Date: Fri 14-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

American-Quartet-NFoM

Full Text:

(rev American String Quartet @NFoM/Newtown)

A Matched Set: The American String Quartet & Its Performance

By June April

When four outstanding musicians play on the very finest of instruments, one

experiences music on a most elevated plane. The sweet richness of tones

emanating from the four Stradivari was pure joy to hear.

This was exactly what happened Sunday afternoon in Newtown, when the second

program of the Newtown Friends of Music's current season opened with

Beethoven's Quartet in B# flat Major, Opus 18 No. 6. The exuberance and

technical expertise of the award-winning American String Quartet brought a

subtlety and masterful interpretation of the beautiful composition. Composed

around 1800, this is the last of six string quartets Beethoven was writing,

and is viewed by music historians as a shift from his "early to middle"

period.

The 30-year old had been focused more on his piano works and recitals and was

expanding into more extensive, and expansive, musical groupings including the

First Symphony. There were also strong indications of his hearing loss, and

elements of that frustration might well be the source of the subtitle of this

quartet, "La Malinconia."

In contrast, Hungarian composer Bela Bartok's String Quartet No. 3, also heard

during the November 9 performance, is almost primal. Not melodic, in the

lyrical sense, there are experimental explorations of composition form and

non-traditional instrument sounds. Using the bow percussively is one of

Bartok's trademarks, ascending and descending chromatics (almost like

fingernails on a blackboard) wail a thematic passage. It is difficult music to

play, and likewise not favored by all audiences.

The range of music performed, and done so to rave reviews, by the American

String Quartet is a major force in drawing audiences into a greater awareness

and appreciation of chamber music. The four members have performed in eight

European countries and throughout the United States. All graduates of the

Julliard School of Music, they are currently the quartet-in-residence at the

Manhattan School of Music, where they developed a program of quartet studies.

The quartet has just finished recording the complete set of Mozart quartets.

Connoisseurs of fine music will rush to purchase these compact discs because

the quality is unexcelled. Four instruments made by Antonio Stradivarius were

loaned to the quartet to make the recordings.

After intermission, the two violinists, Peter Winograd and Laurie Carney,

cellist David Gerber and violist Daniel Avshalomov gave a brief history and

verbal description of each of their borrowed Stradivari. Owned by Herbert R.

Axelrod, but housed and exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute, the matched

set of exquisite instruments are periodically loaned to musicians. Those

fortunate enough to be at Edmond Town Hall experienced a concert that will

never be forgotten.

The deeply moving and beautiful Quartet in D minor, Opus 34, by Antonin

Dvorak, was a superb choice to close the concert. Especially moving was the

third movement, wherein the Strads were all muted, thereby producing a sound

resonating with a depth of pain and sorrow that mirrors the loss of a child.

In fact, to quote the program notes: "It is said to reflect Dvorak's grief at

the deaths of his second daughter and his eldest son." One could not but be

deeply moved by hearing such wonderful music, exquisitely played.

Formed 23 years ago, the American String Quartet immediately won the Naumburg

Award and the Coleman Competition. Kudos and an enthusiastic following are

part of their legacy. In addition to their concertizing as a group, the four

musicians are also involved in teaching and solo performances.