Thursday, December 09, 1999
Canadian quartet's concert intense, pleasing
CONCERT REVIEW
BY TOM SCHNELLER
Enquirer contributor
The performance of the St. Lawrence Strinq Quartet Tuesday at the University of Cincinnati's Corbett Auditorium marked another triumph of the Cincinnati Chamber Music Society. A warm, mellifluous sound and considerable interpretive subtlety characterized the playing of the young Canadian ensemble.
The tempestuous first movement of Haydn's String Quartet in D minor, op. 76., which the musicians negotiated with fire and precision, provided an electrifying opening. The contrasting characters of the lush, serenade-like second movement and the macabre scherzo were sharply etched, and the scurrilous humor of the last movement wittily captured.
The quartet's extraordinary sensitivity to expressive nuance continued to impress in their exquisite interpretation of the String Quartet No. 3 in A major, op. 41, by Schumann.
This bittersweet, lyrical work, suffused with both the ineffable melancholy and feisty vigor of the composer's divided temperament, bloomed in the hands of the four musicians.
For the last piece on the program, Schubert's monumental String Quintet in C major, op. post. 163, the quartet was joined by cellist Paul Katz, a former member of the Cleveland Quartet. Mr. Katz blended perfectly with the ensemble, and the expanded group projected a rich and satisfying sound.
Composed shortly before Schubert's death, the Quintet is a work of rattling intensity that veers from Dionysian joie de vivre to withered melancholy in abrupt shifts of mood. In the second and third movements, the musicians brought out extreme contrasts.
The dark, hushed middle section of the boisterous scherzo arrived at a still point of almost unbearable gravi ty in which music seemed to turn into silence, silence into music.
As the musicians gathered momentum again to hurl themselves back into the frenetic energy of the scherzo, the tension generated by this clash of opposite extremes imbued the whole passage with a feverish, hallucinogenic character that had a powerful impact.
Moments of such intensity are rare and precious, and the enthusiastic applause, peppered with “Bravos,” that greeted the rapid, brilliant conclusion of the Quintet attested to the appreciation of the audience.
House OKs late-term abortion ban
Who's at fault when kids play with guns?
City high schools 'a failure'
CPS facing tough decision on levies
'Super Saturday' likely to stay - for now
Voice-mail crash affects thousands
Cincinnatian files suit over T-shirt shoot
Judge scolds adults in Justin case
Clermont discovers role on the Underground Railroad
Sewer rates to soar
Shirey review will be done in open council
Mayor wants to be rec director
Mental health agencies merge
Serious about spreading cheer
Study: New college needed
Vote to raise tax required courage
Canadian quartet's concert intense, pleasing
Clooney return to 'ER' uncertain
Diamond rolls through career of gems
GET TO IT
'Jekyll' seldom hits right chord
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Stuff for stockings
Toddler needs special chair to sit up
'Nutcracker' mom does fancy steps
Colerain sees need for road levy
District rejects idea of arming school principals
Fernald worker database needs funds
Fire alarm saves man asleep
Girlfriend's killer gets 16 to life
High school/rec center will cost $71.9M
Killer convicted after five years
Ky. 9 stretch completed
Man overcome in blaze rescued by firefighters
NKU grad's neighbor: Didn't mean to kill her
Ohio bill declares campaign donations on Net
Project will take kids on virtual tours of Cincinnati Art Museum
Quoted words turn township meeting ugly
Sirens to be ready for tornado season
Sister tells of burying body parts
Some postal offices to be open Sundays
TRISTATE DIGEST
Warren sheriff clears new hurdle
Young driver may end up in adult court
