Above: The Escher String Quartet: Dane Johansen, Pierre Lapointe, Aaron Boyd, and Adam Barnett-Hart; photo by Laura Rose
Sunday March 15th, 2015 - Continuing their Winter Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center today presented the Escher String Quartet in three works. Guest soprano Jennifer Zetlan joined the Quartet for the Lyric Suite of Alban Berg; the concert opened with Schubert and concluded with Sibelius, followed by a Gershwin encore which the audience demanded from Quartet.
In Schubert's 'Rosamunde' quartet, the gentlemen of the Escher gave us a perfect example of music as consolation: such a feeling of longing in their melodious turns of phrase. Their sound has an organic quality, yet as each voice takes passing prominence, their individuality becomes amply evident. Of particular appeal is the refined, emotive elegance of Adam Barnett-Hart's violin; his masterful dynamic control - down to a whispered shimmer - gave me the chills at several points during the 'Rosamunde'. Clarity and tonal polish are the hallmarks of his colleagues: Aaron Boyd (violin), Pierre Lapointe (viola) and Dane Johansen (cello).
Each movement of the Schubert's A-minor work begins softly, and it is this that draws the listener into an intensely personal experience with the music. As the players move from one theme to another, the breadth of Schubert's melodic imagination constantly reveals itself. In the courtly dance of the quartet's finale, the four musicians again revel in their piano/pianissimo subtleties, until with two brisk chords the dance is ended.
A secret romance seems to have been the inspiration for Alban Berg's Lyric Suite, which sounded every bit as fresh and original tonight as if it had been written yesterday. Berg, on a visit to Prague in 1925, fell in love with a married woman, Hanna Fuchs-Robettin. Berg, who was also married, kept his passionate feelings for the lady a secret but the love and desire he felt for her seemed to have been an on-going effect on his creative life. In reading about their relationship, it's unclear whether it was ever consummated or whether is was more a one-sided infatuation. Yet Madame Fuchs-Robettin is sometimes referred to as Berg's mistress. So an air of mystery remains.
Whatever the case may be, the Escher Quartet and Jennifer Zetlan gave such a compelling performance of the Suite that the audience erupted in cheers, and a standing ovation commenced the moment they finished the piece. Angular as much of the music seems, the Escher musicians managed to find elusive veins of melody everywhere, drawing the listener deeper and deeper into the mystery. The insectuous sounds of the Allegro misterioso, the subtle shadings of the Adagio appassionato, the icy shivers of the Presto delirando - Tenebroso, and the plucked introduction of the concluding, marked Largo desolato (which gives way to a soaring violin line) are among the numerous elements which make the Lyric Suite an enduring masterwork.
Ms. Zetlan (above), who in December 2014 made a striking vocal effect performing the Ligeti REQUIEM with the American Symphony Orchestra and is soon to appear with Gotham Chamber Opera in THE TEMPEST SONGBOOK, brought an interesting mixture of girlish lyricism and dramatic verbal edge to the concluding vocal movement of the Berg.
Just last month, we had the opportunity to hear Jean Sibelius's String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae, Op. 56, performed by members of the New York Philharmonic. How wonderful to encounter it again so soon, and played so expressively as it was this evening by the Escher. Pensive and often melancholy of mood, for four movements this quartet maintains an Autumnal feeling. And then in the concluding Rondo, the players engage in an amazing race to the finish. Swept along, the audience went wild at the end.
The encore, a setting of Gershwin's Lullabye, was gorgeously played; and yet it seemed a bit too drawn out for an encore, and musically it didn't quite fit in after the intensity of the Berg and the whirlwind finale of the Sibelius. Nevertheless, the playing of it was superb.
Today's Participating Artists:
Escher String Quartet (Adam Barnett-Hart, violin; Aaron Boyd, violin; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Dane Johansen, cello)
Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
The Repertory:
- Schubert Quartet in A minor for Strings, D. 804, Op. 29, No. 1, “Rosamunde” (1824)
- Berg Lyric Suite for String Quartet (1925-26)
- Sibelius Quartet in D minor for Strings, Op. 56, “Voces intimae” (1909)