Strings and Ancient Sounds of New Zealand (Canberra City News)

This article was originally published by Canberra City News on 2 May 2022. Click here to view the original article.

Tony Magee, Canberra City News | 2 May 2022

Canberra International Music Festival, Concert 7: “Kia Ora Kiwi”. At the Fitters’ Workshop, May 1.

Horomona Horo… superbly showcasing his incredible skills on his collection of Taonga Pūoro instruments. Photo: Peter Hislop.

Uniquely combining string-quartet culture with the ancient sounds of Māori instruments, the NZ String Quartet with guest soloist Horomona Horo presented a fascinating and diverse concert showcasing the music and sounds of their country through millennia.

Described as the “master of his generation” by NZ’s “Mana” cultural magazine, Horomona Horo is a practitioner of Taonga Pūoro, the collective term for the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people.

Celebrating its 35th season, the NZ String Quartet regularly tours internationally and the ensemble’s extensive discography on the Naxos label includes the complete quartets of Mendelssohn, Bartok, Berg, Brahms, Janacek and Lilburn.

Horomona Horo with the NZ String Quartet, which is celebrating i