Five Lines is a collection of writings about music in Aotearoa New Zealand by Elizabeth Kerr. It features short articles, artist profiles and reviews of concerts, operas and albums. You can subscribe - it’s free - at the bottom of any story.
Fragments: music from New Zealand for classical guitar
Recordings of New Zealand music for classical guitar played by Matthew Marshall have been extracted from RNZ’s archives and given new life by this Rattle Echo release, Fragments.
Mozart live – nourishing the invisible
Orchestra Wellington was quick off the mark with one of the first live concerts in New Zealand after lockdown.
A psychiatrist, a composer and a string quartet
Composer Louise Webster was by herself for the recent world premiere of her string quartet, This memory of earth.
Riffing like Beethoven
Poet Anne Kennedy wrote Thirty-three Transformations on a Theme of Philip, “riffing like Beethoven” on one of her brother’s poems. Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations were her inspiration.
The virtual concert hall
With audiences and musicians in lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, musicians resorted to the virtual concert hall to bring their music into our homes.
The generosity of Peter Sellars
Iconoclastic director Peter Sellars brought his legendary artistic generosity to New Zealand earlier this year with productions at the New Zealand Festival and the Auckland Arts Festival.
Happy birthday, Ludwig!
Celebrating the birthday of a towering music figure during a global pandemic - and why I revere Beethoven.
Eve de Castro-Robinson sounds a warning
A profile of composer Eve de Castro-Robinson and the premiere of her latest work, Clarion, a trumpet concerto.
Save RNZ Concert
The future of Radio NZ Concert looked more than uncertain in early February 2020. And the fate of New Zealand’s only classical music network remains unresolved.
Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas and Trio
What does historically informed performance mean for late Brahms? A review of the recent release of Brahms’ Clarinet Sonatas and Trio, by Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano) and Claire-Lise Démettre (cello) (Centaur).
The song of the whale
Why do whales sing? A review of Panthalassa by Al Fraser, Sam Leamy and Neil Johnstone, released by Rattle Records in 2019.
The Gristle of Knuckles
Eve de Castro-Robinson’s The Gristle of Knuckles won the Classical Tui at the 2018 New Zealand Music Awards. And there’s not a genre category in sight in this inventive release.
Houstoun plays the seducer
Alfred Brendel called Beethoven's monumental Diabelli Variations "the greatest of all piano works". It may not yet be your favourite but be warned, you could be seduced by this persuasive release.
Free Radicals – a view from the 1990’s
An excerpt from John Rimmer and Free Radicals: live electronic music in New Zealand by Elizabeth Kerr, in the journal Contemporary Music Review (1991).
Quite doodling fashion
A Listener review from 1988 of a concert at Wellington’s Downstage Theatre by the live electronic group, Free Radicals.
RNZ Concert: an opinion piece
