Sounds of old and new

The New Zealand String Quartet recently performed a programme entitled “East Meets West” at Ithaca College’s Ford Hall. The programme featured music by Beethoven, Shostakovich and contemporary Chinese, Japanese and Cambodian composers. Quartet member Douglas Beilman, second violin, said: “Beethoven’s Opus 95 in F minor is a powerfully concise and rigorous package of passion, intense lyricism and compelling architecture.” The group has recorded an extensive discography. Most recently, the quartet recorded all of Mendelssohn’s string quartets in a three-volume CD set for Naxos. The other quartet members are Gillian Ansell, viola; Rolf Gjelsten, cello; and Ithaca native first violinist Helene Pohl.