Haydn String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 20 No. 3; Shostakovich String Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 108; Britten 3 Divertimenti For String Quartet; Danish Folk Music (‘Wood works’)
This was an interesting programme, though I am not sure an entire second half of Danish re-imagined folk music quite worked – to my mind it might have made more sense to cut out the Britten, have another Haydn or Shostakovich quartet, and intersperse what was played with the folk music. ANYWAY….it was an enjoyable evening. And with a full house…..I haven’t really come across this quartet before, though to give yourself as the name of the quartet the country you belong to implies some elevated status (or arrogance). They have been around for about 20 years, and were treated like rock stars by the RNCM/Cheetham’s students present (lots of whoops). And they were very good indeed!!
The Haydn was new to me – I don’t have a recording of any of the Op 20 quartets (and must get one). To quote Wikipedia, “the musicologist Cliff Eisen contextualizes the op. 20 quartets as follows: “Haydn’s quartets of the late 1760s and early 1770s [opp. 9, 17 and 20] are high points in the early history of the quartet. Characterized by a wide range of textures, frequent assymetries and theatrical gestures…these quartets established the genre’s four-movement form, its larger dimensions, and …its greater aesthetic pretensions and expressive range””.Here I was particularly struck by the slow movement and its long viola solo. If you shut your eyes and just listened to the music without programme notes, it wouldn’t be, I felt, Haydn that came to mind but the Beethoven of the middle or even late quartets – astonishing music. The Danes played very beautifully throughout the work, but I did feel there was something like a lack of spring, vivacity – energy – in the playing of the Haydn; maybe a bit over-refined?
There were no such qualms with the Shostakovich (the shortest of the fifteen – only 13 minutes or so) – this was a really very good performance indeed, with masses of bite, the strings digging in deeply, and bitterly angry and powerful pizzicato from the strings at points in the first movement. Maybe the first and second violins swapping was something to do with this sudden increase in energy. At the same time the ghostly keening and the menace of the second movement was very well realised by the quartet, as was the violence and melancholy of the final movement.
The Britten dates from the early 1930’s so a very youthful work. Again, there was energy and vigour for what is a not inherently very interesting piece by comparison to the other two preceding it. I doubt if it could be better played.
As I have already indicated, the Wood Works folk music was pleasant enough – indeed some of it was really lovely, but really I would have preferred another quartet or the music presented in a different way!
John's musical journey 