“Robert Ashworth has just delivered a calf,” writes Richard Betts in Wednesday’s (10/24) New Zealand Herald. “Admittedly, the cow did most of the work, but Ashworth is nevertheless a hands-on farmer who loves the rough and tumble of life in the country. You wonder what a bovine-related finger injury might do to Ashworth’s other career as one of New Zealand’s leading viola players. He does, after all, have a busy few weeks ahead, performing with his Jade String Quartet at Pah Homestead in late November and, before then, concerts with Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Ashworth is the APO’s principal viola but will take center stage as the soloist in Anthony Ritchie’s first viola concerto. It’s an opportunity not often afforded to orchestral musicians and the switch from supporting player to star turn requires a corresponding mental shift…. The APO’s music director, Giordano Bellincampi, will be on hand to add a layer of security should Ashworth require it. It’s unlikely he will. As well as being a superb musician the violist has performed the concerto before, with the St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, conducted by his partner, APO and Jade violinist Miranda Adams.”
Posted October 26, 2018
