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.
Orchestra Wellington: a memorable performance of Britten’s War Requiem
Orchestra Wellington’s performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem will remain in the memories of those present for a long time.
Composer Eve de Castro-Robinson: premieres, a revelation and a touch of defiance
Composer Eve de Castro-Robinson has had two major premieres in the past two months. She’s also had a revelation about how and why her composing has changed over her career.
Gemma New: conducting with artistry
Gemma New talked to Five Lines about an epiphany, collaborating with a super-star violinist, meeting Saariaho, conducting The Planets and taking up boxing.
NZTrio: passionate music from “uncommon” composers
In NZTrio’s touring programme, “Untamed Hope”, they’ve chosen exhilarating repertoire to makes a telling point that no-one in the delighted audience can miss.
The Young Virtuosi: dazzling competition winners on tour
Competition winners Yeyeong Jenny Jin, violin, and Jeonghwan Kim, piano, have shown their virtuosity and musicianship in 11 concerts around New Zealand.
Wellington’s Bach Choir: back to the Baroque
The Bach Choir of Wellington presented an attractive programme of music by Bach, Corelli and Vivaldi with The Chiesa Ensemble at St Mary of the Angels Church.
Voices NZ’s ‘Horizons’: moving stories of migration
‘Horizons”, presented by Voices NZ, is a collaboration between Music Director Karen Grylls and Stage Director Jacqui Coats. The dazzling concert offers immersive musical storytelling about migration, trauma and homecoming.
NZSO Arias: operatic ‘greatest hits’ offers many pleasures
NZSO’s Arias concert delivered exactly what it promised - Puccini’s most popular arias, superbly sung by soprano Eliza Boom and tenor Paul O’Neill, with sensitive accompaniment by the NZSO under José Luis Gómez.
Calefax in Aotearoa: colourful conversations with reeds
Netherlands reed quintet Calefax delighted the audience on its current tour of New Zealand with impeccable, characterful and musicianly playing of music across four centuries.
Orpheus Choir and Haydn’s The Creation: fine singing and radiant music
Orpheus Choir Wellington provided a welcome opportunity to experience Haydn's The Creation, a work the composer and others believed was one of his greatest masterpieces.
STROMA: playing with light and colour
An imaginative, superbly played programme from new music ensemble STROMA shows the group is an essential part of our musical fabric.
Orchestra Wellington and Marc Taddei: a story that ends in triumph
Orchestra Wellington and conductor Marc Taddei offered Beethoven’s triumphant 9th Symphony in a programme with context, novelty, and brilliance.
NZSO National Youth Orchestra: an exuberant musical showcase
The NZSO National Youth Orchestra, conducted by Tianyi Lu, offered a feast of exciting young talent, including dazzling piano prodigy Shan Liu
NZSO’s Tchaikovsky 5: Han-Na Chang’s passionate empathy
Conductor Han-Na Chang brought her insight into Tchaikovsky’s inner turmoil to a splendid performance of his 5th Symphony.
NZ Trio: unquiet dreams, musical arguments and a wild ride
In a typically adventurous touring programme, NZ Trio has introduced audiences to the astonishing New York-based composer Lera Auerbach.
NZSO’s Mahler 5: brilliance and insight
The NZSO’s Mahler 5 concert showed off the orchestra under the brilliant conducting of Gemma New in a programme celebrating exciting composers and musicians of a younger generation.
Barton and Brodsky: story-telling magic in sound
The programme Barton and Brodsky, touring for Chamber Music NZ, is full of surprises as five brilliant musicians blend cultures, histories and sounds.
NZSO Beyond Words: united by music
In Beyond Words, the NZSO, conductor Fawzi Haimor, composer John Psathas with vocalist OUM and oud virtuoso Kyriakos Tapakis marked the 5th anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks with music that moved and united the audience.
Johnny Gandelsman: a new and seductive view of Bach’s Cello Suites
Violinist Johnny Gandelsman conjured magic in a new and beguiling view of Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello in a concert in the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts in Wellington.
Kodály Reframed: crossing boundaries with imaginative ease
Polish cellist Suzanne Szambelan and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Hayden Chisholm offer a new view of Kodály’s Sonata for solo cello Opus 8.