San Francisco Classical Voice

February 21, 1999

Energy was the keynote in the concert of the Carmina Quartet in Hertz Hall Sunday afternoon. Currently in residence at the Winterthur Conservatory in Zurich, Switzerland, the group began the program with an invigorated reading of Beethoven's Quartet in C minor, opus 18, no.4. Marked by very fast tempos, a light string sound, and minimal use of vibrato, this performance certainly put a fresh perspective on the piece--at a price, however.

In his group of six quartets, opus 18, Beethoven was following a tradition begun by Haydn with his Quartets, opus 20, opus 33, and opus 76, as well as Mozart, with his quartets dedicated to Haydn. Each of these sets includes six works, and as with Mozart's, Beethoven's set includes only one work composed in the minor key, the opus 18 no.4. The first movement, marked "Allegro, ma non tanto," is the only first-movement Allegro in any of Beethoven's seventeen quartets to receive the qualification "not too much." This, as well as the key signature, C Minor, suggests a mood of dark, inner probing and tension that explodes in occasional outbursts, qualities which were missing from the exuberantly extroverted approach of the Carmina.

The Minuetto began at a tempo far faster than the designated Allegretto, and this both required the introduction of a new, slower tempo in the trio section and left too little room for the piu Allegro asked for by Beethoven in the recapitulation. Again, in the final Allegro, the opening tempo and the outward energy left inadequate space for the powerful Prestissimo at the work's conclusion. Notwithstanding these shortcomings in mood and pacing, the virtuoso players, individually and in ensemble, delivered a technically impressive, lively performance.

The modern works on the program consisted of two brief movements from Paul Giger's work-in-progress, "Quartinen der Vergaenglichkeit," and Alban Berg's Quartet, opus 3. Giger, born in Switzerland in 1952, takes the title of his work from a poetry cycle written by the Swiss poet Matthias Dieterle. "Quartinen" refers to the poetic form--a cycle of minimalist, four-line verses. The word "Vergaegnlichkeit" is drawn from the root word for fleeting or ephemeral, as in "life is fleeting."

Violist Wendy Champney gave a brief introduction to the piece, in which she warned the audience of its low dynamic levels, unusual string effects, harmonics, and pizzicatti. Most interesting, she told of the inclusion in the work, of a fragment of Gregorian chant discovered in a monastery in Switzerland. At first hearing, the work was unchallenging to the listener, a derivative assortment of recurring rhythmic patterns and ethereal harmonics with far less expressive power than that of such minimalist works as John Cage's first quartet, written fifty years ago.

The Berg quartet received the outstanding performance of the afternoon. The work's emotive and dramatic thrust was well served by the Carmina's agitated, ever surging and fluctuating energy. Tender, expressive moments were showcased by their surrounding bursts of rhythmic and dynamic power. The work's counterpoint became more meaningful and less academic in this energized presentation.

Following intermission, the group played a curiously unsatisfying performance of the Debussy Quartet in G Minor, opus 10. Each phrase was so heavily driven that it was difficult to become involved with the larger message of the work or to hear its narrative. While the opening of the second movement Scherzo was excellent, the yearning element of the beginning of the third movement, Andantino, doucement expressive, was merely flippant and offhand. In contrast, the second theme in the finale, seemed overly somber and serious.

The accomplished players in this solid group are Matthias Enderle, violin Suzanne Frank, violin, Wendy Champney, viola, and Stephan Goerner, cello. They have a fifteen-year history together but could benefit from the development of a richer, composite tenuto sound with more bass to contrast with their bright, soprano intensity. While the music making is full of vitality, concentration on the larger, dramatic, presentational elements would give a broader satisfaction to the playing.

(Paul Hersh is a pianist and violist, and, since 1972, the James D. Robertson Professor of Piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.)

©1999 Paul Hersh, all rights reserved