Hobart audiences love the New Zealand String Quartet, and this evening’s concert did not disappoint. The quartet has been together for 35 years and this showed in the unified interpretations and immaculate ensemble. The Hobart Town Hall is renowned for its resonant acoustic which can lead to a lack of clarity and difficulties with projection for the inner voices, but there were no such issues this evening. The quartet produced a richly blended sound that nonetheless contained an exceptional clarity of voice – a truly exceptional achievement.

New Zealand String Quartet. Photo © Monique Lapins

Haydn’s Op. 20, No 4 Quartet is the fourth of his set of six ‘Sun’ Quartets. The opening two movements are serious in intent, and were performed with understated simplicity, allowing the music to speak for itself without performer interference. Beautiful, elegantly-shaped phrases were punctuated with occasional characteristic quirkiness, but I was left feeling a little emotionally disengaged. The more extroverted Allegretto alla zingarese and Presto scherzando were performed with verve, virtuosity and humour.

Shostakovich’s Second String Quartet was the highlight of the evening for me. The composer’s characteristic sardonic, chilling subversiveness is...