Record ARTS
June, 2008

Penderecki shines at QuartetFest
By Stephen Preece

The Penderecki String Quartet's take on the familiar and the out-of-the-way, combined into a particularly satisfying event Friday night at the Maureen Forester Recital Hall.

The concert (a co-production between WLU's faculty of music and the K-W Chamber Music Society), positioned midstream in QuartetFest 2008, demonstrated once again the expansive talents of the hometown Penderecki String Quartet.

The opening number, Schubert's Quartettsatz in C minor, remained unfinished at the composer's death.
The initial allegro assai presented two continuously alternating themes: the first, dark, agitated and unsettled; the second, serene, melodic and lovely.

This contrast allowed the quartet to show their stuff: Clean and unified harmonic phrasings, disciplined dynamic conceptions (ranging from the firm, muscular passionate, to the sweet-pastoral), and assertive individual solos shining brightly, but not excessively. The overall effect was sublime.

The second half-movement andante was a bit of a curiosity. Following a block of subtly expressive chords, progressing to solo segments -- an ambulatory cello first, then violin, starting and then dropping off into oblivion. The effect is a touch macabre, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks after Schubert's death.

The remainder of the first half was Beethoven's middle-period standard Harp Quartet. What made the Penderecki reading special was their careful attention to fine nuance in dynamics and intensity.

Their irresistibly slow and exquisite evolution (in the first movement) from a simple pianissimo, down a lengthy journey to a grand and full fortissimo (only after taking their sweet time each step of the way) was breathtaking.
The second adagio movement had the relaxed consistency of pulled taffy setting the stage for the rollicking blast of the presto, and the final unison lines in the fourth movement bringing the piece to a satisfying close.

This was classic Beethoven in its purest expression -- a clear demonstration of why the Penderecki String Quartet is so in-demand as a world class chamber group.

After intermission was the much-anticipated Bartok Piano Quintet. This piece had been billed as "Bartok like you have never heard him before" (an educated guess was that this was the Canadian premier of the work), and that statement was apt.

The Bartok quartets are widely considered to be among the greatest in the repertoire, though their tonal and harmonic complexity can be challenging to the uninitiated. The Quintet is an earlier work for the composer and its unabashed romantic charm and musical delights are immediately accessible.

A good choice at piano was Dutch master Jeannett Kokkoek. She brought verve and vitality to the youthfully exuberant work, managing to be dynamic and forceful without overpowering.

Some sections had Brahms-like tonal constructions, bright, majestic and bold in their conviction. A common convention was to toss melodic lines from one instrument to the other -- a bit like a schoolyard game, each participant taking turns.

The second movement incorporated the most overt quotations from Hungarian folk tunes, for which Bartok was famous.

This lovely montage captured this cultural personality, the audience catapulted into a remote East European village festival. The quartet took obvious delight in these playful constructions.

The adagio conjured a floating mystical quality with haunting piano trills and breathy held strings.

At one point a distant melody, enveloped in mist and fog, progressively approached, closer and closer, ending up right in front of our faces.

For all its immediate appeal, the quintet often too quickly ramps up to full throttle and then has nowhere to go. Bartok's eager and youthful exuberance seems to be the default to what is an otherwise spirited and compelling work.

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