San Francisco Classical Voice

The Guarneri Quartet

Wearing thirty five years of togetherness lightly, the Guarneri String Quartet appeared at Stanford University's Dinkelspiel Auditorium last Wednesday and proved itself still master of the craft. The quartet has changed over its long history; the early, almost volcanic energy is replaced by a warmth and ease of execution, a sureness of phrase that is certainly well-earned. While some quartets strive for a unanimity of sound, the Guarneri has always found its strength in its individual differences. With barely a glance or nod at each other all evening, the four players managed a warm, blended sound while maintaining their own styles, often independent articulations and bowings.

Opening the program with Mozart's gracious G Major quartet, K. 387, first of the six dedicated to "mio caro Amico, Haydn," the Guarneri's approach was enjoyably "old-fashioned." Their sound was warm and rich, like some Austrian dessert you can't resist but know isn't good for you. The quartet is full of quirky moments--odd juxtapositions of forte and piano, interrupted melodies, operatic bursts of emotion. With deliberate care, the Guarneri let each moment bloom.

Here is a group that is just not in a hurry any more, but "sniffing every flower" has its drawbacks, too. The playing was finely nuanced but heavy and lacking in energy. The unison minor outbursts in the trio, following the odd, lurching minuet, should have come as more of a shock. And the finale, with its wonderful fugue which looks forward to the finale of the Jupiter Symphony, was too deliberate to be truly exciting. Yet the beauty of the work shone through in a myriad of details, confidently handled, and enjoyable as long as you weren't counting calories.

Zoltan Kodaly's early String Quartet No. 2 displayed the Guarneri to better effect. Based on the folk melodies and rhythms of the composer's native Hungary, this work is a loose collection of small musical moments, fragmented yet in free association. Simpler and more light-hearted than quartets of his compatriot, Bela Bartok, this rarely-heard music has a freshness to it. The improvisatory air of the work gives each player a great deal of freedom in frequent solos and in various combinations with their quartet colleagues.

In the first movement (Allegro), the players are instructed to play "very fluidly, without particular emphasis of the metrical strong beats." The Guarneri's self-assured approach worked very much to their advantage here, the music sounding warm and confident. The individuality of each player's solos gave the music a variety and depth that served it well. The improvisational second movement (Andante: Quasi recitativo) had some of the evening's most haunting moments, as when the first violin and viola linger over a melancholy folk melody, accompanied by soft open chords from the other two instruments. Throughout, the quartet's straight-ahead approach and full-bodied sound spun Kodaly's fragments into a convincing web of music.

Following Mozart's example, Robert Schumann also dedicated his String Quartet No.1 in a minor "to his friend, Felix Mendelssohn." A large and complex work, it was written during one of Schumann's frequent periods of depression. Schumann did not write particularly idiomatic instrumental parts, and what is supposed to sound so easy is often fiendishly difficult. The opening of the quartet, with its canonic entrances summoning the spirit of Beethoven, draws us into Schumann's idiosyncratic universe, both expressive and melancholy. Again, the Guarneri was able to draw upon its individual strengths to create a compelling whole. As a quartet player, I found it interesting to note how differently each player would turn a particular phrase. Those very variations only added interest to the music. The ideal of a string quartet being an "interesting conversation among musical equals" has its epitome here.

Mmoments during the concert revealed where the passage of time has apparently diminished some of the Guarneri's powers. Arnold Steinhardt's tone is not as uniformly golden as it once was. The tempi have slipped a few notches on the metronome, most noticeably in the Scherzo of the Schumann, which can have a wonderfully demonic quality. But the ease and confidence with which these four men tackled this thorny work wove a powerful spell.

After countless thousands of hours together, in rehearsal and concert, not to mention airport and post-concert reception, this quartet has managed to retain its place in the hearts and CD collections of listeners by virtue of the consummate musicality of its four members. I wish them well in their next thirty five years together.

(Benjamin Simon, violist, has been a member of the Naumburg Award-winning New World String Quartet and the Stanford Quartet. He is currently on the faculties of Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley.)

©1999 Benjamin Simon, all rights reserved