This page contains articles and reviews about classical music recordings and performances in the following areas:

• New Zealand Music
• New Zealand Musicians
• Live performances in Wellington

All articles and reviews will be indexed for future reference at this page. In this way a comprehensive and on-going source of information will be built up about recordings and performances featuring New Zealand music and New Zealand musicians.

Reviews are written by Peter Mechen, a Wellington-based teacher and freelance music critic. Previously he has contributed articles and reviews to Palmerston North’s “Evening Standard”, and to publications such as “The Listener”, “Music New Zealand”, “Symphony Quarterly”, and a London-based periodical, “Strictly Off The Record”. Though highly opinionated, he welcomes any responses and/or comments concerning anything on this page.

He describes himself as a ham-fisted pianist, and has played percussion in a provincial orchestra, though he increasingly believes his true instrument to be the record player. He enjoys listening to a wide range of styles of music from different eras, but is particularly interested in nineteenth-century piano music and in New Zealand music

Acknowledgements -
To Mike Smith and Stephen Harker, without whose help this page wouldn’t have gotten under way; and to Robin Warnes whose enthusiasm and skill enables the page’s ongoing publication in fine style.
For further information regarding website design - email:

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