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CHAMBER MUSIC REVIEW
May 10, 2005
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By Alexander Kahn
Ask your neighborhood string quartet what the staples of the repertoire are, and you will likely hear the names of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. For the Juilliard String Quartet, however, the bread and butter of concert material tend to be works by Bartók, Elliot Carter, and Schoenberg. Since its founding 59 years ago, the group has made a name for itself playing
most challenging and forbidding pieces in the string quartet literature. Which is perhaps why, at their appearance at Herbst Theater, Bartók's Third Quartet came off flawlessly and Haydn's String Quartet in D Major, op. 76 no. 5 was both flawed and dull.
The evening began with the Haydn, a quartet from a set of six written late in the composer's life between 1796 and 1797. From the first measure I was tempted to check my ticket stub to verify that this was indeed the venerable Juilliard Quartet. The opening gesture in the first violin was fuzzy, leaving tempo, texture, and character unclear. This equivocation lasted for several minutes and led me to wonder whether the group simply hadn't yet decided how to phrase this piece and were now, on stage, trying to figure it out. In addition, the intonation between the viola and the cello was shockingly out of tune, painfully noticeable during the many passages where the two instruments play in octaves. All sorts of details notated in the score — contrasts of character, dynamics, and texture — were passed by without being highlighted. What might have been an engaging and dramatic performance remained dull and unremarkable.
But then the group dug into the Bartók as if they had been replaced by another set of players. The work was as polished as the Haydn was rough. Clearly the Quartet was in its element — this is a work they have played many times. Intonation problems vanished: while octaves and perfect fifths had proven a challenge during the Haydn, Bartók's minor ninths, minor seconds and sevenths sounded beautifully. The piece was wonderfully shaped, with a clear narrative from beginning to end. The opening was played slowly, creating a wonderfully pensive and atmospheric mood effectively contrasted with the frenetic dance-like second section. The finale, which demands extended techniques including double-stop glissandi, col legno playing, and hammered chords, came off effortlessly in a way that drew attention from the difficulty of these passages toward the drama of the music.
The concert ended with Dvořák's Quartet in F Major, op. 96. The piece bears the nickname “American” as it was written during the composer's years of residence in America (1892-5) — specifically, in the summer of 1893 in Spillville, Iowa. Happily, the ensemble continued the momentum they had built up during the Bartók to deliver an energetic, lusty performance. The playing was marked by flexibility in the tempo and quicksilver changes of dynamics. During the Dvořák the members of the quartet also stepped out of the uniform sound world they had created during the first two pieces to play as individuals.There were nice contrasts between solo performances as the line moved from instrument to instrument. Two or three measures before the conclusion of the Dvořak, several audience members broke into applause, clearly disturbing the players who eyed one another peevishly. We are now accustomed to audiences coughing or clapping immediately after the last chord of a piece or a movement has been sounded, a practice which allows no chance for the chord to ring or for a moment of silent contemplation or appreciation. But not before the piece has even ended!
(Alexander Kahn is a graduate student in music history and literature at UC Berkeley, where he also serves as assistant conductor of the University Symphony.)
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Juilliard String Quartet
