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.
The Unruly Tourists: an opera, a composer and a departing director
NZ Opera’a General Director Thomas de Mallet Burgess commissioned the opera The Unruly Tourists from composer Luke di Somma. The controversial project has just completed its first season in Auckland.
TANZOS: a springboard for outstanding young opera singers in Aotearoa
Soprano Madeleine Pierard is the head of TANZOS, an exciting new Opera Studio at the University of Waikato. It was the dream of Dame Malvina Major, and her Foundation is a major donor to the initiative.
The media merger has been scrapped - what’s ahead for RNZ Concert?
The proposed merger of RNZ and TVNZ into the entity Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media has been completely scrapped by the government. What does this mean for RNZ Concert?
Podium dynamics
Does gender on the podium matter? Is the issue merely one of equity? Are female conductors measured by a different standard?
Leonard Weiss: podium experiences
New Zealand’s professional orchestras have made the second appointment to a national development role for conductors.
RNZ Concert – what does 2022 hold for the network?
It’s two years since RNZ’s brutal “Music Strategy” threatened the existence of RNZ Concert. What does 2022 hold for New Zealand’s only classical music network?
At the World’s Edge Festival: intimacy, awe and connection
This week violinists Justine Cormack and Ben Baker will realise their dream of a new chamber music festival in Central Otago.
Violinist Wilma Smith - chamber music with friends
Violinist Wilma Smith is in New Zealand for a chamber music tour and the annual Martinborough Music Festival. The Delta outbreak has her plans in flux but she’s still smiling.
Call of the Huia - old songs made new
A rediscovery project by Michael Vinten collecting previously unavailable New Zealand art songs is attracting the attention of singers and teachers.
Stroma celebrates its 20th anniversary
An interview with composer Michael Norris, co-director of Stroma, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a concert of music from Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.
The conductor’s art
Gemma New visited New Zealand recently to conduct the NZSO and National Youth Orchestra in music by Gareth Farr, Stravinsky and Shostakovich. She brought both musical understanding and composing skill to the podium.
When the curtain suddenly falls
What does it really mean to the performing arts when the curtain comes down without notice?
Dame Gillian Whitehead at 80: weaving the threads together
Dame Gillian Whitehead is 80 years old. Now living in New Zealand, she has woven together the threads of her Māori and pākeha heritage in recent works.
RNZ Concert: cultural treasure or bland sound-track to our lives?
The Save RNZ Concert campaign is a year old. Where are we now?
Orchestral manoeuvres
New Zealand’s orchestras are broadening their audiences with innovative approaches.
Singers surviving in a pandemic with London whānau
Singers Madeleine Pierard and Julien van Mellaerts have led New Zealand opera singers in London in a Royal Albert Hall recital to raise spirits and funds during pandemic disruptions.
Dancing through adversity
A sextet tours for Chamber Music NZ with a programme of light-hearted 1920’s music that invites reflection on troubled times.
RATTLE ECHO: re-discovering the past
Steve Garden is launching Rattle Echo, revisiting and re-imagining sounds recorded in the past.
Riffing like Beethoven
Poet Anne Kennedy wrote Thirty-three Transformations on a Theme of Philip, “riffing like Beethoven” on one of her brother’s poems. Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations were her inspiration.
Happy birthday, Ludwig!
Celebrating the birthday of a towering music figure during a global pandemic - and why I revere Beethoven.