San Francisco Classical Voice

Golijov's two-movement Last Round was written as a tribute to Astor Piazzolla, the leading tango composer of the 20th Century — and probably any other. The second slow movement was created as a sketch after Piazzolla's 1992 death from a stroke. Golijov did not complete the work until 1996.

Golijov's seating plan sets the quartets one on each side of the central stage, facing each other and often playing antiphonal effects back and forth. Bassist Tramontozzi, a member of the San Francisco Symphony, played at center stage between them. The first movement is in quick, aggressive and somewhat jazzy-dissonant, the second a tonal elegy in sentimental style. It was well enough played, but I did not find Last Round impressive. The piece wasn't bad but merely ordinary, while bouncing around among an assortment of styles which did not add up to any sort of unity.

The St. Lawrence's performance of the Dvořák was incomparable. Little details of ensemble seemed almost telepathic in temperament, tempos were astute and style was invincible. I would doubt that even the finest Czech quartets present this piece with more perfection. The St. Lawrence musicians managed to make Dvořák's thrice familiar “American” sound fresh and new. . For me, this was the most imposing event of the program.

Even among maverick composers, Nancarrow (1912-92) stands apart (with the possible exception of Harry Partch). The majority of his compositions used player piano; human hands couldn't possibly play fast enough for him. Naturally, his three string quartets are far from the expected. The relatively short Quartet No. 3 is set as three ultra-complex movements set as canons. The themes for those canons are constantly layered in tight overlaps. Their repeated entries are usually varied rather than appearing as literal repeats of the original theme. I don't think anyone could follow the details by ear. What emerges is almost pure texture, thick and bristling with activity.

Nancarrow's Third is a fascinating piece and was very well played, although I doubt anyone could be quite certain that all the notes were the correct ones. It would be like trying to count the droplets while taking a shower. The FLUX Quartet that specializes in 20th-century music of the most advanced type and seemed quite comfortable playing their way through Nancarrow's technically hellish demands.

The one disconcerting element of the Nancarrow performance was that microphones had been placed by the individual players for what seemed unnecessary amplification. I recall once hearing a reporter mention that he'd found a used copy of a speech given before the United Nations. The margin contained a hand-written trope, “Weak point. Shout!” The Nancarrow Third was absorbing enough without electronic intervention. It is strong enough with just the four strings.

Hammett is a full magnitude superstar of the rock world, idolized here and abroad, particularly in Eastern Europe. Considering that rock musicians usually perform in funky costumes, it tickled me a bit to see Hammett stroll on stage in a white suit and tie.

Needless to say, his playing was virtuoso in the extreme, and included an assortment of guitar techniques utterly new to me. Of course, rock music, and especially heavy-metal rock, has not played much of a part in my listening experience. Hammett's various improvised episodes left me unsure that I had actually heard the sounds I just had. He's like a whole new school of guitar playing embodied in one human. Then a second surprise, the music was never deafening. As such things go, Hammett's music making was relatively elegant as well as inventive. Bless me, I may yet end up as a fan.

Chiu, who happens to be first violinist of FLUX Quartet as well as a composer, named his SAS after, of all things, the international airline. Clearly, it's an abstract title, for there was nothing remotely suggesting air travel in the score. Much of the piece, also electrically amplified, seemed quasi-improvised in the manner of John Cage or Morton Feldman's music. The fact that it can be played by two-to-any-number of instruments would seem to support that guess.

Like the Nancarrow, SAS was quite short. I was just getting into it when it ceased, minus any grand coda flourish. That, too, follows the leads of Cage and Feldman. When a piece is done, just stop. Even so, it was obviously an audience rouser that drew thunderous rounds of applause so intense that it seemed the audience expected more. That urge went unrequited.

After 50 years of service to the community, offering free Sunday concerts at SFSU by the world's top musicians, the series founded by May Treat Morrison in 1955 sits as one of the Bay Area's major crown jewels. Going down the page-and-a-half list of artists who've appeared on the Morrison Series reads like a Who's Who of the international chamber music world: 73 different Quartets alone besides Duos, Quintets, Sextets, chamber orchestras plus a number of important soloists. Not being on that list places one in confirmation of unimportance.

Their next program will be the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio on November 6, playing both Shostakovich Trios, Mozart's K. 502 and a piece written for them by Arvo Pärt.