1 July 2007
The Allegri Quartet
Haydn Quartet Opus 20 No 6 in A major
Szymanovsky Quartet No 2
Beethoven Quartet Opus 127 in E flat
There seems to have been an element of prevision in the programming this weekend - the Haydn Opus 20 set has the sobriquet "Sun Quartets", and certainly the only sunshine we saw was the musical version! Pal told us that it was the beauty of the second movement Adagio that had attracted the Allegri to this particular quartet of the set, written when Haydn was, as he recounted in a letter to a friend "forced to become original" while immured on the Esterhazy estate on the plains of Hungary, miles away from the cultural centres of the day. It made a wonderfully good humoured start to the last concert of the Festival.
The Szmanovsky Quartet No 2 was an altogether different matter. Written in 1927, it displays some of the affinities the composer claimed with tonal colours of Debussy and Stravinsky. I suspect this piece was new to many in the audience, and certainly it required great concentration of all, both on the stage and off. The chilly tremolandos of the first movement and the strident, frenetic activity of the second made a striking contrast with the golden sunlight of the Haydn we had just heard, just as the fugue of the final movement was completely unlike Haydn's final fugue in the earlier piece. One of the great benefits of attending a concert is that not only do we sometimes gain some interesting insights - which rarely strike when listening to recordings - but that these are given point and weight by being able to watch the piece performed, and see elements of melody, or fragmentary figures passed from musician to musician.
In his programme notes for the concert (excellent as always) Christopher Symons describe Beethoven's Opus 127 Quartet as "majestic". In this reading, it became a breathtaking and impassioned majesty, lightened with elements of playfulness, a rousing end to a wonderful concert series, deservedly greeted with enthusiastic applause.
Rachel Wright
Committee Member