Guest Cellist Joins Hungary’s Kelemen Quartet

Guest Cellist Joins Hungary’s Kelemen Quartet at Last Minute for New Zealand Tour

An injury to Kelemen Quartet cellist Dóra Kokas has meant a late line-up change for the ensemble’s 10-centre Chamber Music New Zealand tour which has its Wellington concert next week as part of the New Zealand Festival.

Dóra was injured while on a day off in the middle of the current Australian tour and is unable to perform. Hungarian cellist Ákos Takács has joined the tour in Australia and will join The Kelemen Quartet as guest cellist for the New Zealand tour.

The Kelemen Quartet with Ákos Takács performs at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre on Friday 14 March as part of the New Zealand Festival.

Chamber Music New Zealand chief executive Euan Murdoch says it is unfortunate that Dora will not feature in the concerts and the decision to find a guest cellist was not taken lightly.

“It had to be someone perfect for the other members of the quartet and the music they wanted to perform.”

Flying out especially for the remainder of their tour, Ákos Takács is a former member of the Auer String Quartet which won recognition at numerous Hungarian and international competitions.

The change has also resulted in a new programme for the New Zealand concerts with Mozart’s String Quartet in C ‘Dissonance’ paired with Kodály’s Serenade for two violins and viola, and string quartets from Haydn and Bartók.

This brilliant young quartet is currently taking Europe by storm after developing a worldwide following since winning the Musica Viva Grand Prize at the 2011 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.

The Kelemen Quartet has a reputation as one of the most exciting string quartets in Europe and is currently resident at the Bela Bartók National Concert Hall at the Budapest Palace of Arts.

The quartet is led by Barnabás Kelemen, who has previously featured with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Barnabás won the 2013 Gramophone Magazine Award for Best Chamber Music CD and was Hungary’s Classical Musician of the Year in 2003. He has been honoured by the Hungarian government with several awards including the Franz Liszt Prize and Hungarian Order of Merit.

The Kelemen Quartet performs at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington on Friday 14 March at 7.30pm with a free pre-concert talk for ticket holders from 6.30pm. Tickets are available through Ticketek 0800 TICKETEK (842 538) www.ticketek.co.nz and for more information visit www.chambermusic.co.nz

Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledges major funding from Creative New Zealand. The Kelemen Quartet is presented in association with the New Zealand Festival.

ENDS

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