Celebrating a remarkable career of 35 seasons, the New Zealand String Quartet enjoys acclaim for its insightful and exciting interpretations in live performances across five continents and on a distinguished collection of recordings. The New Zealand String Quartet is known for its imaginative programming across a wide spectrum of repertoire and collaborations, in both classical and jazz, and for its powerful connection with audiences of all kinds.
Hailed in The Strad for its “terrific verve and precision” and in the New York Times for its “uncommon eloquence”, the Quartet has cultivated an unusually rich repertoire, including a wide variety of works by New Zealand composers, contemporary works by Asian composers, the classical cycles of Beethoven, Bartok, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Berg. The quartet’s collaborations include theatrical presentations on musical topics ranging from Haydn’s “Seven Last Words”, Janacek's "Kreutzer Sonata" and Ross Harris’ “Requiem for the Fallen”. The Requiem marks the centenary of World War I, with text and poetry by New Zealand’s Poet Laureate Vincent O’Sullivan and traditional taonga pūoro composition by Horomona Horo.
Acclaimed performances in London's Wigmore Hall and the City of London Festival, in New York at the Frick Collection, and in Washington's Library of Congress are part of regular touring in the UK, Europe, North America, Asia, and repeated visits to Australia, including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and the Canberra International Music Festival. Much-loved by audiences in New Zealand, the country's premier chamber ensemble presents a vast array of concerts all over the country each year.
The Quartet has proudly championed New Zealand music since their inception, commissioning over 150 New Zealand works, alongside collaborations with taonga pūoro players Rob Thorne, Horomona Horo, and the late Richard Nunns.
On CD, the group's extensive discography includes all the quartets by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bartok, Berg, and Douglas Lilburn, works by Ravel, Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorak, Wolf, a collection titled Asian Music for String Quartet, and the premiere recording of the Zoltan Szekely quartet. A career highlight is its Atoll Records release of "Notes from a Journey”', a collection of works by New Zealand composers which won 'Classical Recording of the Year' at the NZ Music Awards. The quartet’s ongoing collaboration with clarinetist James Campbell is celebrated on a Naxos release of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, and its complete Brahms cycle includes the string quintets with Grammy-winning violist Maria Lambros.
Renowned for its versatility, the quartet has collaborated with musicians from all over the globe, including in jazz and world music genres. Dedicated teachers, the New Zealand String Quartet is Quartet-in-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University and gives masterclasses worldwide. Quartet members Gillian Ansell and Helene Pohl are co-artistic directors of the biennial Adam Chamber Music Festival in Nelson. The three longest serving members of the Quartet have been awarded the MNZM honour for services to music in New Zealand.