NZ Music Award winners to perform violin and piano recital in Whanganui

NZ Music Award winners, pianist Sarah Watkins and violinist Andrew Beer, will play a recital in Whanganui. Photo / Supplied Photo / Supplied

Violinist Andrew Beer and pianist Sarah Watkins will kick off their 2021 duo season with a performance in the Concert Chamber of the Whanganui War Memorial Centre this month.

The pair were named Classical Artists of the Year at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards.

Canadian-born Beer, described as a "musical gift" with a "glorious string tone", has performed throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. He has served as concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) since 2014.

Watkins is perhaps best known as one of the original members of NZ Trio, though she enjoys a wide variety of collaborations with musicians all over Aotearoa.

She has been an official pianist for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition since its inception in 2001 and the Gisborne International Music Competition since 2008 and regularly appears as a freelance player in the APO.

A graduate of the University of Canterbury (NZ), Sarah earned MM and DMA degrees from the Juilliard School in New York. She has a private teaching practice and is on staff at the University of Auckland.

Together Beer and Watkins have chosen a programme which, at its heart, is filled with a strong sense of joy and optimism.

Mozart's late A major sonata sets the tone with sparkling virtuosity for both instruments, and this brilliance is on full display in American John Corigliano's award-winning Sonata from 1964 - a rollicking, tour-de-force piece which is a breathtaking ride for both the performers and audience.

At the centre of the programme are Clara Schumann's Three Romances and, a fitting celebration of NZ Music Month, two works from Gillian Whitehead and Gao Ping.

The works take inspiration from two different, but equally devastating, earthquakes - Christchurch and Chengdu.

Violin and Piano Recital: Whanganui War Memorial Centre, Saturday, May 22, at 7.30pm. Tickets are available in advance from the Royal Wanganui Opera House or at the door (cash only - no Eftpos). Adults $35, seniors $32, subscribers $20 (or prepay with a full membership card), students $5.

Chamber Music Wanganui thanks Kwok Joe Dental, and Whanganui Venues and Events for their sponsorship of this concert.