Between the Lines: The Devil’s Bargain with Orchestra Wellington

Thursday 30 July, 5:30pm at Te Matapihi, Wellington Central Library

Between the Lines: The Devil’s Bargain with Orchestra Wellington

30 July, 5:30pm

Theme: The Devil’s Bargain

Music to be performed:
Stravinsky – L’Histoire du soldat

The Devil’s Bargain explores one of the oldest and most enduring ideas in storytelling: the cost of getting what we want.

Across cultures and centuries, writers and storytellers have returned to the same uneasy question. What would you trade for success, security, or power? And how do we recognise the moment when a simple choice becomes something far more consequential?

These stories are rarely about the Devil alone. They are about temptation, ambition, and the quiet, human desire for more. More certainty, more comfort, more control over the future. They unfold as fables and parables, where the line between fortune and loss is never as clear as it first appears.

In this programme, music becomes a form of storytelling. Vivid, direct, and sometimes unsettling. Rhythms shift, ideas collide, and familiar ground gives way to something more uncertain. Like the tales that inspired it, the music invites us to listen closely, not just to what is gained, but to what might be lost along the way.

Between the Lines is a FREE monthly early-evening chamber music series and book club that brings music and literature into conversation. Presented in the beautiful setting of Ngā Pou Ruahine in Te Matapihi, the series invites audiences to listen, think, and chat. No prior knowledge of music or literature is required, just a curious mind.

Taking place monthly from April to October on the final Thursday of each month, Between the Lines has been co-created by New Zealand String Quartet, Orchestra Wellington, and New Zealand School of Music.

Each month these organisations will take turns presenting a talented group of musicians to perform music and host discussion on a different literary theme. From devil’s bargains to language games, the obsessive tortured artist to the intimate private lives of writers and composers, this book club will delve deep into themes that span across artforms.

Each session will feature carefully selected music and a reading list highlighting the theme of the month. So, arrive solo or bring your book club to Te Matapihi for a new kind of conversation.

This event is FREE to attend, but we ask that you please register via the button below.

Between the Lines series monthly concerts will be held at 5:30pm on the final Thursday of every month from April to October. The dates for the series are:

Thursday 30 April, 5:30pm – Orchestra Wellington (first session to take place on the Bleachers, ground level) – The Art of Conversation
Thursday 28 May, 5:30pm – New Zealand String Quartet – Obsession
Thursday 25 June, 5:30pm – New Zealand String Quartet – Private Lives
Thursday 30 July, 5:30pm – Orchestra Wellington – The Devil’s Bargain
Thursday 27 August, 5:30pm – New Zealand String Quartet – Outsider
Thursday 24 September, 5:30pm – NZSM – Te Kōkī – Theme to be announced
Thursday 29 October, 5:30pm – Orchestra Wellington – Language Games

Check out the series

Upcoming events

From the enthralling performances at the prestigious Michael Fowler Centre to dynamic street concerts in iconic Wellington locations, every interaction with us is an immersive journey into the heart of live orchestral music.