Shostakovich quintet at university

Press, 28 July 1976, Page 6

Shostakovich quintet at university

The Camerata String Quartet of the University of Canterbury, Paulene Smith and Chloe Moon, violins, Elizabeth Rogers, viola, and Frances Di Goldi, cello, with John Luxton at the piano, played Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet, Opus 57, in the university’s school of music yesterday afternoon. The members of the Camerata Quartet have, through close experience in the last few years, done much to gain the very fine points of personal accord in their playing, and now direct that experi-

ence to particular compositions forming their expanding repertoire. John Luxton has shown himself to be a pianist closely aware of the problems of keeping a piano part alive in its own right while fitting it to the needs of an associated group of string instruments in presenting unified performance. Together these five persons now give us concerted work of high artistic finish, and yesterday’s performance was

Ilovely m itself and in w’hat it offers as promise for days to come. The w’ork, rich in beautiful string passages shiningly blended, and with the piano offering entrancing accompaniment or dramatic or lyrical thematic material, of grave or light-hearted import, divides into clearly marked sections while keeping a clear purpose before the listeners, and doing it very well. It began with declamation and moved on to lyrical and soothing flow in which the graces of each of the instruments made strong appeal. A fugue of sombre but confident atmosphere offered much that was wise and of good report, and yielded place to a sprightly scherzo which lived up to its name. [This was followed by a slow intermezzo of calm and reposeful beauty, and everything was wound up most happily in a finale which had the friendliest ending imaginable. —C, Foster Browne