4 July 2008
The Allegri Quartet
Bach 3 fugues from Art of the Fugue
Haydn Op. 20 No.2
Beethoven Op.131
The concert began somewhat unexpecedly for a quartet concert, with three contrapuncti from The Art of Fugue. Abstract music at its purest, although not written for the String Quartet, it made a very pleasing start to the Festival. As Pal Banda is leaving the Quartet and has other engagements this weekend his place was taken this evening by Bozidar Vokotic, 'cellist of the Tippett Quartet. As always, the change in personal gives a different sound, and a different inflection to pieces we may have heard from the Allegri before - one of the great advantages of a live performance over a recording!
It was raining as we turned in to Llanfyllin, so one of Haydn's Sun Quartets was a welcome change in the weather. It is easy to misconstrue Papa Haydn as a good-humoured and somewhat facile composer, but the Allegri Quartet - in all of its' configurations - has never make this mistake. The terrifying glance over the precipice at the beginning of the second movement was ample evidence of this. Hadyn's good cheer is not a matter of insensibility, but a more positive quality, born of a robust refusal to allow dark moments to overshadow the light. The Allegri gave us a vivid, vibrant performance that merited the appellation "sunshiney"!
During his introduction to the second half, Raffy pointed out that the entire programme had been built around the use of fugue, and noted in passing that Fugue seems to be an obsession of a composer's final years. In Beethoven's Quartet Op 131 - as in much of Beethoven's later work - we ran the whole gamut of emotion, from rollicking jollity to heart-wrenching grief. The darkness always seems a little closer in Beethoven's world. This was a rousing performance, as exhilerating as a really close thunderstorm can be when one is safe indoors.
The Festival is truly off to a flying start!
Rachel Wright
Committee Member