On Friday afternoon at Paul Hall I attended the annual Juilliard String Quartet Seminar that this year showcased the playing of two ensembles I had not previously heard in recital. The program featured works by three masters of the string quartet form - Mendelssohn, Schubert and Mozart.
The recital began with Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2 (1837, revised 1839) performed by the Heimat String Quartet consisting of Patrick Shaughnessy and Aubrey Holmes, violins; Chung Han Hsiao, viola; and Aaron Fried, cello. For some reason, Mendelssohn's quartets have appeared on a number of programs I've attended recently. To be honest, I've always considered this composer's work to have been written more with the head than the heart in the sense that Mendelssohn, more classicist than romantic, assiduously cultivated his own image and consciously wrote works that reflected the erudite persona he chose to present to the public. That was never so true as in this quartet, written on Mendelssohn's honeymoon immediately after his marriage to Cecile Jeanrenaud. The piece is thoroughly charming and genteel but never rises to the level of greatness.
The next ensemble to take the stage was the Belka Quartet whose members include Beatrice Hsieh and Charles Gleason, violins; Matthew Geise, viola; and Daniel Blumhard, cello. They performed Schubert's String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804 (1824). This work has become a great favorite of the Chamber Music Honors program - I have heard it performed on three different occasions this season by the Calliope Quartet - and for good reason. The piece takes its nickname the "Rosamunde" from the incidental music to the eponymous drama, one of whose themes appears here in the second movement. This was the first of Schubert's three great quartets following the 1820 Quartettsatz and was written at approximately the same time as the Quartet No. 14, Death and the Maiden. It made a striking contrast to the Mendelssohn piece played immediately before. While the former is carefully composed and calculated, Schubert's quartet seems to gush forth fully formed from some wellspring of creativity deep within him and overwhelms the listener with its emotional power.
After intermission, the Heimat Quartet returned to perform Mozart's String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516 (1787). The additional viola part was taken by guest Joseph Lin, a member of the Juilliard Quartet and one of the most highly regarded violinists now active. Those familiar with Mozart's oeuvre know that key of G minor had a special meaning for the composer. It was in this key that he composed some of his greatest works, such as the Symphony No. 40, and its use invariably connoted a sense of tragedy and grief. Certainly, Mozart during this period had reason to feel sorrowful. In poor health and straitened circumstances, he had seen his career in Vienna reduced to a few odd commissions. As his music grew too advanced for his audiences to easily follow, he was no longer able to stage the lucrative subscription concerts that had previously sustained him. One feels in listening to this work that he is here giving way to his feelings and expressing his despair. What then to make of the joyful allegro with which the work closes? I think Mozart felt a need to pull back from the bleak outlook that stretched before him. Perhaps he found it too unbearable to contemplate any longer. Or it may be that he decided that the work would not be sellable (H.C. Robbins Landon has hypothesized that the composer wrote this and its companion, the K. 515, on speculation "hoping to sell manuscript copies to amateurs by subscription.") if the dark mood were not at least to some extent relieved.
As I was returning to my seat at the end of intermission I met another member of the Juilliard Quartet, Joel Krosnick who will be retiring as the ensemble's cellist at the end of this season. I felt honored to have the opportunity to tell him how much I had enjoyed his musicianship over the years. I recalled with special fondness when speaking with him a performance of Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge I had heard the Quartet perform many years ago.
The playing by both ensembles at this recital was top notch. It seems that every year the Juilliard faculty somehow manages to routinely produce string quartet ensembles of the highest caliber. When listening to these exceptionally talented musicians, however, I cannot help but wonder whether there still exist audiences for the music they play. Even in New York City, supposedly one of the country's cultural centers, there are never many people present at the chamber music recitals I attend and I usually see the same faces over and over in the audience. It's disheartening that such fine performances of great music do not draw more listeners.
The playing by both ensembles at this recital was top notch. It seems that every year the Juilliard faculty somehow manages to routinely produce string quartet ensembles of the highest caliber. When listening to these exceptionally talented musicians, however, I cannot help but wonder whether there still exist audiences for the music they play. Even in New York City, supposedly one of the country's cultural centers, there are never many people present at the chamber music recitals I attend and I usually see the same faces over and over in the audience. It's disheartening that such fine performances of great music do not draw more listeners.
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