HOME CONCERTS ORDER NOW CONTACT LINKS SPONSORS

Aroha Quartet

Acclaimed as demonstrating “accomplished brilliance, soulfulness and sublime intensity in perfect balance and tonal unity” (The Dominion Post), the Aroha String Quartet is firmly established as one of New Zealand’s finest chamber music ensembles.

Playing from the heart (but not by heart!), the Aroha Quartet presents a programme of heart-warming music from the heart of the chamber music repertoire.

We begin with a sunny, sparkling piece by the father of the string quartet, Josef Haydn: his String Quartet in E-flat Op 64 No 6. The first half finishes with Barber’s only string quartet.

American composer Samuel Barber wrote in 1936 to a friend “I have just finished the slow movement of my quartet today (and) it’s a knockout”. Like a huge inbreath and outbreath, this amazing piece (often performed by string orchestra as the Barber Adagio) is flanked by two wonderful outer movements.

The second half begins with the lovely Toccatina by New Zealander Ross Carey. Our final piece, Beethoven’s glorious String Quartet No 10 in E-flat, covers the range of human moods, from tranquil calm, to restlessness, heartfelt outbursts and resolute determination. Its nickname, ‘Harp’, comes from the striking pizzicato section in the first movement.

The Quartet warmly welcomes its newest member, violist Eli Vincent. An Australian from Brisbane, Eli was living in Germany before joining the NZSO in 2023. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and pursued further studies at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. Seduced by the European lifestyle during academy projects with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Summer Academy, he began his Master’s studies at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg in 2018. In 2020 Eli moved to Germany to play in the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, where he remained until relocating to Wellington at the end of 2023. He now couldn’t be happier to call Wellington and the NZSO his home.

Poster

Follow Aroha Quartet on Facebook

Aroha Quartet.co.nz

Heart Concert programme (Aroha Quartet)

Buy tickets