New Zealand String Quartet & Richard Nunns

Haberdashers’ Hall, the City’s newest livery hall built for one of the oldest livery companies in 2002 by Hopkins Architects, is a stunning piece of modern architecture and its acoustics are ideal for chamber music. The New Zealand String Quartet’s second performance presents one of New Zealand’s most celebrated composers, Dame Gillian Whitehead, alongside her multi-talented younger compatriot Gareth Farr in a pair of works which unite their country’s two key cultural influences, introduced first by the Maori and much later by the European settlers. Richard Nunns is New Zealand’s leading exponent of Maori instruments and collaborates widely with classical musicians. Two masterpieces by Smetana, ‘the father of Czech music’, and Shostakovich complete the programme.

This event is part of the 2011 City of London Festival.