N.Z. String Quartet

Press, 26 April 1989, Page 8

N.Z. String Quartet

The New Zealand String Quartet presented by the Music Federation of New Zealand. James Hay Theatre, Monday, April 24, at 8 p.m. Reviewed by Margaret Buchanan. I cannot remember a more exciting start to a subscription series of chamber music concerts since the Prague Quartet and its Beethoven Series more than 20 years ago. Mozart’s Quartet in C, K 465 (The Dissonance) began while some of the audience was still being seated, perhaps because of the pressure of a live broadcast on the Concert Programme. The quartet’s playing, however, showed the suspense and power of the remarkable opening adagio. The quartet, led by the dynamic playing of Wilma Smith, showed a mature, well-crafted style of synchronised ensemble playing. Anton Webern’s Five Pieces, Opus, was written in 1909 when the composer was exploring compositional technique em-

ploying motivic development. The quartet played the work with such an intensity that the music held the audience in rapt attention. A feature of this concert was the delightful balance of the programme, Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F making up the second half of the concert. The Webern Five Pieces challenged each instrument to perform a strong individualistic line, as well as testing the ensemble, whereas the Ravel Quartet demanded a sublime understanding of precision and subtle shaping. The quartet excelled these demands, the beauty of the first movement (tres doux) giving way to the vitality of the “assez vif” and the delicate restrained gentleness of the “tres lent” — Ravel at his most magical. This performance gave one a sense a valuing a national treasure. I hope that further large audiences will support this remarkable quartet in attendance and sponsorship. jy.