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Alix Goolden Performance Hall
July 20, 2013
"I am not one of the great composers. All the great have produced enormously. There is everything in their work - the best and the worst, but there is always quantity. But I have written relatively little."
While many of us might, indeed would, dispute Ravel's contention that he was not one of the great composers, there is no denying that fact that he concentrated on quality rather than quantity. In fact the only of his works with numbers which spring to mind are the two suites from Daphnis and Chloe, which hardly count.
It is no surprise, then, that Ravel only wrote a single string quartet - but what a quartet it is! (Of the other audience members I spoke to on Saturday night, almost all had been enticed along by the presence of the Ravel on the programme.)
The Ravel was the main work in the second half of Saturday's concert performed by the Collegium String Quartet, the latest such ensemble to grace Victoria's musical scene.
Clearly the four players are all highly talented young musicians and their intonation, dynamics and ensemble were generally very good indeed. The first movement, in particular, displayed some excellent mezza voce playing.
What I - and at least one other musician to whom I spoke - felt was somewhat lacking was a sense of the overall line of the piece. There were places when it was unclear which of the four instruments was meant to be the most significant: hence, for example, in the finale, the apparent non-appearance of the references to the opening movement. This is a matter of adjusting internal balances - but subtly rather than blatantly. Furthermore, while the temptation to exult in Ravel's glorious fortissimos is entirely understandable, it does need to be reigned in, as it can result in a slightly aggressive sound.
I would also suggest that the basic tempo for the famous second movement was too quick - it is, after all, marked assez vif (lively enough) - which led to some snatched pizzicatos. Slightly slower would have meant more accurate which, paradoxically, would have enhanced the rhythmic effect.
Speaking of rhythm, the 5/4 of the finale could have been accentuated more; there were times when it felt closer to six than five.
All of which sounds ominously negative, which is definitely not my intention; for an ensemble which formed just over six months ago this was an impressive achievement and overall an enjoyable performance. And in places - some of the pianissimo playing in the slow movement for instance - it was more than just enjoyable.
The decision to close the evening with the opening movement of Dvořák's "American" Quartet proved to be a wise one. Those internal balances are simpler to establish. And the performance itself was very good, full of life and with some really lovely playing of the movement's second subject.
For all my criticisms - which I hope are constructive - I came away with high hopes for the Collegium Quartet who show a great deal of promise.
The first half of the evening consisted of two works played by violinist Blythe Allers and pianist Robert Holliston.
Unfortunately, due to a confusion over starting times, I arrived late and thus missed the Beethoven sonata with which the pair opened the evening. (This was the first time in over twenty years of reviewing that I have been late for a concert; the fact that it was somebody else's fault and that others were in the same boat was of little consolation.)
However, the Violin Concerto by Julius Conus, which followed, was quite a spectacle and (very nearly) compensated for the loss.
Conus is hardly a household name; in fact my New Grove does not even seem to have an entry for him (even under the probable other spellings), but thanks to the InterWeb a little information was forthcoming: a Russian violinist who live from 1869-1942, student of Arensky and friend of Rachmaninov (in fact his son Boris married Rachmaninov's daughter Tatiana) the concerto was premiered in 1898 and achieved wider success when taken up first by Kreisler, later by Heifetz.
Cast in three linked sections the concerto is an attractive and enjoyable, rather than a great work. However Allers clearly believes in the piece and gave it a thoroughly committed and persuasive performance, with excellent intonation (even of the very high harmonics) and a degree of "swagger" throughout, without which a piece like this could easily fall flat on its face. Robert Holliston accompanied with his usual flair.
A most enjoyable evening; I shall watch the future careers of these young musicians with great interest.
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