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Alix Goolden Performance Hall
October 16, 2013
The six early string quartets of Beethoven, collected together as Opus 18, are often overlooked. This is understandable, as they follow the masterworks of Haydn and Mozart, and lack the monumental genius that Beethoven later applied to the string quartet form. But the performance of the B flat major quartet (Opus 18, Number 6) delivered by the New Orford String Quartet served as a reminder that this neglect is unjust. Characterized by tight ensemble playing, the New Orfords exuberantly emphasized the contrasts in textures in the piece. In particular, the opening adagio section of the final "La malinconia" movement was taut and pensive, beautifully rendered.
The Beethoven was followed by R. Murray Schafer's first string quartet, composed in 1969-70. Cellist Brian Manker spent a few minutes giving the audience an explanation of the quartet's structure and sonic effects, before the Quartet started to play. For "daring" programming like this, the time spent engaging with the audience is well worth it -- one came away with the sense that it opened the ears of many audience members who might otherwise reject the piece out-of-hand. The piece, a single movement of roughly 15 minutes duration, must be physically taxing for the musicians, as it careens from the frenetic oppressive opening to sections of eerie serenity. One can easily imagine a performance of this piece completely jumping the tracks, but the New Orfords handled the challenges of the piece flawlessly.
After the interval the quartet returned to the stage for a performance of Brahms' A minor quartet, Op.51 No.2. This has long been my favourite of the three Brahms quartets, and I was not disappointed by the performance of the New Orford String Quartet. The long singing lines of the opening movement were wonderfully rendered, and the Andante moderato second movement was nothing short of sublime. Throughout, the performance was characterized by sensitive ensemble playing, with very fine attention to the balance between the instruments. It's worth noting that the climaxes (and this being Brahms, there are many) were not over-stated, as is often disappointingly the case.
This was the New Orford String Quartet's second visit to Victoria since they formed in 2009. As was the case with their first visit, their playing was nothing short of first-rate. We can only hope that they return to Victoria again, soon.
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