San Francisco Classical Voice

October 7, 1998

The debut of the St. Lawrence String Quartet at Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium on Wednesday was awaited with anticipation. The program included a refreshing and splendid work from Haydn's later years, Op. 76, no. 4, dubbed the "Sunrise." The String Quartet no. 3 by Shostakovich is music of spacious design as well as technically and emotionally challenging. Concluding the program was Dvorak's colorful and folksy quintet for piano and strings, inviting the collaboration of Frederick Weldy of the Stanford Music Department faculty.

There is much to be admired in the St. Lawrence's playing. The ensemble is rhythmically incisive and cohesive. A uniform striving for dramatic expression is always present. The group understood and communicated the profound introspective feelings of the Shostakovich's Adagio movement, which contains this composer's greatest pages. The Dvorak must have been fun to play, for its joyous feeling spread to the audience. The composer's folk-like tunes were conveyed in extensive solos for the viola and cello, expressively played by Lesley Robertson and Marina Hoover. Mr. Weldy contributed to the ensemble his beautiful tone and easy control over Dvorak's massive sonorities.

Reservations about the St. Lawrence's performance are minor. One missed the epic breadth in the Adagio movement of the Haydn, the sextuplets relegated to mere passagework instead of being allowed to sing. The Haydn's first movement had a nervous beginning with unclear balances. One hopes that these minor blemishes will disappear in future performances.

The name of the quartet is a reflection of the group's Canadian-American orientation. The St. Lawrence River divides the American continent. Three of the members are Canadian-born, but two of them were trained in the United States. The group is evenly balanced: the men, Geoff Nuttall and Barry Shiffman, violins; the women, Lesley Robertson, viola, and Marina Hoover, cello. The St. Lawrence, Stanford's quartet-in residence designate, was warmly received by a large and enthusiastic audience.

Although this was a traditional program, the quartet has expressed interest in new music, which is commendable and very much needed. At the same time, one is tempted to recall the advice of the leader of the legendary Capet Quartet, Lucien Capet, who said that the ultimate test of a young quartet is their relationship to the late Beethoven quartets. We shall follow the course of the St. Lawrence with attention.

(Sandor Salgo is Professor of Music (Em.), Stanford University, Conductor (Em.) of the Carmel California Bach Festival, Conductor (Em.) of the Marin Symphony and former member of the Roth String Quartet.)

©1998 Sandor Salgo, all rights reserved