Now one of New Zealand's best-known composers, Gareth Farr's music has been performed by leading artists, including the Douglas Wright Dance Company, Royal New Zealand Ballet, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia and New Zealand String Quartet (NZSQ). He studied at Auckland and Victoria Universities, and the Eastman School in New York, and in 1993 was the youngest person to hold the position of composer-in-residence with Chamber Music New Zealand. During that residency, Farr worked with the NZSQ to compose his first string quartet, Owhiro. In recent years he has been collaborating on theatrical productions, while continuing to write for concert performances. His extensive contribution to New Zealand music has been recognised with a New Zealand Arts Laureate Award in 2010.

Farr's second string quartet was written in 1997, and the score includes the composer's own poem that provides a context for the title Mondo Rondo ['round world']. The first movement is an energetic gallop through Western-sounding musical ideas. In contrast, the largely pizzicato second movement contains obvious references to Farr's interest in South-East Asia, particularly gamelan music. Rhythm comes to the fore again in the final movement, this time as an accompaniment to exotic melodic fragments which the composer has described as a product of his 'Moroccan phase'.

the world is round


the world is a serious place


this string quartet is round


the world is a string quartet


this string quartet is not a serious piece


the world is not a serious place


the world is round

Note: Jane Dawson