Five Lines is a collection of writings about music in Aotearoa New Zealand by Elizabeth Kerr. It features short articles, artist profiles and reviews of concerts, operas and albums. You can subscribe - it’s free - at the bottom of any story.
Julien van Mellaerts - home and away
Baritone Julien van Mellaerts includes a song cycle commissioned from Gareth Farr and Bill Manhire in his new album of art songs called Songs of Travel and Home.
Tony Yan Tong Chen - Homecoming
Young New Zealand pianist Tony Yan Tong Chen displays his range and virtuosity on a new album of music by Liszt, Mozart, Tan Dun, John Psathas and Prokofiev.
Bells and whistles
LANDFALL, a new Rattle album of New Zealand percussion music performed by Justin DeHart, is curated for variety and contrast.
Jazz oasis
Sanctuary by saxophonist/composers Jasmine Lovell-Smith and Jake Baxendale is a recent jazz release that shows off their fine rapport and different compositional flavours.
Janáček – the power of love
NZ String Quartet brings us the power and colour of Janáček’s two romantic works The Kreutzer Sonata and Intimate Letters on their latest CD.
Optimistic notes
Composer Anthony Ritchie’s 5th Symphony, “Childhood”, looks forward with optimism. It’s now on a beautifully packaged CD.
Human significance
The tragic story of a condemned woman inspires a powerful work. A review of a new CD from Ross Harris and Vincent O’Sullivan.
Soldiers’ lament
A new release of Michael Williams’ 1st Symphony gives welcome longer life to a powerful musical statement.
A brighter shade of blue
Brighter than Blue is an elegant new CD perfect for summertime listening.
Sugar and spice for a ballet
Claire Cowan’s brilliant orchestral score for the Royal NZ Ballet’s Hansel and Gretel is now available on a stylish CD.
Passionate cello recalls dark days
Cello concertos by Edward Elgar and Gareth Farr are brought to passionate life on a new CD.
11 Frames: a rich collection of New Zealand music
Violinist Andrew Beer and pianist Sarah Watkins won a New Zealand Music Award (the ‘Tui’) as Classical Artist of the Year for 2020.
Sweet indulgence
A new CD of Romantic song transcriptions, Morgen shares the pleasures of beautiful and emotional music. Performed by Andrew Joyce, cello and Rae de Lisle, piano.
Bassoon discoveries
Bassoonist Ben Hoadley is also a prize-winning composer whose professional life has been re-balanced during the 2020 global pandemic.
Fragments: music from New Zealand for classical guitar
Recordings of New Zealand music for classical guitar played by Matthew Marshall have been extracted from RNZ’s archives and given new life by this Rattle Echo release, Fragments.
Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas and Trio
What does historically informed performance mean for late Brahms? A review of the recent release of Brahms’ Clarinet Sonatas and Trio, by Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano) and Claire-Lise Démettre (cello) (Centaur).
The song of the whale
Why do whales sing? A review of Panthalassa by Al Fraser, Sam Leamy and Neil Johnstone, released by Rattle Records in 2019.
The Gristle of Knuckles
Eve de Castro-Robinson’s The Gristle of Knuckles won the Classical Tui at the 2018 New Zealand Music Awards. And there’s not a genre category in sight in this inventive release.
Houstoun plays the seducer
Alfred Brendel called Beethoven's monumental Diabelli Variations "the greatest of all piano works". It may not yet be your favourite but be warned, you could be seduced by this persuasive release.