J.S. Bach: Chaconne from Partita in D minor A well planned concert has an underlying narrative. In this case it was twofold, Bach, and the scope of a solo violin. Bach's Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin are landmarks in the violin repertoire and indeed in the development of the violin as a solo instrument. The Chaconne is the final movement of the second Partita. The great violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, describes... read more

What a year for Chamber Music Hutt Valley! – a glance at my season ticket brings back ripples of musical pleasure as memories crowd in of concert following extraordinary concert, with only one pang of disappointment clouding the glow of satisfaction generated by the Society’s 2021 series. This was the cancellation of August’s “Sweet Chance” Vocal Duo presentation - Morag Aitchison (soprano), and Catrin Johnsson (mezzo), with Rachel Fuller... read more

Livestreamed and archived at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMCG9f1OeXk

Pre-concert interview with Peter Gjelsten on RNZ Concert's Upbeat:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/upbeat/audio/2018815593/peter-gjelsten-plays-tchaikovsky

An atmosphere of excitement pervaded St. Andrews as the sold-out Alert Level 2 crowd sorted out its seating arrangements for this much-anticipated season-closing concert showcasing the winner of WYO's 2021 Concerto Competition, Peter Gjelsten, in Tchaikovsky's famous violin concerto.  I carefully mulled my seating options -- either... read more

Violinist Donald Armstrong is always an interesting programmer. I loved his innovative programming for the NZ Chamber Orchestra. But this concert had me fooled: Liszt, Mozart, Chausson. I was looking forward to hearing the Chausson, but not sure about the rest. How wrong I was! The audience was restricted to 100, under Alert Level 2 conditions, and everyone showed up for the last concert of the Wellington Chamber Music season. This has been a mostly... read more