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Concert review: Calder Quartet
Mar. 29th, 2005 11:35 pmIt was my privilege to escort ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
athenais on her Date With Schubert.
For it seems that the Calder Quartet (named for Alexander, the guy with the mobiles) was coming to S.F. from L.A. to perform two works by Schubert: the "Death and the Maiden" Quartet and - with their mentor Ronald Leonard, the Grebanier of the L.A. Philharmonic, on second cello - the String Quintet. And I somehow found myself with two free tickets to this concert. The combination of circumstances suggested the other hearer who'd most appreciate it.
It would be merely snide to say we got our money's worth. Had we paid through the nose we'd have gotten our money's worth.
The Calder Quartet's publicity likes to suggest they have energy to burn. "Somewhere between a hip-hop show and a monster truck rally" reads one quote. How would they play "Death and the Maiden", already just about the most intense, fiery quartet in the repertoire? Would they chew the scenery and bounce off the walls? That might not be very musical, but it could be entertaining.
They did nothing of the sort. The sound was contained, controlled, maybe even a little small for the space. But it was also crisp and precise. What this work needs is accompaniment whose complex rhythm is tight and bouncy, something for the melodic line to sit securely on top of. It also needs a finale that hangs together: if this work has a flaw, it's a garrulous coda. A coherency in that part of the music can be tough to get. But we got it.
That was impressive enough. Then, the Quintet. Much more lyrical than energetic, it's often called a relaxed, genial work. Hah. This sound filled the hall: it was just exquisite, meltingly intense and focused. The Adagio in particular. For most of this movement, the three middle instruments play a slow melody in chords. They hold the piece together while the first violin and that lucky second cello get the attention by playing little decorative figures over it. But the three would not be overlooked: they were as if bonded together, and the sound was fine chocolate. Even more wondrous: the transitions into and out of the more agitated middle section floated inevitably to their destinations, like a dancer suspended on water: a triumph of art over the law of harmonic progressions.
The Quintet is a very long work (though not so long if the exposition isn't repeated, as it wasn't here), but by the time the third movement concluded I was feeling morose. What? Why? Only one more movement left to go, that's why! This could have gone on a lot longer as far as I was concerned. I could have sat there all night. The hour's drive home felt like it took about five minutes.
"Death and the Maiden" is my favorite of all string quartets, but while I know the Quintet well enough to appreciate a good performance, it's sort of sidled in to my consciousness over the years and isn't really a totem work of mine. At least, not before now.
athenais on her Date With Schubert.For it seems that the Calder Quartet (named for Alexander, the guy with the mobiles) was coming to S.F. from L.A. to perform two works by Schubert: the "Death and the Maiden" Quartet and - with their mentor Ronald Leonard, the Grebanier of the L.A. Philharmonic, on second cello - the String Quintet. And I somehow found myself with two free tickets to this concert. The combination of circumstances suggested the other hearer who'd most appreciate it.
It would be merely snide to say we got our money's worth. Had we paid through the nose we'd have gotten our money's worth.
The Calder Quartet's publicity likes to suggest they have energy to burn. "Somewhere between a hip-hop show and a monster truck rally" reads one quote. How would they play "Death and the Maiden", already just about the most intense, fiery quartet in the repertoire? Would they chew the scenery and bounce off the walls? That might not be very musical, but it could be entertaining.
They did nothing of the sort. The sound was contained, controlled, maybe even a little small for the space. But it was also crisp and precise. What this work needs is accompaniment whose complex rhythm is tight and bouncy, something for the melodic line to sit securely on top of. It also needs a finale that hangs together: if this work has a flaw, it's a garrulous coda. A coherency in that part of the music can be tough to get. But we got it.
That was impressive enough. Then, the Quintet. Much more lyrical than energetic, it's often called a relaxed, genial work. Hah. This sound filled the hall: it was just exquisite, meltingly intense and focused. The Adagio in particular. For most of this movement, the three middle instruments play a slow melody in chords. They hold the piece together while the first violin and that lucky second cello get the attention by playing little decorative figures over it. But the three would not be overlooked: they were as if bonded together, and the sound was fine chocolate. Even more wondrous: the transitions into and out of the more agitated middle section floated inevitably to their destinations, like a dancer suspended on water: a triumph of art over the law of harmonic progressions.
The Quintet is a very long work (though not so long if the exposition isn't repeated, as it wasn't here), but by the time the third movement concluded I was feeling morose. What? Why? Only one more movement left to go, that's why! This could have gone on a lot longer as far as I was concerned. I could have sat there all night. The hour's drive home felt like it took about five minutes.
"Death and the Maiden" is my favorite of all string quartets, but while I know the Quintet well enough to appreciate a good performance, it's sort of sidled in to my consciousness over the years and isn't really a totem work of mine. At least, not before now.
