THEME VOLUME 36 / NUMBER 03 / SEPTEMBER 2018
“THEY MAKE MUSIC FLOW AS NATURALLY AS SPEECH” - The Guardian In our sometimes frantic and frenetic world, we can forget to take a breath and pause. To stop and appreciate beauty, the passing of time and remembrance of history. But this is exactly the kind of experience Russia’s Borodin Quartet offers. One of the great string quartets of the modern era, this Quartet has a place in the history-books like no other, forming in 1945 and having collaborated with Shostakovich and performed at Prokofiev’s and Stalin’s funerals. They are returning to Aotearoa this September. The Borodin Quartet originated with students of the prestigious Moscow Conservatory under the name Quartet of the Moscow Philharmonic. It did not take long before the Quartet achieved
attention and popularity. But it was not until 10 years later, under the new name Borodin Quartet, in honour of the famous Russian composer, that they were able to go on their first tour to Czechoslovakia. They also performed in East Germany to mark the 10th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and despite restrictions placed on Soviet artists during the Cold War, performed outside the Soviet Union – even in the United States. This September, Borodin Quartet’s concert tour in Aotearoa marks the 125th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s death, performing Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No 1 - a quartet which brought Leo Tolstoy to tears, the theme of the slow movement
Andante cantabile based on an old Russian folk song which Tchaikovsky heard being whistled by a house painter. If you want a beautiful melody, Tchaikovsky is your man, the haunting tune making it easily the most popular of Tchaikovsky’s string output: ‘Why always the Andante? They do not seem to want to know anything else!’, complained Tchaikovsky to his brother, Modest. Borodin Quartet’s concert this September also pays homage to the long-standing and intimate relationship the Quartet has with Shostakovich, performing his vibrant, in parts ecstatic and contrasting String Quartet No 9. Shostakovich personally supervised the Borodin Quartet’s study of each of his quartets at the Moscow Conservatory, Continued on page 2
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I have so enjoyed meeting the exuberant and charming Italians in Ensemble Zefiro. Their concerts have given audiences a rare opportunity to hear 18th-century woodwind instruments played by the world’s best. I should ration my use of superlatives, but “the world’s best” can surely be applied to The Borodin Quartet. Their long history includes working with with Shostakovich. While the membership has evolved since then, the quality of musicianship has kept the Borodins in the top echelon of string quartets. Iona Cristina Goicea and Andrey Gugnin give us a double-whammy winners’ showcase. It has been great to work with the Michael Hill International Violin Competition to bring their 2017 winner together with the winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition. Our final subscription tour of the year should be pure enjoyment. Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet is deservedly the
most popular chamber work ever. We are proud to pair it with the premiere of Ross Harris’s Orowaru, which reflects on the soundscape of the Tongariro River (trout – and trout fishers’ – paradise). I got to know Hiroshi Ikematsu when he was Principal Double Bass in the NZSO. He is an extraordinary musician and a wonderful communicator. I predict magic when Hiroshi joins the superlative (oh dear, there I go again) Piers Lane and Monique Lapins, Gillian Ansell and Rolf Gjelsten from the New Zealand String Quartet. As I write, our 2019 brochure is being finalised. We are all excited about what it will look like and, more importantly, what’s inside a season that will again deliver top quality with a variety that communicates the diverse pleasures of Music up Close. Like other performing arts companies, we are aware of the numerous alternatives to live performance. We have been bringing New Zealand audiences the very best New Zealand and international ensembles for nearly 70 years – and we promise to
keep doing that for as long as the audiences are there to enjoy our concerts. But the audiences themselves are the sine qua non here. Please subscribe. In closing, may I say how grateful we are to all of you who support the work of CMNZ through donations. This is vital in enabling us to deliver not just our subscription and regional concerts but an extensive education and outreach programme. Our secondary school’s NZCT Chamber Music Contest, this year won by Te Ahi Kaa from Auckland. provides an inspiring image of a high-achieving multicultural New Zealand. Please help us to sustain and develop this by contributing to our Annual Appeal.
Peter Walls ONZM Chief Executive Music Up Close | Chamber Music New Zealand
Borodin Quartet continued… and in this quartet, there is a jazz-like quality – an interesting musical choice when put in political context! With Khrushchev still complaining about the nausea and stomach pain he had experienced on listening to a jazz concert organised by Shostakovich five months earlier, sources see his String Quartet No 9 as a covert challenge, or a courageous attempt to stick to his own moral principles in his work, when he could, within the often frightening and brutal apparatus of the Soviet totalitarian state. Throughout the decades and experiencing several changes in members, Borodin Quartet has kept its distinct identity. The Quartet retains its members, the longest serving being cellist Valentin Berlinsky (a close friend of Shostakovich), who was there almost at the inception (only very
briefly preceded by none other than cellist Mstislav Rostropovich). It wasn’t until 2007 that Berlinsky handed over his position to Vladimir Balshin, making for a 62-year reign in one of the greatest quartets in the world. “As each newcomer joins,” as the Quartet believes, “he hears the existing members playing in a very recognisable style, so he is automatically soaking up the tradition. It’s not formal teaching, as if your colleagues are correcting you. A quartet is in a permanent state of studying from each other. It’s as natural a process as could exist, learning while performing with your elder colleagues.” Having experienced the Soviet Union, the Cold War, Glasnost and Perestroika, the fall of the Soviet Union, rise of capitalism, and now current political surrounds, Borodin
Quartet’s own distinctive musical quality has remained constant; their cohesion and vision “a commitment to tonal beauty, technical excellence and penetrating musicianship.” Hearing the Borodin Quartet’s honed musical perfection is to hear how music transcends these challenging political contexts and climates and offers a simple moment of beauty. Leo Tolstoy put it well. “I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness… Rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbour — such is my idea of happiness.”
BORODIN QUARTET TOURING: 10 – 23 March chambermusic.co.nz/ borodinquartet
Q&A with Phil Boniface: MATARIKI 2018 Last June, double-bassist Phil Boniface joined with Alistair Fraser (taonga pūoro), Bridget Douglas (flute), Rangimoana Taylor (Kaikōrero) and Ed Davis (videographer) in a fantastic concert for Matariki. We caught up with Phil to ask him about his musicmaking and working with ngā taonga pūoro.
Phil Boniface Double Bass
1. What was the catalyst for your interest in ngā taonga pūoro? My interest in ngā taonga pūoro began while I was living in Vancouver, Canada. I always enjoyed listening and observing the work Al Fraser had been doing in New Zealand. 2. You have a background in jazz, how do you think this influences your approach to playing double-bass with ngā taonga pūoro? To a large degree free improvisation plays an integral first step, especially when initially developing a concept for a piece with ngā taonga
pūoro. Many compositions from ‘Ponguru’, the duo album featuring Al Fraser playing ngā taonga pūoro and myself on double bass, released earlier this year through Rattle Records, evolved from improvisations. Although my musical background is in jazz, as a double bassist I draw on many extended cello techniques used in contempoary classical music for compositions with ngā taonga pūoro. This has been successful (I hope) in developing engaging, creative and orignal pieces, especially with rhythmic taonga such as the tumutumu. Perhaps a more accurate description of the music from ‘Ponguru’ would be ‘Contemporary New Zealand Art Music’. 3. When you were in Canada did you have contact with the music of indigenous and First Nation Peoples? Unfortunately not. Vancouver is a densely populated multicultural city, however, speaking only from my experiences, I didn’t hear or see any
cross-cultural collaborations within the jazz community in the eleven years I resided there. I feel that first nations people could be given the opportunity to be better represented in mainstream North American culture. 4. The Matariki concert Te Korekore incorporates video art, jazz, Western music elements, as well as music from ngā taonga pūoro. How did the group approach tying all these elements together and how do you think that works for an audience? The story of Tinirau and Kae has definitive points where the music chosen complements the narrative. The pieces selected from ‘Ponguru’ have proven to integrate well with this story. Ed Davis produced video art that in many ways reflects so many aspects of the story. Additionally, Hineraukatauri is a character who is featured in this story, so it felt natural to include Gillian Whitehead’s piece ‘Hineraukatauri’, performed by Al Fraser and Bridget Douglas. These
“The challenge is developing melodic ideas while allowing space in the music that will enable the ngā taonga pūoro voices to sing.” - Phil Boniface
combined elements of storytelling, video and music create an immersive live show that enables the audience to experience the story of Tinirau and Kae from multiple perspectives. 5. What do you hope an audience will take away from the performance? How are you hoping they would respond? I hope these performances are received positively, resonates well with the audience, and inspires curiosity in individuals of all ages to explore future performances and recordings that feature ngā taonga pūoro either solo or in collaboration with other musical instruments in various contexts. 6. How has the process been for you with creating music with ngā taonga pūoro? Were there any surprises, things which you didn’t expect in that journey? The process of creating music has been a steep learning curve, enormously rewarding, but also a challenge. The surprise for me was just how many ngā taonga pūoro are in the kete. It is my understanding that the Pūtōrino is the only pre-colonial hybrid musical instrument in the world, very fascinating. These instruments inspire
me and make me want to continue learning about and composing music with them. 7. What can Aotearoa be doing more of to increase the awareness of our rich heritage in music-making? Continued support of performances that feature ngā taonga pūoro in solo or in collaboration with other instruments. Tours supporting Matariki celebrations like Chamber Music New Zealand are organizing are incredibly important for the development of projects where ngā taonga pūoro is in collaboration with western musical instruments. I also feel studying ngā taonga pūoro in schools is a great place for younger musicians to learn about New Zealand’s pre-colonial musical heritage. This could have positive implications for future projects, collaborations, as well as, music making that has a uniquely Aotearoa voice. Personally, this is something I am working hard to incorporate in my own teaching practice.
8. When playing a western musical instrument with Māori musical instruments what are challenges, concepts, as well as musical considerations you have encountered? Many of the taonga have a relatively small melodic range in comparison to western musical instruments. The challenge is developing melodic ideas while allowing space in the music that will enable the ngā taonga pūoro voices to sing. From my experiences, pizzicato and arco playing can be used for many different instruments. Bassist Paul Dyne was an inspiration in the way I approached several pieces when playing pizzacato with ngā taonga pūoro. His 2011 duo recordings with Richard Nunns (‘Hikoi’ – Rattle Records) demonstrate great use of space and melody when the double bass improvises with ngā taonga pūoro. When developing a piece for a specific kōauau for example, Al and I would freely improvise around a concept and the tonal centre of that instrument to develop a direction specifically for that musical instrument. Learning about the taonga pūoro we are composing music with is hugely important. I feel the pūtōrino, because of the variety of voices it can produce, is an instrument that presents many opportunities for creativity.
Chamber Music New Zealand presents
TE KOREKORE THE STORY OF TINIRAU AND KAE
CONTEST 2018: NZ Composition in good hands The NZCT Chamber Music Contest National Finals weekend on 3 – 4 August saw the culmination of a lot of music-making by secondary schoolage students over the past three months. But another part of the Contest, which often flies under the radar, but is equally important, is the Composition Section, with composers’ Benjamin Sneyd-Utting (Tawa College, Wellington) and Kayo Takamatsu (King’s College, Auckland) receiving their awards as part of the Finals Concert celebrations on the Saturday evening. This year’s Composition Adjudicator was Dunedin-based composer and educator, Anthony Ritchie and he had this to say about what he saw this year: “The standard in both the senior and junior sections was extraordinarily high. The young composers were working in sophisticated ways, in some cases creating pieces that would be at home in a professional concert. I was looking for a
composition that was both excellent technically and working within a reasonably contemporary style, making sounds and patterns that resonate with a modern age. I was also looking for the x-factor: a piece that had some touches of originality. In the senior section String Quartet No.1 in C [composed by Benjamin Sneyd-Utting] demonstrated all these features, with a rich tapestry of ideas and textures, all very well scored for the strings. The intensity and flair of this piece reminded me of Shostakovich, but there were plenty of original touches too. This is a really fine achievement for a school aged student. In the Junior section ‘Before the Credits’ [composed by Kayo Takamatsu] shows a remarkable maturity for this age group. Beautifully scored for oboe and string trio, this piece is lyrical and expressive with a strong sense of melodic line.”
Congratulations to all the 2018 NZCT Chamber Music Contest participants. And special congratulations to this year’s winners: OVERALL WINNER Te Ahi Kaa NATIONAL KBB MUSIC AWARD Raqs NATIONAL BEST PERFORMANCE OF A NEW ZEALAND WORK Chamber of Secrets PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD Timeless Trio SENIOR COMPOSITION AWARD Benjamin Sneyd-Utting JUNIOR COMPOSITION AWARD Kayo Takamatsu
“The young composers were working in sophisticated ways, in some cases creating pieces that would be at home in a professional concert. - Anthony Ritchie, Composition Adjudicator
Contest photography: Jeffery Wen Photography
And the winner is…TE AHI KAA! Chamber Music New Zealand is still buzzing after the amazing NZCT Chamber Music Contest weekend. It was another stunning year at the NZCT Chamber Music Contest finals weekend in Christchurch, with Te Ahi Kaa winning The Wallace Foundation Platinum Award. Te Ahi Kaa translates as “the home fires burning” and is made up violinists Maia-Dean Martin and Atawhai Martin, violist Isaiah Kaiawe and cellist Purotu Martin – two sisters, their brother and a friend, all with affiliations to the iwi of Ngāpuhi and Waikato. They performed the fiery first movement of Schubert’s wonderful String Quartet No 14 ‘Death and the Maiden’ giving the music “the mana it deserves”. After the prize was announced their father stood up in the auditorium and performed a powerful and emotional haka.
“It feels like we’ve revolutionised what it is to play chamber music by people of a different kind of ethnicity because it’s usually like European groups that win the competition,” Isaiah Kaiawe told TVNZ’s 1 NEWS. “I like chamber music with them because it’s a special kind of connection when you know them,” he said. The judges, former New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Wilma Smith, and Swedish ensemble Klara Kollektiv noted the incredibly high standard of performances in this year’s contest which saw over 400 ensembles apply nationwide. “We were just moved by the natural honesty of their music-making,” said adjudicator Wilma Smith. The National KBB Music Award winner was presented to Raqs, a trio of Burnside High School students. The People’s Choice Award, selected by text voting on the night went to Timeless Trio from Wellington.
Winning ensemble Te Ahi Kaa with contest adjudicators
MP Chris Finlayson, who is on the board of Chamber Music New Zealand is bringing the young quartet down to Wellington from Northland, and the Quartet have been invited to perform in Wellington at an afternoon event with the Governor General and government officials.
“Hopefully we start a trend, encourage more Maori to take it seriously and get hard out into it instead of playing Twinkle once and gapping after that” - Maia-Dean Martin Hear, hear! And huge congratulations to Te Ahi Kaa, and all the musicians who made the weekend so special.
Art by Rafaela Gaspar
VOLUNTEERING: The Heart Of The Community Every year New Zealand celebrates the 1.2 million kiwis that volunteer their time and skills to our communities with a dedicated National Volunteer Week. The theme of Volunteer Week 2018 (17 – 23 June) was “Volunteers – The Heart of a Community” which captures the essence of what volunteering is about, how their efforts, compassion and time provide a significant contribution to all our lives. Chamber Music New Zealand relies heavily on volunteer help throughout the country, from being on our helpdesk, or selling programmes at concerts to stage-managing and ushering the NZCT Chamber Music Contest in June every year. Last year, 235 volunteers gave over 1000 volunteer hours to the Contest alone! So we thought we’d put a few faces to those statistics…
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT #1: RAFAELA GASPAR CMNZ HEAD OFFICE VOLUNTEER
I went to a high school specialising in Art in Lisbon, Portugal and learned Graphic Design. I greatly focus on illustration, graphic design and painting but I also like to experiment with a wide variety of art mediums whether digitally or on paper or canvas. Aside from art, I also have great ease with computers as I have a lot of experience with them, one of the reasons volunteering to CMNZ was a good fit for me. I decided to emigrate to New Zealand for my kiwi partner and because New Zealand seemed like a beautiful country full of opportunities. The life style here was also very appealing and was very easy to get used to, coming from Portugal! I wanted to volunteer for CMNZ because I enjoy helping others and I believe my skills and dedication can be of help to the art community. It’s also a great opportunity for me to learn from others! Helping with a concert on field with the [CMNZ] team was one of the highlights of volunteering here. We took some schools to a string quartet concert and it was great helping the kids get around and seeing them enjoying the concert! As for other communities, I’ve joined the Urban Sketchers group in
Wellington, every month going out to the city and drawing the urban landscapes of the capital. Last month we went to Cuba St together and I drew the Comfort Hotel building, which was quite challenging because of the strong winds that day! VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT #2: LAUREN BENNETT
AUCKLAND DISTRICT CONTEST VOLUNTEER
Lauren Bennett, 1st violin of the string quartet Geist (NZCT Chamber Music Contest winners 2011 and 2012) was back in Auckland from Yale University, volunteering at the Auckland District Rounds. She was happy to share some thoughts and aspirations between her stagehand duties. “I’m really enjoying volunteering for the Auckland Contest as stage-hand, because the Chamber Music Contest was the highlight of my high school years, and I am happy to be able to give back to the contest. I took part in this contest for four years and each year the contest was one of the focal points of my musical year. It really motivated me and helped me learn to solve problems and work with my friends, a skill which is really important in the music business. My quartet Geist was lucky enough to win the contest in 2011 and 2012, and we explored some really great repertoire and had a lot of fun working towards performances and the contest.
For students who want to pursue music as a career, I would recommend finding a teacher who inspires you and can help you to reach your goals, like my main teachers in Auckland Dimitri Atanassov and Andrew Beer. It’s also important to find as many opportunities as possible to perform and challenge yourself, and chamber music is a really great way to do this. Now I’m doing a Master of Music at the Yale University School of Music, but first I did my Bachelor degree at the University of Auckland. My path getting to Yale included a few overseas trips participating in various masterclass courses and competitions to see what kind of environment I wanted to aim at for further study. Eventually I did an audition trip in the United States auditioning for about 7 schools. I am very grateful to the Butland Music Scholarship, the Anne Bellam Scholarship, the Kathleen Mary Reardon Travelling Scholarship in Music, and AIMES for their support of my overseas study. VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT #3 MARIE HOLDEN AUCKLAND DISTRICT CONTEST VOLUNTEER
This is my second year volunteering for the Chamber Music Contest in Auckland. I am a sworn Police Constable with the New Zealand Police. I have been serving for 10 years. I am qualified to the rank of Sergeant. It is full time shift work.
Police work can be a high pressure and stressful environment most of the time. It can be very hard to maintain a work life balance because you’re never not going to be a police officer, even when you’re off duty. Over the years I have had ups and downs on whether I truly am good at this role both physically and mentally. It can be very hard and dominate in life. The negativity of my work can be draining. I work in community but it is not always received positively and that can be frustrating. Last year I wanted to come up with ways which I can positively use my spare time and have interests outside policing and general life. I needed a positive environment with positive people. It was then that I decided to become a volunteer. It was then that I researched volunteering in the arts, including music and theatre. At school I studied cello and piano, I also sat my grades (I currently still play piano for leisure). I was also previously involved in back stage theatre. So it was there that I looked and researched for opportunities to match my interests. I, like many others, have a busy life outside my work. But I can manage to find the time to make volunteering work for me. Events like the Chamber Music Contest only run once a year for one week. I have pre-planned and moved around other stuff so I can volunteer and attend this event to support its running. The rewards outweigh the effort it takes to manage time to volunteer.
Volunteering puts me among passionate and positive people who accept me for who I am and not for what I do. I find it inspirational and motivating to be a part of an event that might not otherwise be able to continue if it weren’t for more people like myself. Volunteer work is not draining but fun. I’ve met so many wonderful people and it’s excellent for social interaction with others outside of your normal life and work. I volunteer because I want to give back to the community in a positive way by just a couple of hours of my time that otherwise would probably be spent in front of a television or at a shopping mall. This way your time is likely to be received with enthusiasm by the organisations who rely on volunteers for support. I would be disappointed if events like the Chamber Music Contest couldn’t continue because of lack of support. I see that the contest was important to the students who clearly put so much time and effort into making their performance exceptional. The talent these students have and the exposure to others in the industry is crucial if they are to go on to have excellent musical careers. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?
Want to volunteer? For more information visit: chambermusic.co.nz/volunteer
MEET THE KUGELS “The band is tight, with Debbie Rawson and Robin Perks by turns plaintive and zesty on reeds and fiddle, while Harris’ compositional ingenuity, over 23 short pieces, is staggering” - William Dart NZ Herald
At times the rather nebulous term ‘chamber music’ can prove challenging in our efforts to explain what we are all about at CMNZ, but this flexibility also gives us the scope to embrace a great variety of musical styles and instrumental combinations. The Kugels are just this, a band of players with ‘Classical’ credentials they are comfortable smudging genre lines. Their folk inspired performances juxtapose toe-tapping dance tunes alongside dark, soulful and profound works from the Jewish folk tradition know as Klezmer. Distinguished New Zealand composer Ross Harris explains that it is “exciting and enormously satisfying to compose short pieces very unlike my other ‘classical’ music.” …“the accordion is delightfully flexible, expressive and, at the level I play it, fairly undemanding.
Yet, it is an opportunity to play in a really fascinating genre with very professional musicians and be able to contribute bits of my creativity that the French horn [which Ross played professionally for 50 years] supressed”. The freedom to embellish and improvise in this repertoire is an aspect that each of the players relish. Almost all of the works that Ross writes for the group fit on a single page, written much like a jazz chart with melody and chords. The players improvise on the charts and interact with each other, bringing the music to life in a way reminiscent of folk music performances. Ross describes his melodies as “strange distant-relatives of klezmer.” Debbie, who plays clarinet, soprano saxophone and the startlingly versatile Maui Xaphoon (invented in 1980’s Hawaii), points out that composers have always been influenced by folk music. “Think Brahms Hungarian Dances, Piazzolla Tangos, Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turka etc, not to mention klezmer influences in the glorious slow movement of Brahms’ clarinet quintet, and many instances in Mahler.” Jacqueline is also the learning area head for performing arts at Mana College, while Debbie was for some years head of Woodwind at NZSM.
Between them the group have considerable experience with school audiences, street performance and workshops which they will be bringing to a series of accessible concerts led by Julian Raphael that bring chamber music to diverse audiences. Jacqueline explains that her teaching and playing with the Kugels feed off each other, “I have had Mana College groups enter the NZCT Chamber Music Contest with klezmer music as well as my son enter with his group, playing klezmer suites written by Ross… This is really fun music to play and emotionally can change from happy to sad, hopeful to desperate all in the blinking of an eye.” The four players have forged a close bond through playing this music together. While Robin, Ross and Debbie have been friends since school days in Christchurch and have collaborated on many diverse musical projects over the years, “in this ensemble, the Kugels, we have finally found the band of our dreams!” Keep an eye out for this group in Warkworth, Whangarei and Whanganui as part of the Regional Series, in Christchurch and Auckland during the IHC Accessible Series and at their regular appearances at Cin Cin in Wellington.
SOUND
BITES CORE FUNDER Creative New Zealand
Around CMNZ: Hello and Goodbye We said farewell to our Marketing Executive, Alessandra Orsi. We wish her all the best in her new role as Digital Marketing Specialist at Creative HQ. We wish best of luck to our former Marketing Manager Shelley Davies who has left us for adventures in Canada. And we’re very sad to say goodbye to Sue Jane, our Education and Outreach Coordinator. Sue has worked with CMNZ for the past seven years and has made the NZCT Chamber Music Contest, education and accessibility concerts what they are today. We’ll miss you Sue! Welcome to our new in-house Publicity and Communication Executive Anna van der Leij. Welcome to Will Gaisford our new Marketing Manager who comes to CMNZ from Ticketek.
Thank You: To all the volunteers who give their time to CMNZ, (a standard 10 centre tour would use 48 volunteers around the country, working over 93 hours), we can’t do what we do without you!
Opportunities: Are you a music student? Or are you simply passionate about chamber music? We are always on the hunt for passionate volunteers and student ambassadors. If that sounds like you, contact Becky: becky@chambermusic.co.nz
Digital Theme Send us your email address and we will alert you when the latest version of Theme is available online. Send your request to info@chambermusic.co.nz and enter in the Subject line "Theme alert".
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SUPPORTING FUNDER NZCT CORPORATE PARTNERS VOICE, Todd Corporation, Templar Family Office, Phantom Billstickers, Babich Wine, Format Print, J Fraser & Sons, King & Queen Hotel Suites, Michael Hill International Violin Competition, KBB Music, The University of Auckland, Trinity College FUNDING PARTNERS Foundation North • Stout Trust Deane Endowment Trust • IHC Foundation The Lion Foundation • The Wallace Foundation Freemasons Foundation • Community Trust of Southland Eastern & Central Community Trust • Four Winds Foundation Invercargill Licensing Trust • Judith Clark Memorial Fund Otago Community Trust • Pub Charity Rātā Foundation • Southern Trust • The Adam Foundation Trust House • Trust Waikato • TSB Community Trust Turnovsky Endowment Trust • Wellington City Council Wellington Community Trust • Winton & Margaret Bear Charitable Trust CHAMBER MUSIC NEW ZEALAND Level 4, 75 Ghuznee Street, P.O. Box 6238, Wellington Tel (04) 384 6133 Email info@chambermusic.co.nz Website www.chambermusic.co.nz BOARD Kerrin Vautier CMG (Chair), Hon Chris Finlayson, Quentin Hay, Matthew Savage, Vanessa Van den Broek, Lloyd Williams BRANCHES Auckland: Chair, TBC; Concert Manager, Bleau Bustenera Hamilton: Chair, Murray Hunt; Concert Manager, Gaye Duffill New Plymouth: Concert Manager, Catherine Martin Hawke’s Bay: Chair, June Clifford; Concert Manager, Rhondda Poon Manawatu: Chair, Graham Parsons; Concert Manager, Virginia Warbrick Wellington: Concert Manager, Rachel Hardie Nelson: Chair, Annette Monti Concert Manager, Clare Monti Christchurch: Chair; TBC Concert Manager, Jody Keehan Dunedin: Chair, Terence Dennis; Concert Manager, Richard Dingwall Southland: Chair, Rosie Beattie; Concert Manager, Jennifer Sinclair For all Concert Managers phone 0800 CONCERT (266 2378) REGIONAL PRESENTERS: Marlborough Music Society Inc (Blenheim), Christopher’s Classics (Christchurch), Cromwell & Districts Community Arts Council, Geraldine Academy of Performance & Arts, Musica Viva Gisborne, Music Society Eastern Southland (Gore) Arts Far North (Kaitaia), Aroha Music Society (Kerikeri), Chamber Music Hutt Valley, Motueka Music Group, Oamaru Opera House, South Waikato Music Society (Putaruru), Waimakariri Community Arts Council (Rangiora), Rotorua Music Federation, Taihape Music Group, Tauranga Musica Inc, Te Awamutu Music Federation, Upper Hutt Music Society, Waikanae Music Society, Wanaka Concert Society Inc, Chamber Music Wanganui, Warkworth Music Society, Wellington Chamber Music Trust, Whakatane Music Society, Whangarei Music Society.
Q&A with HIROSHI IKEMATSU Double-bassist Hiroshi Ikematu is a star-player with Piers Lane and the NZSQ in our season’s final tour, the Trout. We caught up with Hiroshi about his music, and his love of fishing!
Having previously lived in New Zealand, what are you most looking forward to seeing or experiencing again? I’m looking forward to seeing the members of NZSQ, Rolf and new member Monique, and the pianist Piers Lane who I have never played with. I have played with NZSQ a lot and I always enjoy playing and rehearsing with them. They talk and argue a lot during the rehearsal because they know each other well. I love that. You have previously studied under the famous contrabass soloist Gary Karr, mentioning that you were moved by his music. What was it about his music that moved you? At first, Gary’s sound is extraordinary, huge, warm and gorgeous. No one can imitate.
Also, his playing style is close to a singer. He plays like a singer. It’s very rare as an instrumentalist. You have also performed alongside Gary Karr, what was that like? I felt Gary’s big energy and he has an aura. He is not tall but seems very big. How did you come to start playing the double bass? I wanted to be a musician when I was a high school student. But at that time, I couldn’t play any instrument, so I thought I could be a conductor! Then I visited a conductor and told him that I wanted to be a conductor. He said it’s difficult to enter the conductor department in music school. And he suggested I begin double bass and aim for the double bass department. He said it was not late to begin double bass. I didn’t like double bass at that time, but I accepted his suggestion. So, I began to play double bass when I was 19 years old.
You love to fish and have previously won the NZ National Pairs Fly Fishing championships in 2013, where is your favorite place to fish in New Zealand? Anywhere. Each river is different, and each river’s trout has a different face. I loved to fish in Rotorua and Taupo region but even fishing at Hutt river is great. What are your plans after the tour finishes? I have just one day to stay in Auckland. It’s not enough time to go to river fishing. So, I want to fish squid at Auckland harbor at night.
Piers Lane, Hiroshi Ikematsu & members of the NZSQ For more information visit: chambermusic.co.nz/trout