Concert Review

On Saturday, Nov 14, I attended a concert by the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

Program

Haydn (1732-1809)
- String Quartet in D, op. 20 No. 4 (Hob.III:34)
Allegro di molto
Un Poco adagio e affettuoso
Menuetto: Allegro alla Zingarese
Finale: Presto e scherzando

Derek Charke (b. 1974)
-Sepia Fragments

Dvorak (1841-1904)
-Quartet in G, Op. 106
Allegro moderato
Adagio ma non troppo
Molto vivace
Finale: Andante sostenuto - Allegro con fuoco

This was honestly one of the best concerts I have ever attended. It was evident from the first note of the Haydn quartet that the ensemble was full of energy. The music was brought to life with virtuosic ease that never stepped over the boundary of the composition. As far as chamber music goes, this was some of the tightest ensemble playing that I have ever witnessed.

The real highlight of the program was the second composition. Sepia Fragments. This is a newly commissioned work by Derek Charke. He describes the work as "a musical journey from the present to the past". The piece was organized into four distinct sections. Starting with an original fiddle tune, the piece slowly evolves through the quotation of other works. Derek pays tribute to the quartets past by quoting pieces that they have recorded and preformed in the past. - After the introduction, the first quotation is from Schumann's String Quartet No. 3 in A. We then get a quote from the third movement of Shostakovich's eighth String Quartet. This is followed by a waltz like texture that hints at the first movement of Tchaikovsky's String Quartet in D. The texture is slowly built up until it finally fades. The piece is brought to conclusion with a slow ambient ending that hints at "remembrances from the near and distant past".

After the intermission, the Dvorak was played with great energy. This was a great way to end the program as it contrasted the opening Haydn quartet very nicely.