 during an intense period of chamber music writing which also produced his Violin Sonata in E minor and the String Quartet in E minor.

2018 is not only the centenary of the end of World War I, hence the inclusion of Elgar's great work, but it also marks the centenary of the death of Debussy.

Diane will perform some solo piano music by Debussy from Images including the famous Reflets dans l'eau (Reflections in the water).

Chamber Music Wanganui would like to express sincere thanks to the Cleveland Funeral Home for sponsoring this concert, and to the many other local sponsors who are supporting the series.

For further information about becoming a subscriber, contact Ingrid Culliford at ing.cull@gmail.com and you can find out more from the NZ String Quartet website https://nzsq.org.nz

Chamber Music Wanganui 50th Anniversary Subscription Series: NZ String Quartet
with pianist Diane Walsh. Saturday, March 17 at 7.30pm. Concert Chamber, Whanganui War Memorial Centre. Tickets from RWOH - Adult $35, senior $32, school student $5
subscriber $20 (or pre-paid tickets).