Oswestry School
March 14, 2004
The programme at Sunday's concert in Oswestry School was an exclusively 20th century one, not usually considered an "easy option", but years of listening to classical music have taught me that it is the live performance that provides the insight and energy to make the less mainstream music comprehensible. Listening to radio or CD performances may consolidate or confirm those insights, but always support the live performance, rather than replacing it.
Nor did the Allegri disappoint. I've heard only three live performances of the Britten Quartet No 3, and each time I've found it easier to follow the structure and the melodic arguments.
As Peter Carter introduced each piece, he provided musical landmarks and images that allowed us to appreciate the musical and personal background of each, and was able to remind us that in some of these pieces the composer was not seeking a truly beautiful sound for its own sake, but a particular emotional or auditory effect. Sometimes recordings lose that "edge", that "bite", which was in fact the composer's aim - perhaps the recording engineer seeks to smooth out what he sees as rough edges, but which are faithful embodiments of the composer's intent.
We have become accustomed to Haydn and Mozart, and find ourselves quite comfortable with the idea that they are "Great Composers", while contempories like Clementi or Dittesdorf, equally popular in their day, are rarely performed and almost forgotten. We cannot know which of the 20th century's composers history will grant the accolade of greatness, but surely these three - Bartok, Britten and Janacek - are candidates for the honour.
For myself, I know that I will need to hear the Bartok Quartet No 2 on several more occasions before I even begin to feel truly comfortable with it, while both the Britten Quartet No3 and the Janacek Quartet No 2 "Intimate Letters" have now become familiar friends - of that particular, slightly abrasive type that never permits one to give other than full attention, that always challenges one to greater effort, and that, after all, provide the energy and excitement that make life interesting.
Rachel Wright