8 March 2010
The Borodin Quartet have changed Programme Two. The advertised work by Rachmaninov (Romance) will be replaced by Shostakovich's First String Quartet.
CMNZ Chief Executive Euan Murdoch is thrilled by the development, as this will now enable audiences in Auckland, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Dunedin and Invercargill to also experience the music of Shostakovich, performed by an ensemble whose lineage can be directly traced back to the composer.
The quartet opened their NZ tour on Saturday 6 March with a rousing concert at a packed-to-capacity Wellington Town Hall. Included as part of the 2010 New Zealand International Arts Festival, the concert included a performance of Shostakovich's String Quartet No 8 in C minor Opus 110. John Button, reviewing the concert in The Dominion Post, wrote "Not only is each player a master of his instrument, but the marriage of all four players produces string quartet playing that is a benchmark".
