KUSS QUARTET, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Tuesday
The Kuss Quartet is a young ensemble, but it already possesses everything a good quartet needs — stunning technique, virtuosity, remarkable musicianship and impeccable interpretative skills, along with the ability to engage its audience.
And engage them it did Tuesday evening in Libby Gardner Concert Hall. Making its local debut through the Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City, the Kuss exhibited impressive artistry in a program that allowed the players to show how utterly conversant they are in music from every stylistic period — from Haydn's clarity and poise to Bartok's brooding intensity and Smetana's romantic passion and inner turmoil.
The only question left unanswered at the end of the concert was, "When will the Kuss return to Salt Lake City?"
The four players (Jana Kuss and Oliver Wille, violins; William Coleman, viola; and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan, cello) opened their program with Haydn's deligthful "Lark" Quartet, op. 64, no. 5, in D major.
Theirs was a marvelously musical perusal of this captivating work that was nuanced, refined and polished. The playing was clean and crisp; even the inner voices were wonderfully distinct. And they easily brought out the bright, airy character of the work and its cheery lyricism. Hearing them play it one can only say that this is the way Haydn's music deserves to be performed.
Bartok's Second Quartet followed to round out the first half.
The six quartets Bartok wrote rank with those by Beethoven in their inventiveness, expression and potency, and the Second certainly is one of the most emotionally charged works Bartok composed. It is relentless in its intensity and is quite an emotional journey for both musicians and the audience.
The Kuss gave a fabulous reading that captured the darkness and severity of the opening movement, the demonic force of the middle and the pained anguish of the closing Largo. It was a wonderfully compelling performance that drew the listener into Bartok's tormented soul.
Smetana's Quartet No. 1 ("From My Life") closed out the concert.
As its title implies, this quartet is autobiographical, and the four movements depict scenes from Smetana's life, including the agonizing reality of his encroaching deafness.
The foursome captured the vibrant colors and rich textures of the work effortlessly as they moved from the quiet intensity of the opening Allegro through the rhythmic exuberance of the second movement polka and the soaring poignancy of the Largo, to finally land on the finale's carefree happiness that suddenly turns dark and ominous and ends in softly enveloped nothingness.
The Smetana was in fact the highpoint of the concert. As profound as the Bartok was, their account of the Smetana was mesmerizing, because of how vividly they played it, allowing the music to come to life.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com