ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET, Monday, March 4, University of Utah Libby Gardner Concert Hall; one performance.
The St. Lawrence String Quartet received a well-deserved and warm reception at Libby Gardner Concert Hall Monday night. As the quartet's members were returning guest artists with the Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City series, at least some of the audience must have known what to expect — and the group certainly didn't disappoint.
The talented quartet has a somewhat distinctive persona, which might be described as both compelling and energetic. If the group had a motto, it would probably be something like "always give 110 percent," because that's the way they play.
It's interesting to watch the spontaneous choreography of first violinist Geoff Nuttall in particular, as well as second violinist Barry Schiffman, as they express the music physically as well as musically. If one could (hypothetically) turn off the volume during the concert, it wouldn't be hard to follow the musical and emotional gestures of the music by following the physical expressions and gestures of the players.
In addition to their vigor, another characteristic of the St. Lawrence String Quartet is its ability to play as an ensemble. The players seem to grow musically out of each other in an organic way, as if they're breathing, swelling, receding and swaying together. Love or hate their performance style, they know how a string quartet functions and use that to their advantage.
The program selection for Monday was generally a good match between the players and the music. The final piece, Tchaikovsky's Quartet No. 3 in E-flat Minor, was a hand-in-glove fit, with emotionally intense music and equally intense musicians. From the broad opening gestures of the first movement to the frenetic fourth movement, the group kept the energy going through both the mournful and the mad.
The third movement, in particular, which was sort of the musical and emotional high point of the quartet, came out as grief-stricken and sensitive as Tchaikovsky probably felt when he wrote it.
Berger's "Miracles and Mud" quartet, which was written about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was likewise emotionally potent, both from the music and the musicians' perspective. The players have a good understanding of contemporary musical language, which they use to comfortably maneuver around a wide variety of textures and techniques to bring out the message of the piece.
Possibly the most unusual interpretation of the evening was of Mozart's Quartet No.16 in E-flat Major. The group approached Mozart with the same vigor and passion as the other two pieces, although the musical outcome sounded a bit more restrained. The players generally stayed within the decorum of Mozart's style, but it wasn't unusual for the music to be more, well, rambunctious than a traditional interpretation. While they missed some of the subtle nuances of Mozart's music, they also gave a warm, approachable rendition of this string quartet.
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com