The Ebene String Quartet gave a rapturously received recital of Haydn, Webern and Schubert at the Wigmore Hall last night. The most notable characteristics of this young French quartet are its technical prowess and its ability to adjust its style of playing to give the most faithful and authentic interpretation to each work on its programme. Thus Haydn's 'Rider Quartet' (Op.74 no.3), while not lacking forceful unisons and an irresistible onward drive in its quick movements, never strayed beyond the constraints of classicism. The players concentrated on a clear exposition of Haydn's musical argument and perfectly captured the serene almost mystical tone of the slow movement.
The Quartet's strengths were even more intensely highlighted in the two highly contrasted pieces by Webern, Six Bagatelles and a very early Quartet Movement. The highly concentrated, aphoristic atonal style of the bagatelles, very precisely adumbrated by the quartet, was strikingly offset by the lush late romanticism of the juvenile piece, that was very reminiscent of early Schoenberg in its harmony but far more wandering and diffuse. However, the Ebenes were wholehearted advocates of this work that would almost certainly never have seen the light of day if its composer had not been the sixteen year old Webern.
After the interval there was the supreme technical and interpretative challenge of Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet. On the whole, the technical difficulties of a work that bursts from the confines of classical style and adopts at times an almost orchestral sonority, were very successfully surmounted. In particular, the profound set of variations on the song 'Death and the Maiden' that constitutes the slow movement, which like the corresponding slow movement of the Haydn quartet tends to linger in the mind long after the memory of the other movements has fled, was very sensitively played.
If the theme of the slow movement of this quartet represents the serene and peaceful aspects of death, then the other three movements address its violent, tragic, macabre and occult facets. A truly great performance would have encompassed the extra-musical associations of this work more comprehensively than the Ebene quartet either chose to or could: perhaps more than beneath any other music there flows here an ever-restless, sinister, even evil undercurrent that should induce shivers of fear in listeners. Although technically assured at all times, the Ebene performance did not consistently convey the darker qualities of the music. Partly this was down to some slightly misjudged tempi. The scherzo was a little rushed and this did not allow its cynicism and mockery to be communicated as forcefully as it might have been if taken a shade more slowly. Similarly, the last movement, a genuine Dance of Death, lost some of its uncanny impact through its initial tempo being too quick. A more measured speed at the outset would have left more scope for a more breathless and exciting acceleration at the end.
Yet although some vital part of the elusive essence of this quartet seemed to be missing, the Ebene players never failed at a local level to respond sensitively to Schubert's rich and varied sonorities and dynamics. They also reinforced the abiding impression of their versatility and adaptability by their jazzy encore, apparently their backing for an advertisement on French Television.
By Joe Daggers