It's unlikely that anyone would have mistaken the angst-ridden Dmitri Shostakovich, even on one of the composer's better days, for Prince Charming. Still, it took a kiss from the 20th-century Soviet icon to awaken 'Sleeping Beauty' – The Emerson Quartet – at Saturday evening's 60th-Anniversary season opening concert of the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music.
What a pity that Mendelssohn and Beethoven, who preceded Shostakovich on Saturday's program, weren't better kissers.
The Emerson Quartet, whose concert Saturday marked its seventh appearance in Syracuse, needs little introduction. Now in its 32nd year, the venerable ensemble is among the most recognized names in chamber music, with eight Grammy Awards and three Gramophone Awards to its credit and no fewer than 30 recordings (Deutsche Grammophon label) over the past dozen years alone. It is well to remember, however, that the quartet's current (2009-2010) schedule takes the four around the globe in a grueling, 90-concert tour. And let's face it – they ain't getting any younger.
The problem with the first-half of Saturday's concert was hardly a lack of familiarity with the works programmed (Emerson recorded the complete quartet cycles of each composer here), but rather a lack of inspiration and spontaneity of execution. Certainly, the notes were all there – but rarely did they blossom into meaningful phrases. Dynamic shifts were politely observed but did not string together to produce an intensity of expression capable of untethering the notes from the printed page. Mendelssohn's melodic direction and Beethoven's motivic development were often understated and, ultimately, predictable.
Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat major, Op. 12, which opened the program, is a charming work that channels the composer's fascination with the harmonic innovations of Beethoven into clearly defined parameters of Viennese classicism. As such, it may be argued that much of the Emerson Quartet's reserved delivery in this work may be stylistically justified as clinging to Mendelssohn's classical roots.
Eugene Drucker, who played first violin on the opening two works on the program, did not appear to be in his usual good form. Drucker's delivery appeared somewhat aloof in the sweet, aria-like entrance to the third (Andante espressivo) movement, as if he deemed the indication 'espressivo' superfluous. Moreover, in this movement and the celebrated Canzonetta movement that preceded it, Drucker experienced some slight but conspicuous pitch problems that suggested he may have been tired that evening. Ensemble delivery among the four players in this work was inconsistent: good on the 16th-note passages in the Trio of the Canzonetta and in the four-note motif of the final movement, but imprecise and unsteady in the familiar eighth-note passages of the Canzonetta.
Beethoven's String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 ('The Harp') fared somewhat better than the Mendelssohn Quartet, particularly with respect to ensemble delivery during the imitative sections and 16th-note passage-work of the exposition of the first-movement Allegro and in the tight motivic interplay preceding the recapitulation. The inner movements of the Beethoven Quartet were, however, disappointing. The playing of the dreamy second (Adagio) movement lacked warmth and intensity, as if the four were contemplating Beethoven's philosophical discourse without the benefit of pausing for reflection. The furious Presto (Scherzo) movement that followed was rushed, a victim of sloppy rhythmic execution of the pervasive dotted-rhythms.
If there's an advantage to the Emerson Quartet's custom of standing (except, of course, for the cellist) while playing, it was not apparent from the results of Saturday's performance. Ensemble interplay among the four players did not seem to benefit from this arrangement, nor did eye-contact and body language, which may have fared better had the musicians remained on a level periphery.
Following intermission, the Emerson Quartet returned with a new first violinist, Philip Setzer (Drucker and Setzer routinely share the ensemble's first-chair responsibilities). Along with the switch came a return to the glorious music-making I have come to expect from this quartet.
Shostakovich, like Beethoven, used the medium of the string quartet to delve deeply into the dark recesses of the unconscious in a search for meaning and purpose to life. While Beethoven's journey may have been more abstract in its mission, Shostakovich in his late works routinely cried out in anguish at the shackles of Soviet Realism that choked the life out of his artistic creativity. The results, evident in his String Quartet No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 117, take expression in a highly esoteric voicing of the composer's personal journey of anguish, pain – and ultimate resignation.
I can't say I understand much of Shostakovich's abstruse meditations endemic to his late works, but as with Tchaikovsky's late symphonies there is much beauty to be found within the expression of one's personal misery. Such beauty is, however, entirely dependent on a persuasive telling of the tale of woe – and here's where the Emerson Quartet found its voice.
In spite of its schizophrenic changes of mood and tempo, Shostakovich's Quartet reached a remarkable level of emotional coherency at the hands of the Emerson Quartet, which brought this five-movement work (played without pause between movements) to the listener in a form that could be digested within the soul.
Playing was alert and ensemble was tight throughout the work. Emerson's haunting execution of the softly played contrapuntal accompaniment to the fractured folk-like tunes of the opening movement, set here against a series of quietly repeated ostinato rhythmic patterns, provided a chilling contrast to Shostakovich's reckless abandon that was soon to come.
The wild Russian dance that opens the final movement (a parody, I wonder, of Beethoven's Russian dances in the Op. 59 Razumovsky Quartets?) was delivered with proper grit and gusto, as Emerson captured the essence of the tormented composer's highly amphetamined writing.
By David Abrams
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