Origins | 2026 Storytellers Season
- New Zealand String Quartet
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Presenting: Origins, the first programme in our 2026 Storytellers Season exploring the art of storytelling through music.
Cambridge | Thursday 30 April
Wellington | Wednesday 6 May
Rangiora | Thursday 7 May
Dunedin | Sunday 10 May
To read programme notes for our concerts in Devonport (2 May), Waipu (3 May), Geraldine (8 May), Oamaru (9 May) or Arrowtown (11 May), click here.
PROGRAMME NOTES
Mika Cornelius (NZ)
Universal Veil (2025)
Universal Veil takes us on a journey through the quietly remarkable life cycle of a single mushroom - starting from hyphae, the delicate threads that form the foundation of fungi; autumn rain, the seasonal trigger of mushroom growth; spores, scattered through silent eruptions of energy; and returning to mycelium, the intricate web of underground networks. The presence of fungi gently drapes over the earth like a universal veil, blurring the lines of individual and collective. In a world increasingly concerned with individuality, fungi teaches us that the borders of our bodies are less definite than we thought: we host more microbes in our body than our own cells. So where do 'we' end, and where does nature begin?
By Mika Cornelius
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
String Quartet No. 10, in E flat major, D. 87 (1813)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo. Prestissimo
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro
At 7 years old, Schubert began violin lessons with his father and wrote his first string quartet when he was just 10. In his day, playing string quartets in the home was a popular and commonplace occurrence and he, in fact, had a ready-made family ensemble, with two violin-playing brothers, his father on cello and Franz himself on the viola.
At 11, Schubert became a choirboy in the Imperial and Royal Court Music Ensemble in Vienna, where he was educated, fed and accommodated free of charge but was only permitted to stay on one further year after his voice broke, when he was 15. He would then return home and receive training to teach at his father’s reputable elementary school, on the ground floor of the house. In anticipation of the regular family chamber music-making he would embark on once back living with his family, he wrote a set of 6 quartets, of which this one in E flat is the most regularly played today.
Compared to the drama, emotional intensity and epic nature contained in Schubert’s masterful late quartets, (the great “Death and the Maiden” and final epic work in G major) this early quartet seems full of simple joy, innocence and playfulness, yet with Schubert’s gift for beautiful melodic writing nevertheless in evidence.Unusually, each movement is in E flat, the only variation being the minor trio section of the 2nd movement. The gracious first movement is followed by a short-lived but humorous scherzo, full of high jinks. The slow third movement alternates between chordal writing and simple violin melodies and the work concludes with an Allegro bubbling over with joyous high spirits.
By Gillian Ansell
Gareth Farr (NZ) (1968–)
Mondo Rondo (1997)
the world is round
the world is a serious place
this string quartet is round
the world is a string quartet
this string quartet is not a serious piece
the world is not a serious place
the world is round
poem by Gareth Farr
Gareth Farr’s three movement work Mondo Rondo takes its title from its first movement, the later movements being Mumbo Jumbo and Mambo Rambo. Mondo Rondo conjures up the image of Farr as a musical magpie, building a colourfully wonky nest at frenetic speed, and all manner of sounds can almost be identified as they flash past.
Missy Mazzoli (1980–)
Death Valley Junction (2010)
Death Valley Junction is a sonic depiction of the town of the same name, a strange and isolated place on the border of California and Nevada. The “town” is home to three people and consists of a café, a hotel, and a fully functional opera house. Death Valley Junction is dedicated to Marta Becket, the woman who resurrected and repaired the crumbling opera house in the late 1960’s and performed one-woman shows there every week until her retirement last year at age 86. The piece begins with a sparse, edgy texture — the harsh desert landscape — and collapses into a wild and buoyant dance. Marta Becket once compared herself to the single yellow flower that is able to, against all odds, flourish in the desert. This piece attempts to depict some of her exuberant energy and unstoppable optimism, and is dedicated to her.
By Missy Mazzoli
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
String Quartet No. 1, in D major, Op. 25 (1941)
I. Andante sostenuto – Allegro vivo
II. Allegro con slancio
III. Andante calmo
IV. Molto vivace
Composed during World War II while Benjamin Britten was living in the United States, this four-movement work lasts approximately 25 minutes and captures a remarkable range of expression.
The first movement opens with a captivating, hushed texture marked ppp, establishing an atmospheric and almost suspended sound world. This is soon disrupted by a fast Allegro of striking contrast—full of energy, urgency, and rhythmic drive. In the second movement, a strong sense of unity emerges among the quartet players. Short, tightly coordinated gestures are interspersed with sudden, dramatic outbursts, creating a feeling of tension and unpredictability.
The third movement forms the emotional core of the work. Its profound stillness and introspection draw the listener inward, offering a moment of reflection that stands in stark contrast to the surrounding movements. The final movement takes the form of a set of variations, clearly marked by Britten’s distinctive compositional voice. Here, wit, inventiveness, and structural clarity combine to bring the work to a compelling conclusion.
By Peter Clark
PERSONAL REFLECTION BY PETER CLARK
2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s death, and the New Zealand String Quartet are commemorating this milestone by centering their season around performances of all three of his remarkable string quartets.
Around a decade ago, I had the privilege of being invited by the Britten–Pears Foundation to stay for a week in Britten’s home in Aldeburgh, on the east coast of England. It was a surreal experience to wake each morning in the very place that inspired so many of his most significant works. Aldeburgh has changed very little over the years, and I felt a vivid connection to the environment that shaped Britten’s creative life.
Britten was a committed pacifist—an outlook that profoundly informed both his life and his music, particularly works written during and after World War II. Experiencing his music today, in a world still marked by conflict and uncertainty, brings an added poignancy.
It is a special privilege to perform these extraordinary quartets across Aotearoa New Zealand as a member of our national string quartet, sharing music that speaks not only of its time, but also so eloquently to our own.
MUSICIANS
New Zealand String Quartet
Gillian Ansell – Viola
Peter Clark – Violin
Manu Berkeljon – Guest Violin
Lavinnia Rae – Guest Cello
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