The New Zealand String Quartet (established 1987) is New Zealand's only full-time

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

. The current formation of musicians consists of Helene Pohl (1st violin), Monique Lapins (2nd violin), Gillian Ansell (viola) and Rolf Gjelsten (cello). Former members include Wilma Smith (1st violin, 1987–1993), Josephine Costantino (cello, 1987–1993) and Douglas Beilman (2nd violin, 1989–2015). The NZSQ performs more than eighty concerts a year in New Zealand and international locations. Performances include international festivals such as the Festival of the Sound, Parry Sound, Ontario, Music Mountain Summer Chamber Music Festival in Lakeville, Connecticut and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Queensland. The New Zealand String Quartet are resident artists at the biennial Adam Chamber Music Festival in Nelson, New Zealand, and have been the quartet-in-residence at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington, since 1991. The Quartet's discography includes a 3-CD series of

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

's string quartets for

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

. Other recordings on Naxos include a CD featuring chamber works by Douglas Lilburn and a three-CD Brahms set for Naxos. Other CDs have included works by a number of New Zealand composers and the complete string quartets of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

for Atoll Records. The quartet has also been recorded by CBC in Canada, ABC in Australia, Deutsche Welle (Germany) and

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

References

External links

New Zealand School of MusicNew Zealand String Quartet Official Site
{{Authority control New Zealand classical music groups String quartets Musical groups established in 1987